Cultivating Nature Near You

This section of the module will teach you how to “live in place”, which means to fully engage in and with the place you live (Bar & Dassman, n.d.). We can dream of taking endless lavish vacations to natural wild places around the world, and perhaps every so often we get to take in the incredible cliffs of the Swiss Alps and the rainy redwoods of the American west coast. There is, however, an unstated assumption that these rare and breathtaking experiences are the best or perhaps even the only way to truly connect with the natural world. The more logical and direct route towards more enhanced natural well-being is right where you are: in your own kitchen, backyard, or on the hill just beyond your fence. Afterall, these are the places you spend most of your time, and as such, are the natural places that can make the greatest impact on you. Connecting with nature in your own biosphere lets you experience nature’s restorative benefits most often, and gives you a chance to understand and cultivate the natural world around you. 

We need a relationship with the places in which we live. We all live in a particular bio-region, a bio-region is a “whole ‘life-place . . . a distinct area with coherent and interconnected plant and animal communities, and natural systems,” (Planet Drum Foundation, n.d.). Understanding our bio-region will help us be more aware of--and connect more with--the natural world around us. Understanding of our bio-region can be enhanced by engaging in activities such as noticing and learning about local plants and trees, visiting local wildlife habitats, and even electing to bring plants and wildlife onto our own property. Many of the well-being benefits of nature come from connection with nature, not just from passive viewing. There are certainly many well-being benefits of simply having green space in your home environment such as less emotional distress, and increased positive emotions, pain tolerance, and overall well-being (Capaldi et al., 2014; Rothert, 2007). Connecting with that green space is correlated with even more enhanced well-being through increase in attention and memory, better pain tolerance, and overall greater happiness, life satisfaction, and vitality (Harting & Mang, 1991; Mackerron & Mourato, 2013; Rothert, 2007; While et al., 2013). 

As mentioned above, there are many ways to connect with your own bio-region, I’ll leave suggestions for specific strategies for the final section of the module, but no matter the specific strategy, it’s important that your plan is meaningful and accessible. You don’t need to become an expert in botany or ornithology to reap nature’s benefits, you just need to start noticing and appreciating the world around you. There are living things just outside your door that are waiting to bring your life meaning and joy