We Have Moved! Join us at www.healinglandscapes.org/blog.

Photo courtesy of Henry Domke

The Therapeutic Landscapes Network Blog is now happily nestled into the TLN Website.

Our new url is www.healinglandscapes.org/blog. See you over there!

Happy Earth Day!

Photo by Robert Rodriguez, Jr.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything." ~William Shakespeare

A TLN Blog Update...and Great News About a Conference at the White House!

Photo by Naomi Sachs

Apologies for the sparse postings lately. We are working hard to integrate this blog with the TLN website (right now they are under two different URLs - long story), and it's all taking a little longer than expected to switch over. Partly because we are switching from Blogger to Wordpress. Those of you who don't blog will be nonplussed, but those of you who have ever tried switching from one blog platform to another might be quaking in your boots at the thought! I certainly am. So, needless to say, bear with us as we make the transition.

In the meantime, we're still posting all kinds of good information on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/therapeuticlandscapes), so please become a "fan" and join the party over there. For those of you not (yet!) on Facebook, I'll simply say that it's not just a site where kids share pictures of last night's drinking binge. Most businesses and non-profit organizations have Facebook pages, and it's an excellent way to stay informed about what's going on and to connect with other like-minded people. For example, today the TLN, and Outdoor Afro, and the Children & Nature Network all posted information about tomorrow's Conference on America's Great Outdoors at the White House. That's right! The Obama administration cares about the connections between us and nature.


I don't know why the preview image isn't displaying for this video; it will play if you hit play - it's a few-minute shot of the serviceberries pictured above, swaying in the breeze with the sound of birds chirping in the background. Maybe in Wordpress it'll show up! Enjoy.

AHTA Conference Request for Proposals - Due 4/15!

Photo of wild plum by Henry Domke

Proposals for this year's American Horticultural Therapy Association's conference, In Our Nature, are due soon - April 15th - so if you have something to say and you think others should hear it, get busy and submit your proposal. Last year's conference was excellent - great speakers and poster presentations, wonderful tours, lots of networking opportunities. And this year, October 13-16, it's in collaboration with the Chicago Botanic Garden. Click HERE to link to the AHTA conference page, where you can download the RFP.

Oh, and the Therapeutic Landscapes Network just sent out its March/April e-newsletter. It's only available to members on our mailing list, so if you'd like to join (membership is free), click HERE. Thanks, and happy reading!

Hort Therapy in the Wall Street Journal...and Call for Papers!

Legacy Emanuel Children's Garden, mentioned in the article

In the Wall Street Journal today, a great article about horticultural therapy programs: "When Treatment Involves Dirty Fingernails," by Anne Marie Chaker. Make sure to check out the slideshow online.

Here are two interesting statistics from the article: A 2005 study of 107 patients published in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation indicated that cardiac rehabilitation patients in a one-hour gardening class clocked in lower heart rates and better dispositions than patients who received a generic patient-education class. Another study, published in 2008 in HortiTechnology, showed that 18 residents of an assisted-living facility showed a significant increase in self-rated health and happiness after participating in four horticulture classes.

And speaking of horticultural therapy, the Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture has put out a call for papers for its next issue. Manuscripts may include research projects, case studies, program and services descriptions, therapeutic practice descriptions, therapeutic horticulture philosophies, therapeutic design project descriptions, relevant book reviews, and other related topics. See the AHTA website for more details and for the editor's contact information. It's an excellent opportunity to share what you know with others.

Planting the Healing Garden: The Quiet Joys of Early Spring

And now it is April. I was walking in a friend's garden this afternoon and everywhere we turned, things were budding and leafing out. He kept saying "It's all happening!" And it truly is. Actually, it has been for a little while now, but it a quiet sort of way.

I never used to like March. Growing up in northeastern Connecticut, March always felt much more like the last, grey, dreary, incredibly long month of winter rather than the first month of spring. When I lived in Berkeley during graduate school, March was lovely, of course. The incessant winter rains finally ceased, and the Ceanothus and rosemary bloomed, and the world felt right again. Then I moved to Santa Fe, NM, where March meant fierce winds that blew the ever-present dust into every nook and cranny of everything. And then I moved to the Hudson Valley. And after five years of thinking that I hated March (and very early April), I finally this year have come to realize that it's actually one of my favorite times.

And here is why: March (or very early spring, really, which is March where I live) is about discovery. Before spring really takes off and everything bursts forth with verdant new growth and loud, colorful flowers like some tacky prom fashion show, we see spring's emergence more slowly and subtly. Each new discovery is cause for celebration, a light at the end of winter's tunnel. One day I see yellow on the fat Forsythia buds. The next day, they began to open, and I also notice the first new soft green growth of lady's mantle pushing up through the soil amidst last fall's leaves. The next day, I see the downy buds of the serviceberries, and every day they get bigger and bigger and soon they will open into delicate white flowers which will last only a week or two before the branches' bright leaves begin to emerge.

To me, this time of year feels like falling in love. There is so much to discover, and it's all wonderful. As in, I walk around filled with wonder and delight, like my "it's all happening!" friend.

So if you can appreciate these small joys, before spring kicks into overdrive, please share them with others. Take a walk with your children and point out the little treasures that are emerging each day. Instill in them your love of nature so that they will become stewards for the next generation. Walk in the garden, or even just gaze out the window, with your mother or grandmother or the old man who lives next door and see what you both can see. Older eyes don't always catch the small things, but they will appreciate the new life if it's pointed out to them. I promise you, your world, and theirs, will feel all the richer and more meaningful for it. And that's what a "healing garden" is all about.

All photos in this post are by and copyright Naomi Sachs. For more about plants that bloom in early spring, see this blog post, First Signs of Spring.

"Nature Artwork Preferred by Children in Pediatric Settings"

Photo (and photos in installation) by Henry Domke

Yet another study has been published showing that hospital patients - this time children in pediatric settings - prefer nature artwork over other types (including abstract, impressionistic, and other representational).

One interesting concept brought up by the authors is offering an "art cart" to pediatric patients so that they can select the art images (most of which would be nature-based) that most appeal to them. Sound like it might be a good idea for all ages, right? Please link to the InformeDesign summary of this article for more information: "Nature Artwork Preferred by Children in Pediatric Settings."

Previous research has looked at overall preferences and has also found that nature artwork tends to relieve rather than cause stress (yes, some types of artwork actually cause stress to people in the healthcare setting). See this excellent summary by Henry Domke for a crash course. Henry's blog, Healthcare Fine Art, is a terrific resource if you're interested in the intersection of art and healthcare. Henry is also a photographer, and it's his images that you see on the TLN site and often on the TLN Blog, because in addition to being very talented, Henry is also very generous.

The Therapeutic Landscapes Network website has an Art and Health page where you'll find the resources that we think are the top go-to organizations, books, and articles on this subject.

Full article citation: Eisen, Sarajane L., Roger S. Ulrich, Mardelle M. Shepley, James W. Varni (2008). "The Stress-Reducing Effects of Art in Pediatric Health Care: Art Preferences of Healthy Children and Hospitalized Children." Journal of Child Health Care, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 173-190.

Discount on DVDs - A Consolation Prize for Those of Us Who Can't Attend the Design for Aging Conference

I really wanted to get to the Design for Aging conference, which started today, but just couldn't this year. If you are in the same boat, I have a consolation prize for you!

The Therapeutic Landscape Network has teamed up with Access to Nature to offer a 10% discount off of the excellent DVD series, "Access to Nature for Older Adults."

Please visit this earlier post for a detailed (and glowing) description of this DVD series. It is an excellent new contribution to this field, and I wish that everyone would see it.

So to help with that, here's the deal: Receive a 10% discount when you buy any or all of the Access to Nature DVDs. Just enter this promotional code in the checkout section on the Access to Nature website: TLNA2N.

"Gardens for Recovery" - Excellent article from AHS' The American Gardener

Witch hazel 'Arnold's Promise' - spring is on the way!

I hope everyone has been having a good Horticultural Therapy Week. Here in the Hudson Valley, we have had unseasonably warm temperatures and we're seeing encouraging signs of spring. Light at the end of winter's tunnel!

My hope of posting notes from last week's talk at the Horticultural Society of New York on linking medical and social science research to HT are not going to get realized this week. Next week, perhaps.

So instead, I am sharing with you an excellent article from the November/December 2009 issue of The American Gardener, the magazine published by the American Horticultural Society. "Gardens for Recovery," by Doreen Howard, focuses primarily on the Oregon Burn Center Garden at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, OR* and the Rosecrance Serenity Garden in Rockford, IL. The TLN gets a mention, too. Howard gives some moving examples of how these gardens, and therapy in the gardens, help patients and family members heal. In addition, she lists "five primary design guidelines for any healing garden, including ones for home and backyards." I know it's not always easy to take time to read an article, but in this case, it's worth it, trust me!

Many thanks to the American Horticultural Society and Doreen Howard for permission to link to this article; these articles are usually only available to AHS members, but they made an exception for the TLN Blog, knowing that others would truly benefit from the information.

Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center

Rosecrance Serenity Garden, Rockford, IL

Happy Horticultural Therapy Week!

Photo by Thomas Moore, all rights reserved

This week, starting yesterday, is National Horticultural Therapy Week.

To celebrate, I'm posting the American Horticultural Therapy Association's Call for Papers for their next conference, In Our Nature, which will be in Chicago from October 13-16, 2010. Proposals are due by April 15, so get your act together soon to submit.

If you're not quite sure what horticultural therapy, or "HT," is, here's a quick definition, courtesy of the Horticultural Therapy Institute: Horticultural therapy is "a professional practice that uses the cultivation of plants and gardening activities to improve the mental and physical health of its participants."

The Therapeutic Landscapes Network has a special page devoted to HT, and the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) has many resources, including links and books to buy, on their website.

It is my personal opinion that any designer who designs therapeutic landscapes should be a member of AHTA. The Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture alone, published by AHTA, is worth the price of admission alone.

I'm working on a blog post about my amazing day at the Horticulture Society of New York's forum, Food 4 Thought, and hope to have that out before the end of the week.

In the meantime, here's a nice video form GardeningForLife about HT:

This Friday! Horticultural Society of NY presents Horticultural Therapy Partnership Forum, Food 4 Thought

Image courtesy of HSNY

This Friday, 3/12, the Horticultural Society of New York presents its 4th Annual Horticultural Therapy Partnership Forum, "Food 4 Thought." What a great line-up! I'm so excited to get to meet and hear from all of these amazing people. Click HERE to link to the HSNY info and registration page.

Morning topics and speakers are:

• "Horticultural Therapy at the Rikers Island," with Hilda Krus, HTR, Director of GreenHouse, HSNY
• "Horticultural Therapy for People Living with HIV/AIDS," with Liza Watkins of Bailey Holt House and Sandra Power of the Horticultural Therapy Institute

An afternoon panel will be moderated by Ronnit Bendavid-Val, Director of Citywide Horticulture, NYC Dept. of Parks & Recreation. Panelist topics and presenters include:

• "Urban Farming, Farm Stands, & Markets," with Jane Hodge, City Farms Manager, Just Food and Rev. Robert Jackson, Co-founder of Brooklyn Rescue Mission
• "Horticulture Across Generations," with Arthur Sheppard, Goddard Riverside
• "Partnering Medical & Social Research," with Anne Wiesen, Co-founder & Executive Director of Meristem and Naomi Sachs, Founder & Director of the Therapeutic Landscapes Network
• "Physical Therapy and Gardening," with Karen Washington, Physical Therapist, President of NYC Community Gardens Coalition, and Co-founder of La Familia Verde Gardens Coalition.

Anne Wiesen, my co-presenter, is also the co-editor of the book Restorative Commons: Creating Health and Well-Being through Urban Landscapes," which you can read a review of on this blog post.

This forum is one of several great upcoming events. I haven't had the chance to blog about each and every one, so please visit the "Upcoming Events" area (right-hand column, about half-way down) to see what's going on in your area (geographically or professionally). And as always, if you have events that you want others to know about, contact the TLN and we'll get it posted.

Image courtesy of HSNY

Winter/Spring

Forsythia buds indoors*

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." ---Charlotte Bronte

*For more on how to force branches indoors for early spring blossoms, see this post.

Many thanks to Judi Gerber for bringing this lovely quote to my attention.

Daffodil Days with the American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society's Daffodil Days program is now underway, through early this month (March - exact dates vary by location). The ACS has been holding this particular fundraising campaign for over 35 years. Over the last 15 years, Daffodil Days has raised more than $240 million in gross revenue to support the ACS.

Why daffodils?

"As the first flower of spring, the daffodil represents hope and renewal. To the American Cancer Society, the daffodil symbolizes the hope we all share for a future where cancer no longer threatens those we love."

How it works: You order bunches of daffodils through the ACS now, and they are then delivered to friends, family members, and people touched by cancer in mid-March. And/or you can send a Gift of Hope, a bouquet of ten daffodil stems, in a vase, that gets delivered as an anonymous gift from you to cancer patients in communities across the country. Daffodil Days options (dates, bouquets offered, etc.) vary by location, so click on the map for your specific community. You can also volunteer to help out with coordinating and delivering - see the website for that, too.

To learn more, get involved, or order up bunches of daffodils that will brighten someone's day and help fight cancer, visit the Daffodils Days website, especially the FAQ's page, or call the ACS directly: 1.800.ACS.2345.

Like What We're Doing? Show Us Some Love!

A bouquet of tulips for all of our supporters. Photo by Henry Domke

If you're reading this blog, then you're probably familiar with the Therapeutic Landscapes Network and our mission to "provide information, free of charge, about gardens and landscapes that promote health and well-being."

As the TLN's founder, director, and author of this blog, I have to say, I love my job. It's incredibly rewarding to connect with people who care deeply about the restorative benefits of nature. And there are so many of us, from individuals to design firms to hospital doctors, nurses, and administrators. It's exciting to be a part of something I care about so deeply.

If you like what we do, here are some ways you can show it:

Donate! - Your donations really, really help. We're deeply committed to keeping access to the information we provide free and available to everyone. That doesn't just happen on its own. Just like with public radio, if you benefit from what we provide, please make a donation so that we can continue to provide it. No donation is too small; they are not (yet!) tax-deductible, but you will receive many cosmic goodie points, along with the warm glow of knowing that you're supporting an organization that's making a difference.

Join the TLN - Become part of a growing group of like-minded people (505 and growing every day). It's free, and only our members receive our monthly newsletter. Members also get discounts on things like the Access to Nature for Older Adults DVD seriess

Become a "fan" on Facebook - We now have over 700 members! This is a great way to connect with others and to get quick updates on news, links, and upcoming events. We also have over 2,500 followers on twitter, and you can join us there, too.

Buy stuff - We have a nifty store on the TLN site with things like mugs, mousepads, water bottles, t-shirts, caps, and other wearable goodies, all with our beautiful Echinacea mascot (thanks, Henry Domke, for the image).

Order Amazon books and other merchandise through our site - As an Amazon Affiliate, we receive a percentage of every sale that happens through our website. Not just books, but anything you buy from Amazon. So bookmark our site and click on the Amazon logo before you start shopping.

Spread the word! Forward our blog and newsletter, write about us on your own blog or interview us for a news story, invite us to speak at an event, suggest to friends on Facebook.

Whether you do one or all of these things, your support makes a big difference - many thanks!

When Nature Isn't "Nice"

Beacon, NY (yes, that's a car under that tree limb and snow)

I spend most of my time lauding the benefits of nature because I believe strongly that they are many, and that on the whole, connecting with nature benefits us as individuals and as a species.

I do, however, want to acknowledge the recent major natural disasters in Haiti and Chile, as well as a disaster on a MUCH smaller scale in my town of Beacon, NY and the surrounding area*. Some people may be offended that I even mention our recent snowstorm in the same breath, but what can I say? We tend to be more affected by what's close to home, and sometimes that makes us more empathetic with people who are going through much much much worse.

Ever since the earthquake struck Haiti, I've been trying to decide whether to do a blog post about it, and if so, what to say. I don't want to be in complete denial about the destructive side of nature. When all of this horrible stuff is going down, it feels a bit surreal to be offering suggestions about "how to survive the winter" by forcing branches to bloom early (don't even have to cut them now, just wander around town picking up debris!). And yet at the same time, my job is not to tell you when the sky is falling. Plenty of people already do that. My job is to focus on the positive and on the healing.

I will say is that as "cruel" as nature seems to be sometimes, part of what comforts me is knowing that there is no bad intention behind it. Nature is just nature. Most of the time, it provides oxygen and water and things to eat, as well as beauty and solace and all of those less immediate, tangible things that create a good quality of life for us. And then sometimes - WHAM. Throughout history, nature has been alternately and somewhat cyclically glorified and vilified. But I feel pretty strongly that there's no malevolence behind the destruction, no evil intent. It is what it is and it ain't nothin' else.

In addition to donating money toward relief efforts, we can also use whatever skills we have to pitch in. For example, as designers and gardeners, we can work on pro bono/volunteer projects in our communities at any time. There is always a need, and people will always be happy to benefit from our knowledge, skills, and sweat equity. And even in disaster situations, there is much we can do. Architecture for Humanity has been providing design and construction services for over ten years now, including reconstruction in Haiti. I'm sure they'll be in Chile in no time, too. Some other good examples are Designers Without Borders, the Design Altruism Project, and of course Habitat for Humanity. And for you altruistic designers out there, here's a good book to start with: Do Good Design: How Designers Can Change the World, by David E. Berman.

As always, I welcome your comments.

*Two consecutive snowstorms, both with very wet, heavy snow, caused major damage to trees and power lines, leaving over 150,000 people without power for several days. A man was killed by a falling tree limb in Central Park, one of several storm-related fatalities in the region.

Project Bud Burst - Be a Citizen Scientist!

Photo of flowering dogwood by Henry Domke

At this time of year, one sure-fire way to get yourself (and others) outside is to look for signs of spring. And like the Great Backyard Bird Count, Project BudBurst empowers us to become "citizen scientists," observing the phenology, or recurring first phases, of plants.

For a good explanation of phenology, see Shawn Moriarty's blog post, "How do you know it is spring?" A phenophase is the first phase of a plant's cycle (first leaf, leaves unfolding, first flower, etc.).

By reporting when we see what, we contribute valuable environmental and climate change information. So go ahead, get out there, and get your kids and students and parents out there, too! It's a great way to learn about the environment, connect to nature, and contribute to science, all at the same time.

Thanks to the Grass Stain Guru for her post about Project BudBurst; that's how I found out about it, so thanks, Bethe!

Healthcare and Therapeutic Design Newsletter, chock-full of good stuff

Photo of oak leaves in spring by Henry Domke

The most recent ASLA Healthcare and Therapeutic Design* newsletter has just been published, and as usual, it's full of all sorts of good information.

The newsletter gets a mention in this week's LANDOnline, especially Nancy Gerlach-Spriggs and Vince Healy's piece, "The Therapeutic Garden: A Definition." It's a good article, and brings up a lot of the issues that we often discuss here at the Therapeutic Landscapes Network. Defining terms like Therapeutic Gardens and Landscapes, Restorative Landscapes, Healing Gardens and so on is a challenge, and Nancy and Vince do a thoughtful investigation.**

Other articles in the newsletter include:

• Letter from the Chair, Susan Erickson
• Persistence of Memory: Scent Gardens for Therapeutic Life Review in Communities for the Elderly, by Wendy Meyer (a pdf of Meyer's thesis on this subject can be found at the end of the article, as well as on the TLN References page, under Meyer, Wendy).
• Bloedel Reserve [as a restorative landscape], by Sally Schaumann
• Returning Home: The Veterans Garden Project, by Steve Mitrione
• Book Review of Recreating Neighborhoods for Successful Aging, by Sally Shute
• And a call for papers from Elizabeth Messer-Diehl, Editor-in-Chief of AHTA's Journal of Therapeutic Horticulture.

Whether you read the full newsletter or just the articles that speak to you, it's an excellent contribution to this field. Many thanks and congratulations to all who made it happen!

* The American Society of Landscape Architects has several Professional Practice Networks, one of which is Healthcare and Therapeutic Design.

**I take slight issue with the assertion that only landscape architects are able design Therapeutic Gardens. I believe that landscape designers, with the proper training, are just as capable. I'd much rather have a well-trained, committed LD be on the team of designing a healthcare facility's outdoor environment than an LA who has no expertise in this particular area. In the interest of full disclosure, I should add that though I have an MLA (Master of Landscape Architecture), I have not yet attained certification as a landscape architect, so for now I practice as a landscape designer.

Surviving the Winter by Connecting with Nature...from Indoors (Part V)

Sometimes it's best to stay indoors...

I've managed to string this series of posts out long enough that it feels like spring is just around the corner...and perhaps for some of you in milder areas, it is. Here in Zone 5 New York, we still have a good few inches of snow on the ground, and the wind is making what is technically an above-freezing day feel like it's well below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. So, I'm enjoying writing this post from the comfort of my office, which overlooks part of the garden, including a witch hazel in full bloom. Seeing this harbinger of spring, with her strange beautiful blossoms, always lifts my spirits and gives me hope. For more on other early spring bloomers, take a look at this post.

witch hazel, Hamamelis x intermedia 'Jelena'

During this series on "surviving the winter by staying connected to nature," I've mentioned those times when we just can't get outside. Maybe the weather or the walking conditions are just too harsh or dangerous. Maybe our physical condition limits how much we can get out. Fortunately, there are still things that we can do, from the comfort of our homes, to keep us connected to nature until spring. That's what this post is about: Connecting with nature, from indoors.

Watch the birds, and other wildlife, through your window

We covered birdwatching in a recent post (as well as other wildlife, if you're lucky enough to live somewhere where you can see it), and I hope that some of you were able to participate in this year's Great Backyard Bird Count. You can participate all year long with Project Feeder Watch - click on the link to learn more.

Enjoy your indoor plants

Did you know that people who work in places with live indoor plants have significantly higher levels of job satisfaction than those with no plants? It's true! See this blog post for more on that. Another recent study found that postoperative patients with flowering and foliage plants in their rooms fared better than those with no plants, including needing less pain medication and recovering faster. So there's a real scientific reason for taking flowers to people in the hospital. This TLN Blog post lists that and several other similar research studies. If indoor plants are good in the workplace and at the hospital, you can bet that they're good for us at home, too. Indoor plants are also excellent air purifiers. Here are some more resources:

1. Plants That Heal: Indoor Therapeutic Gardens - An article by Planterra about one of their indoor hospital gardens, with great information about how plants purify the air.

2. Treehugger.com's list of the Top 5 Plants for Improving Indoor Air Quality.

3. Living on Earth's list of "Ten Eco-Friendly House Plants."

Photo courtesy of Living on Earth and Plants at Work

4. A really heartwarming story (also from Living on Earth) about students at Stuyvesant High School (above), which is just blocks away from Ground Zero, who received indoor plants from nurseries after the attacks on September 11, 2001, as a way to purify the air.

Image from bhg.com

Force bulbs and branches

When spring just won't hurry up and get here fast enough, we can do something to hurry it along called "forcing," with bulbs and flowering branches of shrubs and trees. Putting these plants in water in the warmth of our homes fools them into thinking that spring has arrived, and they go about sending up shoots and flowers. I do this every year with forsythia, and this year I think I'll try it with serviceberry as well. Here's a good article on forcing bulbs, and here's a nice article from Fine Gardening about forcing branches, including a list of some good trees and shrubs to use. The blog Heirloom Gardener has some really beautiful images of forced branches, along with a good forcing calendar.

Plan for next year's winter garden

Now is a great time of year to look out onto your (or your clients') garden and see what's missing in the winter-time. Are you hungry for more color? Perhaps you should plan for some more evergreens, or shrubs with brightly-colored branches (such as red-twig dogwood, coral maple, and several willow species) or berries for next year. Or perhaps your garden needs more structure - what we designers call "the bones" of the garden. Maybe an unexpected tree or shrub form would help to add interest and even levity to the garden: For example, the Dr. Suess-like branches of Henry Lauder's walking stick or corkscrew willow.

Image from One Green Generation

Start seeds

There's something so promising about seeing little seedlings of herbs and vegetables nosing their way through the soil and emerging into the light and warmth of our homes. Lots of good information on the web, but two of my favorite sources are One Green Generation and Fine Gardening' 10 Seed-Starting Tips. You'll find some informative videos on that page as well.

Look at garden books and catalogs

Here's one comment that I received from an earlier post in this series:

When I lived in Michigan, I took up cross country skiing to make winter bearable. Still found the long winters with flat gray sky day after day tough - I always felt starved for color. Looking at art books and garden books helped.

Curling up with a good, juicy garden book, or a plant or seed catalog, can be just what the Winter Doldrums Doctor ordered. And now is the time to do it, which leads me to my last suggestion:

Enjoy the down time

In some ways, winter forces us to slow down and turn inward. This can actually be a good thing, allowing us to rest, recharge our batteries, and emerge in the spring like new buds from recently dormant branches , rejuvenated and ready for a productive and fruitful growing season. So go ahead, for the remainder of the winter, allow yourself to revel in its quiet coziness: Curl up by the fire with a cup of hot something and a good garden book and allow yourself to dream...spring will be here before you know it.

Get Out There! Surviving the Winter by Connecting with Nature, Part IV

Boo knows the benefits of a sunny romp in the snow

In my first post for this series on "surviving the winter by staying connected to nature," I alluded to the health benefits of getting your butt off the sofa (or office chair) and into the great outdoors. Several people left comments on this blog, as well as on Facebook and twitter, that what keeps them sane and healthy in the winter is getting outside. So let's talk about that. Why is getting outdoors so important?

Reason #1: Sunlight (or "take you vitamins!")

Sunlight provides several essential ingredients for good health:

a. The first is Vitamin D. The sun contributes significantly to its production in our bodies, which aids in the absorption of calcium, which helps maintain strong bones. Vitamin D helps to prevent osteoporosis, as well as hypertension (high blood pressure), cancer, and several autoimmune diseases. Rickets (remember rickets? Kids are getting rickets again! Gee, I wonder why...) and osteomalacia are common D deficiency diseases. Yuck. So get outside for some sunlight.

As little as 10 minutes of exposure a day is thought to be enough to prevent Vitamin D deficiencies.* In the winter, when the sun is low and most of our bodies are bundled up, we may need a little longer than 10 minutes. I try to get out at mid-day when the sun is highest. This works out well for lunch hour; rather than scarfing down that sandwich in front of your computer, throw on your coat (and gloves, and scarf, and hat...) and take a walk. Ten bucks says you'll feel more energetic and better able to focus for the rest of the day (there's research to back this up, too, but I'll cover that another time).

b. Normal circadian rhythms - Exposure to sunlight helps us to maintain our internal biological clocks, which in turn helps us sleep. When bright light enters our eyes, it stimulates our "circadian pacemaker" (I kid you not). This little pacemaker signals the brain to stop making melatonin, the hormone that makes us sleepy. There's a good amount of research now that maintaining normal circadian rhythms in people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia can improve sleep and decrease restlessness, agitation, and even aggression. Lack of sunlight also causes the "winter blues," otherwise known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). This depression is recognized by the medical community. But instead of upping your dose of anti-depressants or buying one of those light therapy lamps, try getting some natural sunlight first (disclaimer here about my not being a doctor and that if you need more than the sunlight cure, you should seek medical advice).

c. Spending time outdoors early in life may even help to prevent myopia (nearsightedness). Click HERE to read or listen to the story by Joseph Shapiro on NPR, and click HERE to read the article "What's Hot in Myopia Research" by presented Neville A. McBrien, Ian G. Morgan, and Donald O. Mutti at the 12th International Myopia Conference in Australia, July 2008. I just love that title, "What's Hot in Myopia Research."

Reason #2: Exercise

We all know by now that exercise is good for our physical and mental/emotional health, right? So if you can do it outside while getting your daily Vitamin D intake and your circadian rhythms adjusted all at the same time, you're golden. Even mild exercise, like walking, is beneficial. And then of course there's skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, snowshoeing, curling... perhaps watching the winter olympics will inspire.

Reason #3: Emotional well-being

When we experience positive stimuli, endorphins (chemicals that make us feel good) are released. Our outdoor experience is usually positive on a multi-sensory level, which means that more than one sense is being stimulated, in a good way, at the same time. We feel the sun's warmth on our face as we listen to birds chirping (yes, even in winter) and see snowflakes falling, or our dogs romping, or our children making snow angels. For more on this, read my interview with Esther Sternberg, author of Healing Spaces: The Science and Place of Well-Being.

Researchers Stephen and Rachel Kaplan figured this out long before neurologists had the brain imaging technology to prove it. They believe that nature holds our attention through "soft fascination" rather than the kind of concentration and fight-or-flight attention needed when we're working or walking along a busy city street (for more, see this blog post). Studies by Roger Ulrich and others have found that interacting with and even just viewing nature can help people recover from stressful events. And really, who isn't under some degree of stress these days? So go outside. Your body will thank you.

And if you need any further convincing, read this article, "Science Suggests Access to Nature is Essential for Human Health."

There is a caveat to all of this: Be safe!

Here are some tips to staying warm and safe from the National Wildlife Federation and Outdoor Afro (Part I and II). Sometimes, due to the weather or one's physical condition, getting outside isn't an option. I received this comment from a reader, and she definitely has a point:

Getting outdoors every day helps pass the winter. The only problem we encounter here is that the temperatures can drop to the point where being outdoors for more than a few minutes is not a good idea. What many people here do is go to the city gym and track. It's a great meeting place and a way for us to avoid falling on ice and climbing big snowbanks. It's better than being housebound for many elderly and disabled persons, including me.

In the next post, I'll talk about more that we can do indoors on those days when venturing out isn't possible. And then, before you know it, it'll be spring!

And speaking of which, here's another comment I got about fighting the winter doldrums:

"I go outside...and look for signs of spring." And here's a picture from one of our members, who did just that and found the first yellow crocus of spring.

"First Yellow Crocus" courtesy of Stevie at Garden Therapy

*My source for the Vitamin D information was an article on MayoClinic.com.