Giving back to nature

How can we return the favor?

One of the foundation stones of nature therapy is that ideally, it’s a reciprocal undertaking. In other words, a two-way street between us and the ecosystem we’re interacting with. We don’t want to just wade out in the woods and take from Mother Nature, in terms of stress relief, physical exercise, and whatever else we’re gaining from our experiences outdoors. 

We also want to give back to the planet that sustains us – and there are so many ways to do that, right? It starts at home, with mindful habits we can incorporate into our lifestyle. Composting household food waste. Recycling whatever can be recycled. Being thrifty about energy and water use inside and outside the house. Reducing our overall waste stream by honestly examining our consumption patterns and not buying non-sustainable goods. My friend Janisse Ray (who, by the way, writes a terrific newsletter, Trackless Wild) is on a mission to eliminate all the plastic in her house; how inspiring is that?!

If you’re a reader of this newsletter, I’m sure you know the drill and I bet you already practice many ways of being conscientious about your personal imprint on this Earth. I’d love to hear your ideas; let me know in the comments below.

Community-based action is also important, and so do-able. Recently I took part in two initiatives that were incredibly fun and fell squarely in the category of giving back. At one of those events I joined a group of about 15 folks, including some wonderful young people from Palmetto Conservation Corps (part of AmeriCorps). For most of a Saturday morning we “rescued” -- i.e. dug up -- endangered native plants from a wooded area that was soon to be flooded by the removal of a dam. The plants were relocated to a nature preserve.

That’s my trusty 23-year-old blue truck on the left. She carried our tools. (Photo courtesy of S.C. Native Plant Society/Facebook)

At the other event, a bunch of us botanical nerds installed a new native plant garden outside the information center in a state park near my home. Some of us were on our knees putting plants into the ground, others were shoveling mulch and watering. What was expected to last all morning took only an hour or so, because so many people showed up to help.

My personal way to care for Mother Gaia, in my own neighborhood, is picking up trash along the road that winds through our valley. It’s a two-lane country blacktop with very little traffic, but it leads to a popular fishing bridge over the Eastatoee River and also to a lovely waterfall that sees lots of visitors, especially in the summer. Motorcyclists love to ride the curvy mountain roads in this area.

All of that means roadside litter, of course. So once or twice a week, my husband Jim and I grab big black trash bags and head out.

We forgot to take our large trash bags on this particular trip. Won’t make that mistake again! And yes, that’s a piece of broken drywall. It was on the shoulder of the road.

I must dutifully report that the people who litter the most seem to be smokers and drinkers. Our average trash haul includes more beer cans, mini liquor bottles and cigarette butts than everything else put together.

I try not to entertain un-nice thoughts about the folks who feel it’s okay to throw garbage out the window of their vehicle. Instead, we focus on feeling the sun on our backs, the breeze in our faces, and the simple pleasure of walking a sweet country road.

In other words: nature therapy!

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Coming soon

On March 1, I’ll be adding a new feature to Rx Nature that will be available exclusively to paid subscribers. Each time I post (generally, every 8-10 days), there will be an extra feature called “DIY Nature Therapy” — a 5-minute do-it-yourself nature therapy exercise that is yours to take outside and have fun with. If you upgrade your subscription to paid, you’ll automatically see the DIY Nature Therapy tip at the end of my post, each time.