NCC Magazine: Fall 2019

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Fall at NCC’s Alfred-Kelly Nature Reserve, a Nature Destination in Quebec BY Zack Metcalfe, author and freelance writer Prescribing For the sake of a healthy and sustainable future, time in nature is essential. Doctors now have the research to prove it. TKTKTKTKTKTKT 8 FALL 2019 natureconservancy.ca
GUILLAUME SIMONEAU It was too cold even for insects. The glassy surface of Lake Superior faithfully reflected a ruby sky as the sun rose over Ontario’s Pancake Bay Provincial Park, crisp beams of light cutting through the branches of oldgrowth maple, birch, oak, spruce and pine. The mist burned away, and birdsong swelled to fill the open chambers of this lakeside wood. I was alone. A week on the road, living out of my car and hastily erected tents, had me wound pretty tight, but here I felt calm for the first time in days, even exultant. While I wasn’t aware of it in the moment, the natural cathedral in which I stood was orchestrating profound changes in me, lowering my blood pressure and heart rate, and stemming the flow of the stress hormone cortisol. My anxieties, tribulations and ruminations were dissipating while feelings of happiness, curiosity, vitality and awe were welling up. The health benefits of time in nature, once the stuff of folk wisdom, are now the subject of medical interest. Among children, regular doses of nature have the long-term benefits of improved self-esteem, vision, body weight, attention and overall academic performance. In surgical recovery rooms, patients with windows overlooking greenery are less dependent on painkillers. Having 10 more trees on your city block improves selfperceived health, equivalent to being seven years younger, or $10,000 a year richer. These findings and others are no longer theoretical, speaking to a phenomenon as powerful as it is mysterious. Continued, next page >> nature TKTKTKTKTKTKT natureconservancy.ca FALL 2019 9
Page 1 and 2: FALL 2019 The best medicine Spendin
Page 3 and 4: FALL 2019 CONTENTS Nature Conservan
Page 5 and 6: Here are six species at risk that N
Page 7: Ferruginous hawk BACKPACK ESSENTIAL
Page 11 and 12: TAYLOR ROADES. Centre, near Wasaga
Page 13 and 14: APPEARANCE The greater sage-grouse
Page 15 and 16: 2 Making Darkwoods whole BRITISH CO
Page 17 and 18: Open grassland spans the 80 hectare
Page 19 and 20: What Will We Leave For Them? Invest

NCC Magazine: Fall 2019

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?