Birds on the Brain

Photo 13 Aug 18 notes

isopod:

usfwspacific:

We all know that we need our fruits and veggies everyday for optimal health but have you met your daily minimum nature requirement? Check out the latest installment on The Nature of Cities blog to read more about the Nature Pyramid concept.…
In his blog, Exploring the Nature Pyramid, Tim Beatley, who says he’s long been a believer in E.O. Wilson’s idea of biophilia——-the idea that humans are “hard-wired” to want, and need, contact with nature. Beatley argues that contact with nature is essential to a healthy life, both emotional and physical. He points out there is scientific evidence that contact with nature lowers our blood pressure, lowers stress and alters mood in positive ways,and enhances cognitive functioning. bit.ly/OL73bh

From the article:

There are many unknowns in this conceptual framework, of course, and many open questions. But the Nature Pyramid is valuable in identifying and framing these important questions. One interesting question is how we measure the “servings,” if you will, of nature exposure in this nature diet. What is the unit of measurement that we ought to speak of in terms of a nature experience; say a walk or other time outside that takes twenty minutes or a half an hour, or something qualitatively different, say a momentary sighting of a bird, or tree, or distinctive mushroom. Is a ten-second glance out the window at work onto a verdant courtyard adequate to compose a “serving”? Is the momentary wonder at the interaction of two birds, at the joyous sight of a circling hawk, the scolding chatter of a squirrel as you pass by that corner lot with the large trees a useful serving? And how, over the course of an hour, an afternoon, a day, do these servings add-up to or accumulate to form the nature nutrition we need?

I like the idea of taking the time to recognize one’s nature “diet.” I’m often not aware enough of the things I’m experiencing.

It’s worth reading the whole article.

usfwspacific:

We all know that we need our fruits and veggies everyday for optimal health but have you met your daily minimum nature requirement? Check out the latest installment on The Nature of Cities blog to read more about the Nature Pyramid concept.…
In his blog, Exploring the Nature Pyramid, Tim Beatley, who says he’s long been a believer in E.O. Wilson’s idea of biophilia——-the idea that humans are “hard-wired” to want, and need, contact with nature. Beatley argues that contact with nature is essential to a healthy life, both emotional and physical. He points out there is scientific evidence that contact with nature lowers our blood pressure, lowers stress and alters mood in positive ways,and enhances cognitive functioning. bit.ly/OL73bh

From the article:

There are many unknowns in this conceptual framework, of course, and many open questions. But the Nature Pyramid is valuable in identifying and framing these important questions. One interesting question is how we measure the “servings,” if you will, of nature exposure in this nature diet. What is the unit of measurement that we ought to speak of in terms of a nature experience; say a walk or other time outside that takes twenty minutes or a half an hour, or something qualitatively different, say a momentary sighting of a bird, or tree, or distinctive mushroom. Is a ten-second glance out the window at work onto a verdant courtyard adequate to compose a “serving”? Is the momentary wonder at the interaction of two birds, at the joyous sight of a circling hawk, the scolding chatter of a squirrel as you pass by that corner lot with the large trees a useful serving? And how, over the course of an hour, an afternoon, a day, do these servings add-up to or accumulate to form the nature nutrition we need?

I like the idea of taking the time to recognize one’s nature “diet.” I’m often not aware enough of the things I’m experiencing.

It’s worth reading the whole article.