Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 2: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 2: tip is to enjoy some nearby nature. You don't have
Speaker 2: to go to Acadia or Yosemite or the Great Barrier
Speaker 2: Reef to take in the natural world. You can experience
Speaker 2: wonder and beauty in your own backyard, and committing to
Speaker 2: do so in practical ways over the next year can
Speaker 2: make the next year far more enjoyable. So we often
Speaker 2: hear about the great outdoors, but the term nearby nature
Speaker 2: was a new one to me. I heard this phrase recently,
Speaker 2: and I quite like it. Nearby nature refers to the
Speaker 2: natural landscape that is easily accessible to a person. It
Speaker 2: could be your backyard, or a neighborhood park, or the
Speaker 2: grounds of a local school, church, or civic building. Some
Speaker 2: lucky folks might have a nearby nature preserve, but it
Speaker 2: could even be a window box or display of potted
Speaker 2: plants on your apartment balcony. We might travel every few
Speaker 2: months to somewhere particularly beautiful, but nearby nature can and
Speaker 2: should be experienced every day. If you are looking to
Speaker 2: connect more with nature in the new year, Connecting with
Speaker 2: nearby nature is quite obviously going to be the easiest
Speaker 2: way to do that, and there are a few practical
Speaker 2: steps you can take. First, you might map out what
Speaker 2: nature is near your home or office, walk around and
Speaker 2: really look. Maybe the atrium of the office building next
Speaker 2: to yours has a display of tropical plants. Maybe there
Speaker 2: is a small thicket of interesting trees on an empty
Speaker 2: lot the next block over. Maybe there is a meadow
Speaker 2: of native plants growing near the grocery store parking lot.
Speaker 2: Explore with an eye toward discovery, and you will probably
Speaker 2: find spots you didn't know about. Choose a few of
Speaker 2: these spots and commit to going there regularly. I aim
Speaker 2: to walk through the woods by my house more days
Speaker 2: than not. If there is a pond by your office park,
Speaker 2: you might walk around it as a mid afternoon break.
Speaker 2: As you do, make observations.
Speaker 1: What sort of wildlife do you see? Yes, the squirrels
Speaker 1: in geese count What shapes are the leaves? How does
Speaker 1: this nearby nature change with the seasons and the hours
Speaker 1: of the day. If you have some control over your
Speaker 1: nearby nature, it's in your own yard. You can figure
Speaker 1: out little ways to make this nearby nature more interesting.
Speaker 1: To observe. You could put a bird feeder on your
Speaker 1: porch or plant pansies outside the kitchen window. When conditions
Speaker 1: are right, you could plant some columbines or day lilies
Speaker 1: or other flowers that hummingbirds might enjoy. Most likely, no
Speaker 1: one will object if you pick up trash in a
Speaker 1: neighborhood park to make it more attractive. Or maybe you
Speaker 1: have a connection to whoever runs the nearby nature. You
Speaker 1: can talk with the grounds committee at your church or
Speaker 1: at the neighborhood school about how they manage the place
Speaker 1: and how you can volunteer to help. As you commit
Speaker 1: to visiting this nearby nature, you might also decide to
Speaker 1: become more knowledgeable about it. Those trees outside your office
Speaker 1: window have a name?
Speaker 2: What is it?
Speaker 1: Find out what those wild flowers are that loom every
Speaker 1: fall in the parking lot next to your post office.
Speaker 1: The Eye Naturalist or Seek apps can help with identifying species.
Speaker 1: You might also try to figure out what birds are
Speaker 1: calling from the trees in your backyard. You can download
Speaker 1: the merlin id app, which is like Shazam for bird songs,
Speaker 1: and learn the names of these species. Knowing something's name
Speaker 1: helps it become a friend regardless The key is to
Speaker 1: just keep going. There is plenty of evidence that time
Speaker 1: in nature is associated with better moods and more energy,
Speaker 1: but there is no rule that nature has to mean
Speaker 1: somewhere exotic. Taking a moment to appreciate that beautiful oak
Speaker 1: tree on the edge of the office parking lot can
Speaker 1: be meaningful too. Nearby nature offers opportunities for every day all.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for
Speaker 1: listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,
Speaker 1: you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
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