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The Need for Nature

 

 

THE NEED FOR NATURE
A walk with Candace Ng

Imagine one morning, you awake from your slumber to find yourself lying, not on your bed, but on a bed of sword fern leaves with your head nestled on a pillow of cattail seed fluff. You are no longer in your bedroom, but in the wild beauty of the West Coast forest with nothing but nature to meet your daily needs.

With no kitchen or grocery store in sight, you must forage for survival. Luckily, the bounties of summer provide you with berries galore … salmonberry, thimbleberry, red huckleberry and salal. Exposed in the openness of the berry patches the mid morning sun beats down mercilessly on you as you as you harvest your rations. Spotting a nearby hemlock tree you run your hand along its bark, collecting some of its sticky sap that you smear onto your skin to protect yourself from sunburn. Soon you realize you’re not the only creature in search for breakfast this morning as you are forced to wave your hands in the air like a crazed Flamenco dancer in a vain attempt to ward off mosquitoes. If only you could find leaves from an elderberry tree, for you know they would have repelled these hungry insects.

Your morning ritual is usually followed with brushing your teeth, so you seek a makeshift toothbrush, finding a young cattail seed head that suits the purpose. With a clean mouth and a full belly, the true itchiness of your mosquito encounter makes itself known. As you scan the forest growth for a source of relief, you come upon the orange-spotted flowers of a touch-me-not. Breaking the plant stem, you rub the juice onto your red bumps with almost instant itch relief.

You have managed to survive the first three hours of your displacement into the wilderness. Imagine living your whole life without the convenience of grocery stores or the availability of medical institutions.

Without having to gather our own water from a lake, forage for our everyday food needs, or brew a root tonic for our own ailments, humans sometimes forget that they are connected to the “natural world”. Though our material needs can be traced back to a natural origin, the value of nature is not defined by the use it provides to humans. Plants provide endless purposes in the environment they are found. A single tree can provide food and shelter for a plethora of animals and even other plants throughout its life cycle.

Not just our survival, but our health and happiness depend on the realization that we are a part of nature, just as it is a part of us. Anyone who has ever paddled the quiet waters of the ocean or walked on a path surrounded not by concrete and cars but by trees and birds can attest to the stress-relieving, calm-inducing affects of nature.

ACTIVITY: Sound Stop
The next time you are in a natural area, stop, close your eyes and listen. At first, you may hear nothing. With time and patience, you will begin hearing the sounds of nature, perhaps bird calls, frog choruses, the rustle of a squirrel or the wind blowing through the leaves. The longer you sit, the closer some of these sounds may be as the natural inhabitants become accustomed to your presence. A walk in the park holds more than sights … sounds, smells, and touches are all a part of exploration as well.

PROFILE
Candace Ng has been sharing her insatiable curiosity for and knowledge of the natural world for over seven years. Obtaining her Natural Resources Conservation degree in the Department of Forestry at UBC was just the beginning of her long-term passion for increasing awareness of human connection with nature through guided walks.

You may have encountered Candace in a Regional Park as she led a watery exploration via canoe or peeked under a rock in search of crabs and bristleworms at the beach; or maybe you have participated in a snowshoe tour in the wintery Mount Seymour forests with her as your guide. She has also been a guest speaker at Touchpoint Reflexology, offering a hands-on program on historical uses of plants.

Candace offers educational, hands-on programs for all ages. If you would like more information on nature programs offered by Candace, or wish to arrange for a private program, you can contact her at Candace@canoemail.com.

Candace is also the “Herb Walker” who takes the Touchpoint Diploma Class (and any
other adventurer) on a walk through the woods at different times during the year to
explore the uses and lore of the our abundant plant life. With fun-filled games she teaches
the class to see, hear and observe.