Wendy's Wanderings
May 10, 2018
Turn to Nature for Restoraton
We have had a beautiful spring this year, the finest I can recall for some time. In Florida, we normally go from intermittent frosts and freezes to full-on summer, but this year we had a very mild, true spring season. Hopefully you have been able to get out in your garden and landscape and enjoy the beauties that go along with the season.
My recent wanderings around Florida did give me the opportunity to take a minute and stop to smell the roses, or in this case, the pitcher plants and wild orchids of the Apalachicola National Forest. And it got me to wondering… why are we so drawn to nature and the outdoors?
Biophilia is a word that defines this force. Biophilia refers to the instinctive drive that impels humans to favor aspects of the natural world. Noted entomologist E.O Wilson describes biophilia as “an innate tendency to focus on life and the lifelike processes” in his book of the same name from 1984. He and social ecologist Stephen Kellert furthered the concept, and research began on the genetic foundation for people’s inclination towards the natural world.
The work on that continues, but as gardeners we know the benefits of being out in the landscape and working with our plants. Studies have shown that people with access to their natural environment are better socially adjusted, recover faster from stress, can concentrate longer, heal faster, and become ill less often than their counterparts that lacked access to nature.
In the 1980s, the Kaplans developed the attention restoration theory (ART), which asserts that concentration is improved in people who spend more time in nature.
This was the case for me after my panhandle hiking—improved focus and restoration. Biophilia is beneficial and restorative for you so be sure to enjoy the gardening while the weather is still agreeable.
-- Wendy Wilber
