Sitting down to write this installment of Nearby Nature Project made me to realize I haven’t been spending much time maintaining my Nearby Nature connection. The three main reasons? 1) I want to finish blogging about our 2024 vacations to Scotland and Greenland, so I’ve been allocating a lot of time to writing; 2) two sets of aging parents require more intensive support; and 3) since tweaking my knee in October, I’ve been investing about 45 minutes/day in physio exercises. Taken together, it’s clear I’ve placed a higher priority on other things for the past couple of months. I’d need to figure out how to rebalance things as head into 2025.
News Feed
How nature can provide a tonic for loneliness
Here’s another news article on how humans benefit from spending time in Nature, particularly when it’s time spent with a group of humans. According to early findings from an ongoing five-year, six country study, spending time in nature as part of a group helps ease loneliness.
I read about the study in this recent BBC news story. And I learned a lot more about the study here, including how it’s set up, which countries are participating, the researchers, and that fact that it’s particularly geared towards marginalized groups including recent immigrants and LGBTQ+. The study website is in French, but Google translate does a great job. I think it’s kind of interesting that the study is headquartered in France, one of an increasing number of countries with a Minister of Loneliness or something similar.
I wonder about one aspect of this study: is it yet another example of proving that humans get something from Nature? Or will it ultimately dig deeper into the reciprocity between humans and the rest of Nature that comes with a feeling of connectedness to Nature?
Nature connectedness prompts more mindful consumption
Speaking of Nature connectedness, a recent study in Current Psychology studied whether nature connectedness or human connectedness prompts the most mindful eco- and socio-responsible consumption. The answer? It’s Nature Connectedness. For more details on the study without opening your digital wallet to get past the paywall on the Current Pyschology website, read this post on Finding Nature.
To foster Nature connectedness, policy needs to move beyond access to Nature
Yet another study demonstrates that Nature experiences triggering awe, love and inspiration foster a deep sense of Nature connectedness. And that meaningful and active engagement in and with Nature sets the stage for those emotions. All of which means that Nature-related policies need to go beyond merely providing access to Nature (i.e. time with Nature) to encouraging engagement with Nature (i.e. time in Nature). The full study can be read in the February 2025 issue of the Journal of Environmental Pyschology. A summary of the study is available here, on the Finding Nature website.
Miyawaki Forests
I purchase my wildflower seeds from Northern Wildflowers, and they have a really good newsletter. One recent article addressed Miyawaki Forests – a rapid reforestation method that plants dense clusters of native trees and understory plants. Like the concept of shinrin yoku (forest bathing), the concept comes from Japan. Communities in Ontario and Quebec have translated the idea to use Canadian native plants, with several community forests already planted.
If you belong to a community group that has influence over a local park or have a yard you’re looking to landscape or re-landscape, the idea of a mini-forest is one to consider.
Cultivating My Nearby Nature Connection
In the last issue of Nearby Nature Project, I promised to curate a list of recent Nature-related webinars for your viewing enjoyment and learning. Here you go:
First up, Sara Wittenberg, Pollinator Partnership’s Bee Friendly Gardening (BFG) Coordinator, explains how to create habitat for pollinators, introduces BFG and the benefits of participating in the program, and discusses ways in which municipalities can engage with the program to provide opportunities for residents interested in supporting pollinators.
Next, here’s a recording of a Zoom webinar offered by Yellowstone to Yukon. It provides an overview of the lessons learned from the first systemic Canadian Mountain Assessment – what we know, do not know, and need to know about Canadian Mountains. If you prefer to read the resulting book, it’s available here, as an open access publication. You can read it online or download a copy in epub format.
Finally, Living Lakes Canada runs an informative webinar series throughout the summer. Look for the 2024 webinar series on their playlist page on YouTube.
2024 iNaturalist Report
Not quite a year ago, I set a goal of making about 800 observations, covering 300 species, for iNaturalist. As you can see from the following report generated by iNaturalist, I fell WAY short of those goals. It’s not because I failed to observe and photograph Nature! It’s because I didn’t carve out time to upload my images to iNaturalist. Plus you have to provide location information and do your best – with the assistance of the iNaturalist suggestion engine – to ID the plant or animal.
I think I got bogged down after our 3+ weeks in the UK. We had a huge backlog of images to process and barely got through them before we were off to Greenland and more photographic backlog!
I take some solace from the fact that when I look at the overall iNaturalist statistics for 2024, I uploaded more than 2x the average number of observations/person. If you’re an active iNaturalist participant, please share your top tips for staying current with uploading your observations! I’d really like to contribute more in 2025.
My Nearby Nature Projects
Birding
We talked about birding earlier today. And we concluded we’ve subconsciously put it on pause while we try to finish up making videos / blogging about our 2024 vacations. That being said, we’ve had a couple of bald eagle sightings driving into Calgary and back to Canmore. My parents reported some hawk activity in their side yard. And we saw a small hawk take down a pigeon in a parking lot the other day. Best of all, we’ve been hearing chickadees while walking in Canmore over Christmas week.
Other Wildlife
We continue to see elk and coyotes on a regular basis while walking in Canmore. We’ve had numerous coyote sightings while standing at the kitchen sink and looking out to the multi-use pathway behind our house. I’m talking WAY more sightings than usual. We suspect the pair of coyotes we keep spotting has been displaced from their usual terrain by new development activities underway on the unfinished Three Sisters golf course.
As a result, even though bylaws permit bird feeders in Canmore starting December 1st each year, I’ve held off. I thought about this some more today and decided I’ll go ahead an put out the suet block feeder, but hold off on the sunflower seeds because they always ended up scattered on the ground – an easy food source for deer and coyotes and not good for long-term human-wildlife coexistence in the Bow Valley.
Seasons
We had a second dose of fall when we visited Seattle late October/early November.
As for the Bow Valley, we’ve had two pretty good rounds of snowfall, but over the past 10 days its melted off quite a bit. And there’s basically no ice on the Bow River through Canmore. I read today that the ice castle at Lake Louise partially collapsed through the ice earlier this week. It’s been an extended run of warmer than usual temperatures. Fortunately, the weather forecast is calling for more seasonal temperatures to start 2025.
Nature-Friendly Gardening
Mid-winter there’s not much going on in terms of gardening. I’ve successful started clippings from my 30+ year old ivy plant. I also went through another round of restarting my African violet of the same vintage. Finally, I restarted our 9 pod AeroGarden just a few days before Christmas: basil, cilantro, thyme and sage. One week on and everything’s already sprouted but for the sage (which usually takes a little longer).
Call to Action / Upcoming
If you live in the Bow Valley, including the City of Calgary, the Calgary Horticultural Society has a full day of online speakers for their annual Think Spring! event coming up on February 8th. This year’s theme is Growing Biodiversity. Read more / get your tickets here.
I’ve just borrowed Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures by Katherine Rundell from the local library. Watch for my review in an upcoming edition of Nearby Nature Project.
Meanwhile, I wish you quality time with Nature.