Regional director reflection: Emily Shosh points to nature as medicine in the new year

Riverkeeper's note: The following column was written by Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh. She can be contacted via email by clicking here.

As each year draws to a close, a common ritual commences. We reflect, give thanks, and conjure up hope for what’s to come next. We also may gripe over the year’s onslaught of burden, loss, and struggles.

Yet, what is there to do besides to keep on searching for fulfilment and peace? 

Rituals, whether sacred or secular, set the tone of our lives. For instance, many of us throughout the Middle Susquehanna likely planned a first day hike to ring in the New Year, or a midnight excursion by moonlight. Whatever the practice, we seek a moment to “reset” and become more grounded. The natural world perhaps serves as one of the most important tools in this quest, offering us moments of calm introspection and observation. ​

While it’s not a new concept, the last four post-COVID years have resulted in many newer studies concluding that “Nature is not only nice to have, but it’s a have-to-have for physical health and cognitive functioning,” journalist Richard Louv shared in a recent interview.

Louv is best known for his 2005 book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, in which he pleaded the importance of nature as medicine especially for children as they develop. In 2005, Louv had 60 credible studies to draw from. Today that number has surpassed 1,000, all of which can agree on the healing properties of nature. 

This growing body of research, in combination with the intuitive understanding that nature is vital to life and overall human wellbeing, has led to a tipping point where many health experts, policy makers, and researchers are honing in on ways to sustainably increase human interaction with nature as common practice in improving mental and physical health.

When it comes to the health of the mind and heart - contact with nature may not be enough. Contact is not the same as connection. In the early 2000s, connectedness to nature was studied in detail. This led to the development of tools such as The Five Pathways as guiding methods for improving connectedness to nature, and thus the wellbeing of people.

Speaking of the heart, nature is a proven healer of its greatest wound, grief. A 2023 UK poll found that 73% of respondents agreed, sharing that the continuum of life within nature reminds us of what is left even after we leave, and that we are all part of the continuum. Furthermore, nature is an uninterrupted space to address and process grief - away from technological distractions, work and life responsibilities.     

These respondents also shared that while in nature, we are reminded of the endless beauty surrounding us even while inner turmoil ensues. Despite the pain, the sun still rises, the Witch Hazel still blooms, the Chickadee still sings. Some of us see our loved ones in these symbols, or cling tightly to a memory of loved ones tied with these elements of nature.

Perhaps in some way, nature is a conduit for receiving messages from beyond, and making old memories eternal. Perhaps the outdoors gives us more than we can understand, and when we least expect it - when snowflakes dance across your face, reminding you of the whiskers of a precious pet that has passed on. When you are grieving a grandparent and a cardinal, their favorite bird, lands right next to you on a nearby branch seconds later. When you plead with the silent sky for an explanation for your sorrows, and are answered by the playful call of a raven hovering above you in curiosity - your tears slowly yielding to a grin.

Is it all just happen-stance, or sent from unseen forces? How can we ever accurately measure or describe the significance of those connections, emotions, experiences?

Are there ecological, scientific explanations for these events? Certainly, but perhaps these healing, unquantifiable connections with the natural world bear equal if not more importance to what we can quantify.

With that in mind, we should never waver in letting nature into our hearts, whether broken or whole. With an open heart, who knows what treasures you may find.
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Additional resources:

• Lars Gesing Fine Art Nature Images. (2023, March 9). What is the state of our nature deficit disorder? Richard Louv has hope: Biophilic Interior Design: Lars Gesing fine art.
• (2023, September 11). The healing benefits of nature for people experiencing grief. Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. 

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