Expanding Nature in Your Community

If you're looking for an activity that people of all ages can enjoy, start a community garden.  Rallying support from your neighbors, friends or local organizations is a great way to start a garden in your back yard - so to speak.  From personal health to neighborhood development to environmental impact, the benefits of community gardening are increasingly good and overwhelmingly shared.  Community gardens have helped introduce healthier lifestyles into the homes of young and old for generations - and continue to grow today. 

Community Gardens

• Increase a sense of community ownership and stewardship

• Foster the development of a community identity and spirit

• Bring people together from a wide variety of backgrounds (age, race, culture, social class)

• Build community leaders

• Provide a focal point for community organizing, and can lead to community-based efforts to deal with other social concerns

Begin by bringing people and different organizations together to learn which issues are important to your community.  Discuss how a community garden – whether a communal space or individual plots – could serve the needs of the community.  Develop a plan of action.  Get people energized and organized.

Then, start gardening and implementing your community garden program. Once the project is up and running, let everyone know!  Gain greater community support by welcoming visitors and sharing updates on how the neighborhood is benefiting from the garden’s existence. Over time, revisit the plan and make any needed changes based on lessons learned or feedback from partners and neighbors.  Remember to plan ahead so that the garden will continue to grow for seasons, and generations, to come.

Follow these 10 steps to get yours started now.

Though it may be too soon to call it an urban wildlife movement, initiatives focused on urban greening and biodiversity seem to be catching on. The U.S. Forest Service, which once laughed off the idea that anything urban could be wild now supports a growing urban forest program.  Research has shown that oaks benefit everything from caterpillars to songbirds. Urban ecology and urban wildlife programs are also proliferating on university campuses. And in Baltimore County, officials now stipulate that canopy trees, rather than ornamental trees, must make up 80 percent of any planting on county land, and half of them need to be oaks. In an area where local nurseries hardly ever stocked oaks before, people sometimes balk, until the county’s natural resource manager, Don Outen, explains the logic of it: Research has shown that oaks benefit everything from caterpillars to songbirds. Even fish prosper, because the aquatic invertebrates they feed on favor oak leaves on stream bottoms. At that point, says Outen, the reaction tends to shift to, "Why haven’t we been doing this before?"  Accommodating wildlife in cities doesn’t necessarily require massive investment - you can bring in more birds just by cutting out pavement, or breaking up endless lawns with the right kinds of shrubs. Mowing those lawns a little less often - not weekly but every two or three weeks - will increase the population of native bees and other pollinators. Excerpted from Environment 360
 

 

The role of parks, community gardens, and green open spaces in urban areas is often underestimated, and the potential of these areas to improve both the quality of life of city dwellers and urban sustainability is not always being fully realized.  To make dramatic change, city governments need to get on-board and facilitate the change.  But, even a small group in a local community can do amazing things.

You can learn even more in the book, The Guide to Greening Cities. 

Nature. Community. Home.

Most of the time when people think about nature they think of places untouched by humans. “Nature” is often considered something that exists far away from cities. In reality, the division between nature and city is blurry. There is nature all around the city, even inside our homes.

You can find urban nature by:

Taking an early morning walk. Even in the busiest city you can find more animals in the early morning before the day’s bustle begins. Walk around your neighborhood, or your neighborhood park, as close to sunrise as possible, and see what animals you can spot. You might see bugs, worms, birds, squirrels, raccoons, skunks, rats, and mice. (Animals that many people think of as pests are part of nature too!)

Volunteering for a park invasive species removal. This is a great way to learn about plants in your city. Invasive species can harm native plants and animals.  Help restore the natural ecosystem.

Planting a community garden. A community garden has numerous benefits from community building, to health, to education.  Delicious and nutritious for the mind, body and soul of a community.  I'll expand in more detail on my next post.

Planting trees.  Many city agencies and organizations have initiatives to plant more trees. Having more trees helps reduce the urban heat island effect and promotes the well-being of its inhabitants, both human and animal.

For families, you can also start your own Wild Playgroup. When children connect with nature, they also connect with each other, their families and the community as they learn that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Their sense of identity and character is strengthened. Through experiences in nature, children can become passionate stewards of their special outdoor places. Additionally, adults are more likely to take care of their local environment if they have had time to experience it as a child. Learn more and download a toolkit here.

 

This year is the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act into law.  The primary author, Howard Zahniser, felt that given enough time, a majority of Americans would come to believe in the deep power of nature and support conservation.  He was sure that the challenge lay not so much in converting avowed opponents of the Wilderness Act, but in enlisting the support of the silent majority.  And he had an unwavering faith in education as the vital tool for getting people to make this step.  "It is a step that is so difficult no because it goes so far but because it must be taken by so many," he said in 1961.  "A whole nation steps forward with purpose in the enactment of such legislation, and it marches only when so many are ready to go that the others must move too."

 

"We have come to realize that we ourselves are creatures of the wild... that in the wilderness we are at home, that in maintaining thus our access to wilderness we are not, as some have thought, escaping from life, but rather are keeping ourselves in touch with our true reality, the fundamental reality of the universe of which we are a part."  - Howard Zahniser

 

Overcoming Fear of Change: Step 4

Step 4 - Be flexible. Be flexible and available to take on any new task that might accompany the change.  Approach change with an open attitude of learning.  The more you know, the less you'll fear it.  Become an expert on that "new" thing.  Remember that it's just as much about the process as it is about the result, so enjoy the process.

If you’re on the fence about a big decision, then you might be worried about getting locked into a position that you can’t escape from.  Think about it a different way. New choices rarely limit your options.  In fact, new pursuits often open up even more opportunities. One of the best things about going after important goals with passion is that they open up chances and options that you never could have expected in the beginning.  If you pursue the interesting opportunities that arise along the path to your goal, then you can be sure that you’ll always have choices.  Excerpted from LifeHack.org

If you never start, you'll never get anywhere. You will fail, you will make mistakes, but that’s a part of the journey.  Failure is an inevitable way station on the journey to success.  Being flexible will allow you to wrap around, under, over and through the obstacles in your path.


“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” – Unknown

 

 

 

Overcoming Fear of Change: Step 3

Step 3 - Stay positive. Fear can come from creating negative (or even catastrophic) scenarios about the future in your mind.  We often create so much negativity around something that it's important to step back and ask ourselves a few questions - What are my negative beliefs about this change?  How many times have I successfully navigated change in the past? What worked in how I handled the change?

Be curious, rather than being scared. Be curious about what a change would mean. And focus on the facts, instead of the worst-case scenarios you are congering in your head.  So often we worry more about getting rid of fear of change than learning how to live with it and move on.  Just accept that you can't control the external events in your life and embrace what you can control – your attitude.

Another way to stay positive is to reduce your stress. Meditation and spending time outdoors are great for that.  Doing either, our better yet both, will make you feel more calm, relaxed, and peaceful.

Remember that change is an opportunity. Have faith in yourself and your ability to be resilient.

 

Overcoming Fear of Change: Step 2

Step 2 - Acknowledge your fears. It may seem obvious, but acceptance of your own vulnerability is necessary to move through fear.  You need to learn how to use fear, instead of having fear use and control you.  Part of this acceptance is clarifying a few important facts in your own mind -

Accept that you’ll never have all the information
We often avoid making important decisions because we want more information before we make a tough call.  Research is important, but don't let it become a stalling tactic.  Make the best decision you can at the time and continue to move forward.

Trust yourself
We make all sorts of excuses for not making important changes, but the limiting belief that often underlies many of them is that we don’t trust ourselves.  We’re worried that the uncharted territory of the future will be too much for us to handle.  Think about it - you've dealt with unexpected change before.  And in the end, it probably all worked out fine.  Have faith that you can handle it again.

Anticipate the worst that could happen
I'm not suggesting that you dwell on it, but have a backup plan just-in-case.  Don't be caught like a deer in the headlights, be a Lara Croft or a MacGyver and troubleshoot your way through anything.  When you actually sit down and think about the worst case scenario, you’ll realize that there are actually very few risks that you can’t recover from.  Once you realize the worst isn’t that bad, you’ll be ready to crush it.

Accept your feelings and seek support
When you’re going through a transition, it is natural to feel uncomfortable.  Expect and accept your feelings and reach out to others to share your experiences, reactions, and emotions. Talking with your partner or your friends will make you feel better and remind you that you’re not alone.

Try this exercise: When you fear change, write down your fears on paper so you have them in an objective form and can stop dwelling on them. Then go through each one and jot down what you would do in the event that fear came to pass. Knowing you have a backup plan can be a key to navigating past the fear.

What is familiar is comfortable. Even though the familiar might be worse than the unfamiliar, we still tend to hold on to it, because going into the unknown is uncomfortable. Having the courage to go into the unfamiliar can be tough, but not impossible. It requires a shift in perspective. Become curious. Become an explorer of life. This is an adventure.


“Courage is the power to let go of the familiar.” – Raymond Lindquist

Overcoming Fear of Change: Step 1

Navigating the twists and turns of life requires changes - changes in where you live, new relationships, life-stage transitions, changes in behavior, changes in attitude and many other modifications that typically bring some level of stress. How many times have you found yourself dreading any change - whether major or minute - because the uncertainty ahead was nearly too much to bear?

And how many times have you gone forward despite that uncertainty and realized your dread was worse than the actual change? Realizing that change is often necessary, and totally manageable, is the key to overcoming the fear of it.

One trick to overcoming this fear is to practice breaking out of your standard routine. The more routines you have in your life, the harder it is to embrace life-enhancing changes. Routine can be good, but it can also be energy-zapping and provide a false sense that the norm is what's best.  This may not be the case.  Even athletes know it's best to mix up their routine if that want to get stronger because otherwise your muscles begin to get lazy.  Change will actually help you grow, as it often does in your emotional life as well.

Step 1 - Acknowledge the change. Recognizing and accepting change will be the first steps toward managing it.  Then, make a conscious effort.  It sounds simple, but one of the of the big reasons we don’t make change is because we don’t try. And we don’t try because then it’s easy to make excuses for why we don’t get what we want.  Face reality and be honest with yourself.

Here are some ideas to help keep the fear of change at bay by limiting the routines you perform in life. Use them to stimulate your own ideas:

• Eat lunch at different times each day, and where you eat lunch. Can you vary the routes you take to and from the workplace?
• Try a different cuisine every week. It's fun, and tasty!
• Visit somewhere new every month. This could be a new restaurant, museum, theatre, park, country, whatever!
• Break the TV routine - do something new at least a few nights a week.  Read a book, take a class, go to the gym, work on something artistic, anything!

Take it slow by making small adjustments to make life less of a routine and to slowly get the mind to accept changes when they come.  It’s so important to demonstrate to the subconscious that you are in control and that you will not let fear of change control you.

The bottom line is, change isn’t going anywhere—so you’ll need to learn how to overcome your fear of it.  Change is life, so embrace it, and grow.

Moving On

All relationships end  - some with separation, some with divorce, some with death.  This means that in entering a relationship we implicitly accept that the other will leave us, or that we will leave them.  Grief is a normal and healthy part of this ending.  At the end of a relationship and afterward, we remember the grief we felt during the relationship and not only that we're feeling at the end.  So ironically, the worse a relationship was, the more we will grieve.  Often too, we're grieving for more than this ending, but the many others that are stacked inside us waiting for their chance to be cried out.

Grief hurts, but don't avoid it by partying or jumping right into another relationship.  Grief gives us impetus for growth and helps to ensure that we won't make the same mistakes twice.  Therapy is crucial during this time - it can assist us in addressing, processing, and resolving issues.  Since we're never mourning only the current issue, therapy will also help us work on buried issues from the past.  If you've been left, it's normal to have doubts about your will to live and your lovability, or even to want revenge.  And it's normal to talk to anyone who will listen.

Grief can't be willed away.  Don't attempt to let it go, but rather let it happen.  Allow it - yourself - to take all the time needed, regardless of friends who tell you to "get over it."  The scars left by brief can be ugly for years or can heal reasonably well.  The outcome depends on how well we work through the process.

It can be incredibly helpful to write letters.  These letters should never be sent, but are therapeutic through the process.  This is especially sage advice if you have the nagging need to tell your partner "one last thing" or give them "one bit of advice" which is often just a way to manipulate them to whatever response you desire.

"We become whole through relationships and through letting go of relationships."  - Sigmund Freud