June 6, 2018
It’s been another full month for our pared-down staff here at Intertwine Central. Work continues on our equity, health, Daycation and Power of Partnership projects, and we continue prepping for our executive director search and putting next year’s budget in place. Lots to track and keep moving forward. I had a wonderful opportunity to share The Intertwine Alliance story with the urban forestry community in the Seattle area at their annual summit focusing on collaboration. I also just returned from a summit in Oakland hosted by the Children & Nature Network to coalesce national leaders in support of a range of initiatives to better connect children with the outdoors. All very inspiring.
But one event that has stuck with me most was a forum organized by Moda Health, entitled Creating Healthier Communities. Moda was able to bring to town the likes of Tim Beatley, the leader in the international biophilia movement, as well as esteemed author Richard Louv, who brought to worldwide attention the term nature deficit disorder to raise awareness of the loss of this vital human connection. Many of you know the work the Alliance and its partners are doing in the area of health as we work to take the plethora of research that shows the huge benefits of nearby nature supporting a range of physical, social and spiritual health challenges and create on-the-ground projects to do something about it.
As I consider the current state of affairs in our country and region, the divisiveness and disconnection we are feeling in so many parts of our lives, I see our work around nature and health coming clearly into play. In the deep dive we are doing in this arena, a word that keeps rising to the surface for me is “healing.” There is so much healing that’s needed right now – between races, political factions, and as
individuals, with so many of us dealing with decades of personal and societal trauma and the stresses of our modern world; and as a nation, being bombarded with the 24-hour news cycle that numbs and disconnects us from the inequities and atrocities.
Nature has proven to be an amazing healer. Many of us have had this experience and regularly seek its presence in our lives. Whether it’s the purely sensory connection that takes us away from our cerebral quagmire; or the democratic nature of the outdoors, where for the most part there is no judgement, hierarchy or division; or the feeling we get from our experience of awe, being part of the connective tissue of something much greater than ourselves. We are calmed, nurtured, and relaxed by this immediate connection.
With the summer nearly upon us, let’s get outside and find that healing place. Let’s be thankful that we have a region that values its natural spaces, cares for and stewards them, so that they can be, among other things, a place for healing, solace and rejuvenation for everyone in our region. We are fortunate to live in a place that is more nature-filled and ecologically healthy than many cities this size. We have much work to do to make nature’s healing powers accessible to all, but we are building connections so we can make greater positive impact on our community’s health in the future.