Learning from Nature

Though flowers in February still seems soon it feels good for things to be showing life again, to be able to sit outside with nature after so much time indoors. It’s not an indulgence. It’s good for my health. When I first picked up the book “Ecopsychology” in 1995, it was a new idea. Since then there have been more books and lots of studies about the benefits of nature for health. A paper from YaleEnvironment360 on ecopsychology pinned down a specific dose, 120 minutes a week in nature for improved health and well-being, from a study of 20,000 people. Traditionally it was thought that the benefits were visual and primarily psychological., but Japanese researchers believe that inhaling aerosols from trees increases the level of Natural Killer cells (NK) which fight tumors. Nature is a multisensory environment that allows us to feel part of it, immersed in the sounds and smells as well as the natural beauty. Many hospitals integrate nature and art with their landscaping, windows and interiors, because the benefits have been known for decades. Though the studies of similar effects looking at art showed that natural scenes worked better for mental health than abstraction, abstraction has such a range of possible feelings expressed it resists being treated as a category. I think the sense of harmony is most important. A very recent study showed that looking at fractal images was calming and theorized that fractals are like looking at nature, the same form at different scales, different size leaves on a tree like different iterations of the same computerized pattern. Its branching has similarities of form between systems of blood vessels and systems of waterflow on the earth’s surface. We are calmed by the harmony of similar form. It is through fractals that we see order in chaos and a world that is fully intertwined, repeating the same chords at every level of reality. It’s a matter of perspective. The benefits of attunement to nature include learning from nature’s design. It has inspired new ways to work with and draw inspiration from design in nature. An early example of biomimetic design was Velcro, inspired by the microscopic hooks founds on the burrs that stick to fur and clothes. The field has spread to competitive swimwear inspired by sharkskin and looking at spiders for designs for a Mars Rover. Looking at order in the seeming chaos is an issue of scale where order shows with the right perspective. Taking a step back is a phrase that recognizes the need for distance to get a broader view of a situation. There is so much fragmentation in our world right now. Finding a broader perspective could remind us of our connectedness.