I had been saving scraps for our eventual compost pile.  We didn’t want to over-tech it, just a pile and a pitch fork maybe. Until recently, we didn’t even know where it was going to go.

I found organic compost starter at our local hardware store and the weather is good.  What inspiration to start decomposing!  We decided on our spot and started with a pile of grass clippings. I added dry pine needles I have been clearing off the hill. Making a bowl to contain my collected kitchen scraps, I added a grocery bag of egg shells and walked away.

Later that day I came back around the corner and saw this.  I started laughing at myself.  A Robin couple, who have been following me all day, chasing the bugs I’ve been unearthing, perched on the edge of the nest at one point and completed the picture.  I thanked them, and feel grateful for the image of borning life.

This post is dedicated to all those seemingly small efforts out there, and those that started small and grew, messages that bring back to mind what we have forgotten.

Kudos!

… to the US Postal Service for honoring Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. This short yet long story tells one story of the relationship we have with plants.

We humans are infants compared to the wise ones that seeded this earth with oxygen, developed a neural net, survived catastrophic events, and still show unappreciated compassion for animal beings and the ignorance of humans who left. We are returning however, in hopes to be welcomed back to the world of true Beings.

Rooted Network

For many of us, rain forest devastation is overwhelming. Thank you to these organizations that list the small ways any person on earth can help make make a difference to heal the forests:

Rain Forests Mongabay

Rain Forest Foundation

Utopia

Vision of Earth

Children’s Voices

Never under estimate the wisdom of children. I willingly surrender to their re-minders.

Oceanic Efforts

Read about Danni Washington here

I love pictures, so this one is a lovely primer: Oceanology

For the rest of us who are still mystified by our salty mother:

Oceans for Dummies

Idiot’s Guide to Oceans

And another Kudos to those organizations that organize people to make a difference:

4Ocean

Heal the Ocean

Seaspiracy

The Secret Life of Plants Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird

and here is an old video from around the same period in time:

Oryngham means thank you for listening in the language of the plants. It is not a word, as we humans understand it, because its meaning cannot be spoken—nor can it be heard. However, we can experience it by feeling with our bodies and listening to what our ears cannot hear. When we learn to listen to plants without the need to hear them speak, a language that we have forgotten emerges; it is a language beyond words, one that does not wander or pretend or mislead. It is a language that conveys its rich and meaningful expression by bypassing the household of our mind and directly connecting one spirit to another.

Monica Gagliano, PhD

Thus Spoke the Plant Monica Gagliano, PhD

A journey by one scientist who overnight perceived the soulfulness of another living creature, and was taken further into that knowing by the plant beings.

Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmer

Please read this beautiful summary in The Marginalian of some voices that came before and after

Here are some other tree-friendly reviews from The Marginalian:

The Hidden Life of Trees

Finding the Mother Tree Suzanne Simard

Another journey of a person awakening to the realization we sentient beings, called humans, are not alone.

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28.	An Exploratory Study on the Effects of Forest Therapy on Sleep Quality in Patients with Gastrointestinal Tract Cancers. Kim H, Lee YW, Ju HJ, Jang BJ, Kim YI. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Jul 10;16(14):2449. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16142449. PMID: 31295818 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
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30.	The Effects of Forest Therapy on Coping with Chronic Widespread Pain: Physiological and Psychological Differences between Participants in a Forest Therapy Program and a Control Group. Han JW, Choi H, Jeon YH, Yoon CH, Woo JM, Kim W. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016 Feb 24;13(3):255. doi: 10.3390/ijerph13030255. PMID: 26927141 Free PMC article.
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49.	Forest Walking Affects Autonomic Nervous Activity: A Population-Based Study. Kobayashi H, Song C, Ikei H, Park BJ, Lee J, Kagawa T, Miyazaki Y. Front Public Health. 2018 Oct 1;6:278. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00278. eCollection 2018. PMID: 30327762 Free PMC article.
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53.	‘Everything just seems much more right in nature’: How veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder experience nature-based activities in a forest therapy garden. Poulsen DV, Stigsdotter UK, Djernis D, Sidenius U. Health Psychol Open. 2016 Mar 31;3(1):2055102916637090. doi: 10.1177/2055102916637090. eCollection 2016 Jan. PMID: 28070397 Free PMC article.
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56.	Conifer-Derived Monoterpenes and Forest Walking. Sumitomo K, Akutsu H, Fukuyama S, Minoshima A, Kukita S, Yamamura Y, Sato Y, Hayasaka T, Osanai S, Funakoshi H, Hasebe N, Nakamura M. Mass Spectrom (Tokyo). 2015;4(1):A0042. doi: 10.5702/massspectrometry.A0042. Epub 2015 Oct 14. PMID: 26819913 Free PMC article.
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58.	The Psychological and Physical Effects of Forests on Human Health: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Stier-Jarmer M, Throner V, Kirschneck M, Immich G, Frisch D, Schuh A. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 11;18(4):1770. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041770. PMID: 33670337 Free PMC article. Review.
59.	[Psychological relaxation effect of forest therapy: results of field experiments in 19 forests in Japan involving 228 participants]. Tsunetsugu Y, Park BJ, Lee J, Kagawa T, Miyazaki Y. Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi. 2011 Sep;66(4):670-6. doi: 10.1265/jjh.66.670. PMID: 21996766 Japanese.
60.	Stepped-Wedge Cluster Randomised Trial of Social Prescribing of Forest Therapy for Quality of Life and Biopsychosocial Wellbeing in Community-Living Australian Adults with Mental Illness: Protocol. Thomas T, Baker J, Massey D, D’Appio D, Aggar C. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Dec 4;17(23):9076. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17239076. PMID: 33561041 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
61.	Temporal and Spatial Variability of Volatile Organic Compounds in the Forest Atmosphere. Meneguzzo F, Albanese L, Bartolini G, Zabini F. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 5;16(24):4915. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16244915. PMID: 31817339 Free PMC article.
62.	Forest experience and psychological health benefits: the state of the art and future prospect in Korea. Shin WS, Yeoun PS, Yoo RW, Shin CS. Environ Health Prev Med. 2010 Jan;15(1):38-47. doi: 10.1007/s12199-009-0114-9. Epub 2009 Oct 21. PMID: 19844774 Free PMC article.
63.	Psycho-Electrophysiological Benefits of Forest Therapies Focused on Qigong and Walking with Elderly Individuals. Yi J, Kim SG, Khil T, Shin M, You JH, Jeon S, Park GH, Jeong AY, Lim Y, Kim K, Kim J, Kang B, Lee J, Park JH, Ku B, Choi J, Cha W, Lee HJ, Shin C, Shin W, Kim JU. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 15;18(6):3004. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18063004. PMID: 33804164 Free PMC article.
64.	A comparative study of the physiological and psychological effects of forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku) on working age people with and without depressive tendencies. Furuyashiki A, Tabuchi K, Norikoshi K, Kobayashi T, Oriyama S. Environ Health Prev Med. 2019 Jun 22;24(1):46. doi: 10.1186/s12199-019-0800-1. PMID: 31228960 Free PMC article.
65.	Combined Effect of Walking and Forest Environment on Salivary Cortisol Concentration. Kobayashi H, Song C, Ikei H, Park BJ, Kagawa T, Miyazaki Y. Front Public Health. 2019 Dec 12;7:376. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00376. eCollection 2019. PMID: 31921741 Free PMC article.
66.	Physiological Effects of Visual Stimulation with Forest Imagery. Song C, Ikei H, Miyazaki Y. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Jan 26;15(2):213. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15020213. PMID: 29373558 Free PMC article.
67.	Spiritual care of cancer patients by integrated medicine in urban green space: a pilot study. Nakau M, Imanishi J, Imanishi J, Watanabe S, Imanishi A, Baba T, Hirai K, Ito T, Chiba W, Morimoto Y. Explore (NY). 2013 Mar-Apr;9(2):87-90. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2012.12.002. PMID: 23452710 Clinical Trial.
68.	The Relationship between the Restorative Perception of the Environment and the Physiological and Psychological Effects of Different Types of Forests on University Students. Liu Q, Wang X, Liu J, Zhang G, An C, Liu Y, Fan X, Hu Y, Zhang H. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 21;18(22):12224. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182212224. PMID: 34831980 Free PMC article.
69.	The Influence of Forest Activities in a University Campus Forest on Student’s Psychological Effects. Kim JG, Jeon J, Shin WS. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Mar 2;18(5):2457. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18052457. PMID: 33801534 Free PMC article.
70.	The Prefrontal Cortex Activity and Psychological Effects of Viewing Forest Landscapes in Autumn Season. Joung D, Kim G, Choi Y, Lim H, Park S, Woo JM, Park BJ. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015 Jun 26;12(7):7235-43. doi: 10.3390/ijerph120707235. PMID: 26132477 Free PMC article.
71.	Waterfall Forest Environment Regulates Chronic Stress via the NOX4/ROS/NF-κB Signaling Pathway. Zhu Z, Zhao X, OuYang Q, Wang Y, Xiong Y, Cong S, Zhou M, Zhang M, Luo X, Cheng M. Front Neurol. 2021 Mar 18;12:619728. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.619728. eCollection 2021. PMID: 33868142 Free PMC article.
72.	Effects of Nature-Based Group Art Therapy Programs on Stress, Self-Esteem and Changes in Electroencephalogram (EEG) in Non-Disabled Siblings of Children with Disabilities. Kang SJ, Kim HS, Baek KH. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 31;18(11):5912. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18115912. PMID: 34072927 Free PMC article.
73.	[Trees and woods are true medicines for people]. Corrieri U. Epidemiol Prev. 2021 May-Jun;45(3):214-217. doi: 10.19191/EP21.3.P214.067. PMID: 34212703 Italian.
74.	The Effects of a Health Promotion Program Using Urban Forests and Nursing Student Mentors on the Perceived and Psychological Health of Elementary School Children in Vulnerable Populations. Bang KS, Kim S, Song MK, Kang KI, Jeong Y. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 Sep 11;15(9):1977. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15091977. PMID: 30208583 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
75.	Physiological and Psychological Assessments for the Establishment of Evidence-Based Forest Healing Programs. Park S, Choi Y, Kim G, Kim E, Kim S, Paek D. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 2;18(17):9283. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179283. PMID: 34501872 Free PMC article.
76.	A systematic review of anxiety interventions in stroke and acquired brain injury: Efficacy and trial design. Chun HY, Newman R, Whiteley WN, Dennis M, Mead GE, Carson AJ. J Psychosom Res. 2018 Jan;104:65-75. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2017.11.010. Epub 2017 Nov 16. PMID: 29275788 Free PMC article.
77.	Effects of Integrated Indirect Forest Experience on Emotion, Fatigue, Stress and Immune Function in Hemodialysis Patients. Kang H, Chae Y. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 10;18(4):1701. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041701. PMID: 33578807 Free PMC article.
78.	Benefits of Indirect Contact With Nature on the Physiopsychological Well-Being of Elderly People. Elsadek M, Shao Y, Liu B. HERD. 2021 Oct;14(4):227-241. doi: 10.1177/19375867211006654. Epub 2021 Apr 8. PMID: 33827295

I do not know why I identify with a deer in situations that pose a quandary. Perhaps it is my projection onto deer-folk, that they are discerning, gentle, will seek a safe location before making any major decisions. Generally, they pretty much don’t want to hurt anyone, and look out for their family. Foraging and traveling – eating and visiting places in nature…

So yes, I get it. Maybe that is a life I seek, one like a deer, which means, maybe I want to make some life decisions – as a deer would do. so here is just a projection, a guess if I were a dear, what would I do

1. Look up at what caught my attention. Does it involved me or my family? No? Continue grazing.
2. Am I hungry? Find food.
3. Look up at what caught my attention. Am I scared? Find a location where I am safe, slowly to not attract attention, or quickly because I sense it’s right there.
4. Am I tired, pregnant, cold? Curl up in my secret place and take care of myself.
5. Is something attracting me? Go to it.
6. Is something repulsing me? Stay away from it.

You get the picture.

What is your favorite animal, an animal you identify with?

What are the qualities of this animal you admire?

Here are a variety of studies showing the health benefits of “forest bathing” My personal guess is based on how more and more research is revealing the interactive nature of our emotional, physical and mental and social health, these studies span out in many different directions beyond relief from heart, digestive, immune system troubles and cancers.

Keep an eye out for more information about the benefits of remembering you who truly are.