Throughout the warm months of spring and summer, people spend time in nature by walking and enjoying fresh air, planting flowers, and much more. During the winter months it becomes increasingly hard to spend time with nature like we normally do. Luckily, there may be a solution: greenhouses. With the use of greenhouses throughout the winter months, people can change their winter experiences for the better by increasing their contact with nature even when it’s cold outside!
Read more
“I like being outside because I like the fresh air and the sounds of the animals and the breeze. It can just be really relaxing to focus on nature and take a break from everything else.” -Allison
Do the shorter days in the winter give you the blues? If so, you are not alone. As the winter months draw near and day lights savings begins, the sky gets darker earlier in the day. During this time, people may begin to experience depressive symptoms, otherwise known as Seasonal Affective Disorder, where there are biological and mood disturbances occurring in autumn and winter with remission in the spring or summer (Kurlansik & Ibay, 2012). Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that is triggered by the changing of seasons, typically coinciding with the beginning of fall. With SAD, the seasonal depression gets worse in the late fall or early winter and ends when it becomes sunnier in the spring. According to the American Psychiatric Association, SAD is officially classified as major depressive disorder with seasonal patterns (Golden, et al., 2005).
Read more
Have you ever wanted to see certain animals in nature or watch magnificent sights but weren’t able to because of the geographical distance? Perhaps you have always wanted to view a sunset at the Santa Monica beach and pier, see pipeline surfing in action on Ehukai Beach in Oahu, Hawaii, and witness the dazzling waves of light mainly seen in high latitude regions, otherwise known as the northern lights (aurora borealis). People around the world, with the assistance of new technological advances of live streaming cameras, can watch these amazing sights of the nature on Explore.org.
Read more
Modern lifestyles are becoming unhealthier worldwide. Today’s children tend to spend a lot more time indoors than past generations of kids. Whether it is young toddlers being given an iPad to settle them down throughout the day, the constant need of computers for classwork at an increasingly young age, or the persistence of phones everywhere around us, there is an increase in the use of technology in our society, especially at a young age. This is resulting in children having decreased exposures to outdoor environments. In fact, a 2018 study in the United Kingdom revealed that children spent about four hours outside per week, roughly 50% less than their parents had as kids (Kennedy, 2022).
Read more
Humans in Nature 