April 22 marks the celebration of Earth Day – however, in all reality, we really should celebrate the Earth every day! Every single day we have the privilege of living here and being the beneficiaries of Mother Nature’s gifts. And with that in mind, it is not too much to ask that we do something […]
Although climate change is a global concern that is being tackled by governments and activists worldwide, there’s much that we can all do within our own communities to make an impact.
Melissa Everett, Ph.D., co-founder of Sustainable Hudson Valley is helping to lead that mission in the Hudson Valley community. She believes in the power of […]
Few things are as proactive while being simultaneously one of the easiest ways to help the environment as the process known as composting. Made popular in recent years by city dwellers looking to corral large amounts of refuse in big cities, the environmental trend has found its way into homes and onto farms across the […]
by Melanie McGinn, RN, MBA, CHC, Founder of Health Through Time Nurse Consulting and Coaching
Had you asked me a month ago if I would ever write a blog post on forest bathing, that would have been a definitive no. I am very open to Eastern, Western, and alternative modalities to ease stress, anxiety, and improve […]
Membership Gives GMF Access to International Natural Conservation Union
On February 10, 2021, Great Mountain Forest (GMF) in Falls Village, CT, was granted membership into the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global organization dedicated to assessing the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.
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An attachment to the natural world is a critical component of childhood development. Spending unstructured time outdoors is therapeutic and restorative. It can boost creativity, ease anxiety and depression, build attention spans, and help develop capacities to self-soothe and be comfortable with solitude. Yet, increasingly […]
Remember taking high school geometry? You thought it was terrible for your mental health and something you’d never need in the “real world” – once the final exam was over. Well, what if you found out that geometry in the form of fractals has positive health effects […]
No disrespect to mountain laurel as the Connecticut State shrub, but perhaps it’s time to pass the torch to the humble, medicinal, and magical witch hazel.
This wonder shrub finds a suitable home in the woodlands of the northeast part of the country. While mostly present on the eastern side of Connecticut, you can find a […]
It’s a brilliant fall morning. You wake up, look out the window at the maples ablaze in yellow and decide to go for a hike. You throw a water bottle and a granola bar in a day pack, lace up your trail runners, and dash to the nearest trailhead, only to find it crammed with […]
George Inness, one of the world’s most prominent American landscape painters and one who was influenced by the masters of the Hudson River School, once intimated that in order to utilize art in its truest form, the artist must first learn to cultivate his or her own spiritual nature. For Ancramdale, NY, resident and lifelong […]