By Cynthia Royds, Truancy Prevention Program Coordinator & Licensed Social Worker

Take a second and think about a calming place. If you want to, close your eyes and picture it. Odds are, the spot that comes to mind is one in nature. That’s not a coincidence! Nature is grounding. Research has shown a powerful connection between spending time in nature and reduced stress, anxiety, and depression. Nature, in all forms, is good for our mental health.

Walking outside has a multitude of benefits: sunlight, movement, and fresh air is great for your mind, and it’s free! It connects you to beauty outside of yourself. It can help you practice mindfulness.

Interacting with nature, even by just opening your window and listening to the breeze and birds, has therapeutic benefits. Calming nature sounds can lower blood pressure and levels of cortisol, which calms our fight-or-flight response.

Having an indoor plant is a terrific way to bring nature into your home. Caring for your plant teaches responsibility for people of all ages, keeps us connected to living things, boosts air quality, and is aesthetically pleasing! And it can be hard. Sometimes plants die, sometimes they need changes to their environment, sometimes they are overwatered. Noticing these changes and building resiliency and perseverence are life-long skills we can practice and foster through nature.

We believe everyone needs a plant buddy, and Earth Day is a great day to find yours! Here are some ways to start:

  • Look out the window and pick a plant to watch and call your own! If you have mobility limitations or going outside can feel overwhelming, you can still have a plant buddy. Perhaps you can see a tree outside. Watch it bloom, check out the creatures that visit it or call it home. Maybe you don’t have a tree, but you can see weeds growing between sidewalk panels. Weeds can be super beautiful, and their growth is impressive to watch!
  • Grow a seed! This is a great time to plant a seed to bloom in coming weeks and months – and you can get them at the grocery store during your essential shopping. All seed packages have information about what they need to grow so you can make sure that it can thrive in your house with the specific light and time you have to dedicate to it.
  • Try growing new plants from other plants. There are many plants that can grow roots when you put them in water or snip a clipping. Check out the Facebook Live Earth Day #10at10 I did today for more details on how to do that.
  • If you want to dive in super deep, you can learn how to train a Bonsai! This is a complex art form that you can practice over years and years.

There are many ways to bring nature into your life, and whatever form, it’s always a good thing. Happy Earth Day (though at Child Guidance, we know that every day is Earth Day)!

About the author: Cynthia Royds is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, West Chester University Alumni and Philadelphia native. She coordinates CGRC’s Truancy program in Montgomery and Delaware Counties. She also runs therapeutic groups through the Outpatient Department in Havertown.  She is passionate about nature and founded the gardening committee at Child Guidance.