Accent on Natural Landscaping

Donna VanBuecken

Natural Landscaping

Do you have a passion for native plants and natural landscaping? Do you wish you knew more about native plants and biodiversity? If so, I invite you to join this blog and learn about native plants, natural landscaping and biodiversity a little at a time.

As Executive Director of Wild Ones for 17 years, one of the things I enjoyed the most was to share with members and others the new and interesting information I learned about things related to the Wild Ones mission. So now as I continue on with my next life adventure, [Read more…]

Common Goldeneyes

Common Goldeneye ducks floating along the Fox River in Appleton Wisconsin’s Lutz Park.

I participate in the eagle monitoring program hosted by WDNR. We count the eagles we see along the Fox River for 90 minutes during sunrise, once a month during November through March. We often see other wildlife, especially waterfowl. This past Saturday, December 8, 2019, it was 10 degrees at sunrise; fog was rising from the water’s surface. As the sun rose higher in the sky and before I left my monitoring site, the fog was so dense you could hardly see across to the other side of the river.

Common Goldeneye Ducks

The distinct coloring of the male goldeneye is shown beautifully in the photo below. With their white body and black back and their greenish-black head with a white spot on each side of their face, the males stood out even in the fog.

A pair of Common Goldeneyes (Bucephala clangula). Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In the video below I’ve recorded a flock of Common Goldeneye ducks lifting off the water. If you listen closely, you’ll hear the whistling of their wingbeats. They would fly west down the river and then float back. Ah! The life of a duck!!

“Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) is a Special Concern species in Wisconsin. It is a medium-sized diving duck with a chunky body and a large head. The males are white with a black back. The head is greenish-black with a white spot on each side of the face. The females have a light-brown head. They have a white belly, breast and flanks, interfaced with a gray back, wings and tail. Both sexes have a distinctive bright yellow to pale yellow eyes.

The species is an uncommon breeder in Wisconsin that nests in cavities with most individuals seen here (in Wisconsin) during migration or winter. During the breeding season, it is found near ponds, lakes, and rivers in woodland areas. The clutch size varies from 5 to 16 eggs that are incubated by the female for 28 to 32 days. The species is threatened by the impacts of pesticides, deforestation, as well as decreased water quality. The recommended avoidance period for this species is April 10 – July 10.” (WDNR)

Added note: Common Goldeneyes can reach speeds of 40 mph in flight.

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Five Ways to Wellbeing

Connect – attend a native plant conference. Vendors and exhibitors will be on hand to answer questions. Conference attendees are always willing to share their stories.

While researching my earlier post on the University of Essex study which proved nature improves wellbeing, I ran across a number of articles and websites on wellbeing. Many of them referred to the five ways to wellbeing. I didn’t know there was such a classification and thought this might be news to you as well.  Here they are:

Connect – with people. Invest time in developing and building connections. They will support and enrich you every day.

Be active — step outside. Go for a walk, cycle, garden, dance. Physically moving makes one feel good.

Take notice — be aware. Really notice the changing seasons, the beauty around you and the people and things with which you interact.

Keep learning — do something new. Sign up for a class, fix something broken, cook a new food, read a how-to book… Learning boosts confidence.

Give — do something nice. Say thank you. Volunteer your time. Giving requires you to embrace the previous four points of wellbeing.

There it is in a nutshell. As we dwell upon their full meaning, let’s use these five key points to help improve our wellbeing as we get through this most hectic of months of the 2018 calendar year.

Note: I didn’t review all the websites I found from my website search, but I did notice that most of them came from non-USA locations. Here’s one link from California Mind/Carlisle Eden.

 

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Nature Boosts Wellbeing

Summer view of the WILD Center frontyard.
Getting outside and walking in nature will help you find a sense of place — a sense of wellbeing.

One of the arguments we Wild Ones have always made when we talk to others about the benefits of using native plants in natural landscaping is how good it makes us feel — how it gives us a sense of place. I’ve never really felt comfortable trying to explain that personal statement. I know how being outside and observing the wonder of nature makes me feel, but I have never been comfortable trying to explain that feeling to others.

I ran across a report the other day that helps to support that statement. It’s a report on research done in the United Kingdom. Published in 2017, it was a study by the University of Essex aimed at establishing The Wildlife Trusts’* contribution to human wellbeing — personal and mental. As is the case with most research, the study was conducted scientifically and established methods to be used to continue to gather additional information in the future.

The Study

Although this initial study included only 139 people, the researchers found significant improvement in wellbeing during the 12 week period, with the greatest improvement being from people who had not previously had contact with Wildlife Trust activities.

“Half of the people who started with low mental wellbeing improved after 12 weeks, and two-thirds noticed improvement within six weeks. Across all volunteers, there was a ‘statistically significant improvement of 8 percent in wellbeing scores.’ Participants reported ‘enhanced level of positivity, health, nature relatedness, activity, and increased contact with green space.’ They especially enjoyed participating in conservation activities and learning new skills, which is a well-known way to improve wellbeing.” (Treehugger)

Conclusions

This study concluded that getting out and doing things in nature makes people feel better. I agree with Treehugger when it says this study should be a useful for “policy-makers, medical professionals, and educators to understand how truly powerful nature can be.” And how important nature’s  role is in human life. Hopefully this study and future studies such as this will help shape decisions about conservation and the preservation of green space.

I don’t know if knowing the conclusion of this study helps me explain a sense of place or the feeling I get from being in nature any better, but at least I know I’m “on the right track.”

Click here to read the complete study The health and wellbeing impacts of volunteering with The Wildlife Trusts.

*There are 46 Wildlife Trusts covering the whole of the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney. Each Wildlife Trust is an independent charity set up to help look after wildlife and wild places and help people get closer to nature. (WildlifeTrusts.org)

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