Natural World Promotes Good Health

NATURAL WORLD PROMOTES GOOD HEALTH AND LONGEVITY  

June/July, 2013 issue  
I  seldom use insect repellent on any guided hikes that I lead as I find  the  fog of toxins enveloping me more annoying than the insects they are  designed to  repel. On the rare occasions that I have used them, it was  an experimental  natural product that was given to me to test –  actually an entire case of it.  The new product was a liquid mixture of  catnip and evening primrose and while it  repelled every flying insect  within a wide radius, it also repelled the very  people I was leading,  but seemed to attract a multitude of cats whenever we  passed a house.
  
 I  thought of that offensive natural product one very warm day last year  on  a hike when deer flies had at least one member of our group running  back to the  car, arms flailing madly. In the cool, deciduous forest  though just beyond, a  chorus of wood thrushes, veeries, vireos, orioles  and rose-breasted grosbeaks  spoke of much cooler climes, accented by a  backdrop of ovenbirds, chestnut-sided  warblers and the occasional  scarlet tanager with its hoarse robin-like calls. We  were in wild north  country at its best and it is always so encouraging when  large  properties like the one we were on are purchased for no other reason   except to keep it wild and undeveloped.  
  
 A  conducted seven kilometre interpretive hike the following day along a   former railway line-turned-shared-use trail was more routine. Our little  group  of 21 participants was kept busy as my co-leader and I pointed  out trail side  wildflowers and birds singing from nearby agricultural  fields. Biting insects  were kept at bay by a gentle breeze and wispy  clouds kept temperatures pleasant.  From one cultivated field, a vesper  sparrow sang his jumble of notes, fittingly  described by Peterson as  “more throaty than a song sparrow” from a fencerow.  Participants were  encouraged to keep moving as a kettle of a dozen or more  turkey  vultures circled menacingly above our heads, cleverly riding the  thermals  with nary a wing beat. 
  
 We  need more trails and wild places like this to walk, but it is a tough   sell to those who suffer from a new malady known as nature deficit  disorder. We  desperately need to get away from electronic devices,  backyard barbeques, and  televisions - not permanently, but just for a  little while (I cancelled my  subscription to Bell TV some time ago).   We need to reacquaint ourselves with  the natural world around us as we  are losing it so quickly. I find it  encouraging to see such a high  percentage of seniors subscribe to the guided  hike program that I offer  each year, for it speaks loudly about our yearning to  acquaint  ourselves with the natural world around us, and to keep us active. Many   seniors are seasoned walkers. I know of one 70+ year old who jogs eight  km every  day. One person in our program is well past his mid-eighties  and likely shakes  his head in disgust at able bodied souls who park  illegally in handicapped zones  and sprint into the grocery store.  Another 86-year-old on our Millennium Trail  hike last year completed a  seven km hike without even breaking a sweat and he  was most always  right on my heels. 
  
 Truth  is, I am jealous. I want to experience the senior years like some of   those who register for my hikes. Last year, I stared in amazement and  admiration  as an 80-year-old on a guided hike near Tamworth clawed her  way up a steep  granite escarpment. Upon reaching the top, she broke  into an infectious smile as  she gazed around her at the parade of fall  colours in the forested valley  below.  When I reach 80 I want to be  just like her and many of the others on our  hikes who regard age as  just a number and continue hiking long distances,  challenging trails  and conquering obstacles. 
  
 While  many on our hikes have no health issues, others do. Arthritis comes  up  frequently during conversations behind me, and another has Parkinson’s.   Others may have different health issues, but say nothing, for today,  there are  no health concerns, as they consume whatever medication they  need, and forge  bravely ahead, refusing to give in. These people will  live forever because they  exercise and are always in a positive frame  of mind. 
  
 I  was with some friends a while ago on an eight km trail at a nearby park   and we talked about this – retirement, keeping active. We talked about   acquaintances we know who retired and became old well before their  time, due to  inactivity and lack of exercise. Doing nothing is wrong at  any age, but as we  get older, inactivity results in becoming more  withdrawn and apathetic about  life in general. Learned helplessness. It  starts when we lose faith in our own  ability to do anything  effectively.
  
 On  our hikes, we talk about many things, but what is clear is our passion   for walking.  Not only for the exercise – one estimate is 100 calories  burned  for every kilometer – but also for the experience of being out  in nature. There  is a spiritual connection within nature that can help  us make sense of this  crazy world we live in.   
  
 It  takes a while, but eventually we learn how vitally important and   connected everything is in nature. Everything we stumble upon, whether  bracket  fungi on downed trees, a caterpillar on a leaf, a salamander  under a decomposing  log, or a fall warbler snatching insects, are  important links in biodiversity  that are strategically interconnected.  How important everything is that we see.  It is only during our bumbling  efforts to improve or alter, that we upset this  natural scheme of  things.  Often we spend five hours or more on some hikes in  Frontenac  Park, exploring this connectivity, returning to our cars exhausted  from  the effort, but refreshed mentally. Hikes like this do not age us –  they  actually make us feel younger and more informed. 
  
 An  abundance of hiking trails and natural areas to explore will keep us in   shape and feeling healthy. It will make us immune to the occasional  prickly ash  scratch, or the unexpected appearance of a boggy section  along a trail, or the  sudden arrival of a rain storm, or the heart  stopping appearance of a black bear  as has happened to us on occasion.  And few of us are truly bothered with deer  flies or mosquitoes as we  are so immersed in the moment of everything that’s  around us. The red  bumps on our necks and arms and legs will disappear soon  enough, but  the memory of our experiences will linger with us for some time.  
  
 For more information on birding and nature and guided hikes, check out the  NatureStuff website at www.naturestuff.net 
  
 Terry Sprague lives in Prince Edward County and is self-employed as a  professional interpretive naturalist.