Black Voices Are Important And Need To Be Empowered. Pasted Below Is A Link To A List Of Resources Put

It's feeding time for the SNC's resident Great Blue Heron. Their long, sharp beaks are perfect for fishing. And these guys will flip fish vertically in their mouths so they go down easier.

Four Reasons to Go Outside

Recently, people have had more reasons to stay indoors than ever before. It is important that we keep our health and safety at the forefront of our priorities. But it is also important to remember the effect that being inside for too long can have on you. Being outside and connecting with nature has proven benefits to your health.

Fact, nature walks can improve your memory. Have you been feeling scatter brained the more cooped up you have been in your house? A study done in 2008 by psychologists Marc G. Berman, John Jonides, and Stephen Kaplan ran experiments to show that walking in nature can improve memory, or what they refer to as “attention restoration theory.” (1)

Fact, nature can improve your health. I don’t just mean by extracting important medicine from vital plants, or essential oils. I am talking about Vitamin D directly from the sun. Just because we do not photosynthesize like plants, doesn’t mean we do not gain anything from a little sunlight. Vitamin D is necessary to our body and, according to Harvard’s Health Department, is potentially linked to fighting diseases like cancer. (2)

Fact, walking through nature can relieve stress. Scientists led by Liisa Tyrvainen of the Finnish Forest Research Institute ran a psychological investigation into the psychological impacts being in nature had on stress levels. Their findings “suggest that even short-term visits to nature areas have positive effects on perceived stress relief compared to built-up environment.” (3)

Fact, outdoor time is imperative for childhood development. According to the Child Mind Institute (4), playing outdoors is important to children for a variety of reasons such as reducing stress and fatigue, to building confidence. The outdoors provides kids with a stimulating environment that allows them to safely engage in independent and creativity inducing scenarios. Without a phone screen constantly supplying thoughtless entertainment, they are challenging themselves to provide their own entertainment by interacting with the world around them.

The Sawgrass Nature Center hosts a unique environment for people of all ages to engage with nature and enjoy wildlife. By visiting you are not only providing yourself with a healthy walk through nature and a chance to see interesting  wildlife,  you are also helping to sustain a center that has been protecting and healing Florida’s native wildlife for twenty-five years.

https://sawgrassnaturecenter.org/2020/09/15/spending-time-outdoors-is-important/

Citations:

Berman MG, Jonides J, Kaplan S. The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting with Nature. Psychological Science. 2008;19(12):1207-1212. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02225.x

Harvard Health Publishing. Spending time outdoors is good for you, from the Harvard Health Letter. Harvard Medical School. July, 2010. https://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/spending-time-outdoors-is-good-for-you

Liisa Tyrväinen, Ojala A., Korpela K., Lanki T., Tsunetsugu Y., and Kagawa T. The influence of urban green environments on stress relief measures: A field experiment. Journal of Environmental Psychology. June 2014. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494413000959

Cohen, Danielle. Why Kids Need to Spend Time in Nature. Child Mind Institute. September 2020. https://childmind.org/article/why-kids-need-to-spend-time-in-nature/

Our volunteers loved adding this to their background study noise! 

The Landscape of Capitol Reef National Park. Gently dipping sedimentary rocks of the Waterpocket fold.

Conservation: Bridge of hope for world's rarest primate

An artificial rope bridge across a divided forest could help save the ape, a type of gibbon, from extinction. from BBC News - Science & Environment https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54557877

A downy woodpecker in our front wetland

Acrobatic hooded crow really, really wanted that pine cone! Taken in Victoria Park, East Belfast.

Check out our resident red-shoulder hawk. A Florida native, this bird of prey has a distinct call that is uses to signal we are encroaching on his territory. Does this call sound familiar to you? 

Red-Tailed Hawks can be found all over North America! 

Can beer help save the bees? Check out this neat article we found: https://learn.kegerator.com/hops-help-bees/

This year the SNC has rescued and rehabilitated over 900 wild animals in South Florida. Help us continue our mission by donating here https://sawgrassnaturecenter.org/ this #GivingTueday. 

Great blue heron … Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Smyrna, Delaware … 8/24/20