LandNotes

Boosting self esteem - Photo: Darcy Kiefel

Five minutes of green can boost self esteem
Thanks to TPL volunteer extraordinaire Tom Reeve for alerting us to a news article from Reuters about the psychological benefits of parks. TPL collects and publishes information on the benefits of parks and open space, and we will file this one under “benefits, health, mental”.

Researchers from the University of Essex found that as little as five minutes of a “green activity” such as walking, gardening, cycling or farming can boost mood and self esteem . . .

Many studies have shown that outdoor exercise can reduce the risk of mental illness and improve a sense of well-being, but Jules Pretty and Jo Barton, who led this study, said that until now no one knew how much time needed to be spent on green exercise for the benefits to show.

Tell the president (yes, that one) your conservation ideas
In the wake of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Conference of April 16, the USDA has posted an online application for sharing conservation ideas in three broad areas: reconnecting with the great outdoors, private land conservation, and public land conservation. Anybody can read and rate the ideas. To comment or post, you will need a free account (click “register” at the top of the page.) An interesting experiment in using technology to further policy dialog.

The Big Slick and the Big Easy
Not sure how long The Wall Street Journal keeps content online for non-subscribers, but this opinion piece by freelancer Douglas McCollam contains some wonderful writing and interesting observations on what others are calling the “Gulf oil spill,”  but which McCollom says should really be characterized as “an erupting, underwater oil volcano.”

Everyone is distressed by the crisis in the Gulf–at TPL we have been watching in horror as the oil drifts closer to islands and marshes we have helped to protect. From McCollom’s piece:

. . . while revenue from offshore drilling has helped fill Louisiana’s coffers, it has also inflicted severe environmental damage. As far back as the 1950s, and particularly during the 1970s and ’80s, the state’s fragile wetlands were carved up to give oil companies easier ingress and egress for exploration. Today that ecosystem lies in tatters, and the southeastern coast of the state is receding at a rate of 25-35 square miles a year with no apparent means to halt the advancing sea.

Before the spill (or rather, volcano), TPL and other conservation groups were working to conserve and restore some of these wetlands. That need will only grow more intense. But first they need to stop the gusher.  Thanks to Larry Schmidt, TPL’s man in New Orleans, for forwarding the article.