The Simple Life

Simplify your Life Week => First week of August

August 4-10, 2019

To me, as a lover of Nature, the waving of a tree conveys thoughts which are never conveyed to me except by seeing a tree wave. Stephen Leacock

“This increasing feeling culminated in the resolve which becomes the subject of this narrative. The thought came to me suddenly one night. I woke from my sleep with a plan fully matured in my mind. It was this: I would, …cast off all the travail and cares of civilized life and become again the wild man of the woods that Nature made me. … To a trained woodsman and crawler like myself the thing was simplicity itself. For food I knew that I could rely on berries, roots, shoots, mosses, mushrooms, fungi, bungi—in fact the whole of Nature’s ample storehouse; for my drink, the running brook and the quiet pool; and for my companions the twittering chipmunk, the chickadee, the chocktaw, the choo-choo, the chow-chow, and the hundred and one inhabitants of the forgotten glade and the tangled thicket.” ~Stephen Leacock

Is this simplicity to you? Try a visit to the afforestation areas in Saskatoon.

“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”
― John Burroughs, Leaf and Tendril

For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park

For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

For more information:

Blairmore Sector Plan Report; planning for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area,  George Genereux Urban Regional Park and West Swale and areas around them inside of Saskatoon city limits

P4G Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth The P4G consists of the Cities of Saskatoon, Warman, and Martensville, the Town of Osler and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park; planning for areas around the afforestation area and West Swale outside of Saskatoon city limits

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SE 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com
Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map
Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Facebook: South West OLRA

Twitter: StBarbeBaker

You Tube Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

You Tube George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Please help protect / enhance your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)

Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year).  Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers  Please and thank you!  Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated.  Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!

Paypal

Payment Options

Membership : $20.00 CAD – yearly Membership with donation : $50.00 CAD Membership with donation : $100.00 CAD

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

“St. Barbe’s unique capacity to pass on his enthusiasm to others. . . Many foresters all over the world found their vocations as a result of hearing ‘The Man of the Trees’ speak. I certainly did, but his impact has been much wider than that. Through his global lecture tours, St. Barbe has made millions of people aware of the importance of trees and forests to our planet.” Allan Grainger

“The science of forestry arose from the recognition of a universal need. It embodies the spirit of service to mankind in attempting to provide a means of supplying forever a necessity of life and, in addition, ministering to man’s aesthetic tastes and recreational interests. Besides, the spiritual side of human nature needs the refreshing inspiration which comes from trees and woodlands. If a nation saves its trees, the trees will save the nation. And nations as well as tribes may be brought together in this great movement, based on the ideal of beautifying the world by the cultivation of one of God’s loveliest creatures – the tree.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker.

A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use; then rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor – such is my idea of happiness. Leo Tolstoy

Prayer of the Woods

Friday September 29, 2017

World Heart Day

 

 

Cardiovascular benefits, and heart health forest walking

Heart health forest walking

Heart health outdoor forest walking. Heart Cloud

What are your body’s bio rhythms?  Are you in tune with the rising and the setting of the sun?  Are you aware of the season change and the equinox on your body?  Living in urban centres in the industrialized world have removed the majority of the population from the forest, the electrical light have de-sensitized the body to the cycles of daylight, our heart and cardiovascular system work in tune to clocks, calendar schedules, and a face paced life to meet deadlines.  Where is the time spent breathing slowly and deeply and becoming attune to the rhythm and flow of our bodies in the forest?  Who re-charges their hearts and bodies at day break with a saunter in the woods?  Who winds down the day with a relaxing stroll through the forest to ready the mind-body for sleep?  Do you know when the next full moon or new moon is?

Studies have proven that walking in the forest has cardiovascular benefits.  Hospital gardens,  Shinrin-Yoku or forest bathing researchers are all finding calming, relaxing benefits on the cardiovascular system as compared to those walking a brick and ashpalt urban setting.

““We performed field experiments in four different local areas to evaluate the physiological benefits of forest walking. Our data indicated that the forest walking program has a positive influence on cardiovascular relaxation.””…”participants felt more comfortable, soothed, and natural after forest walking than after urban walking both before and after activities,” stated researchers from Finland, Japan and Korea

“Time spent walking and relaxing in a forest environment (“forest bathing” or “forest therapy”) has well demonstrated anti-stress effects in healthy adults… Blood pressure and several physiological and psychological indices of stress were measured the day before and approximately 2 h following forest therapy… Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), urinary adrenaline, and serum cortisol were all significantly lower than baseline following forest therapy … Subjects reported feeling significantly more “relaxed” and “natural” ” Researchers

Polizzi states that the Journal of Alternative And Complimentary Medicine, walking barefoot “reduces blood viscosity, which is a major factor in cardiovascular disease”.  Yoga practitioners practice cleansing  throughout the body by walking barefoot.

Prayer of the Woods
“I am the heat of your hearth on the cold winter nights, the friendly shade screening you from the summer sun, and my fruits are refreshing draughts quenching your thirst as you journey on.
I am the beam that holds your house, the board of your table, the bed on which you lie, and the timber that builds your boat.
I am the handle of your hoe, the door of your homestead, the wood of your cradle, and the shell of your coffin.
I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty. ‘Ye who pass by, listen to my prayer: Harm me not.”
– Portuguese legend

Have you every cared for your heart by planning a walk in the forest?  Have you ever turned on your phone app and plotted a nature trail where you have wandered to share with others?  What about You Tube?  Have you ever filmed your walk, and uploaded your movie to YouTube to share the beauty of the natural forest you visited?  Help others to discover nature, to heal their heart, just by telling your story.   \Add your forest story to the 150 forest story compilation today!

“We believe in the innate intelligence of the villagers, the country men and the workers, that they should be allowed to manage their own affairs. We believe they will put into their work not merely their hands and their feet, but their brains and their hearts. Each can experience the transcendental joy of creation, and can earn immortality and bestow immortality.” ~Richard St. Barbe Baker

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Case, Adams Naturopath.  Forest Walking Reduces Anxiety, Produces Heart Benefits   Heal Naturally
Science-based Natural Health. Realnatural, Inc

Franklin, Deborah How Hospital Gardens Help Patients Heal  Hospital gardens turn out to have medical benefits Scientific American  March 1, 2012

Hiroko Ochiai,^1,† Harumi Ikei,^2,† Chorong Song,^2,† Maiko Kobayashi,³ Ako Takamatsu,⁴ Takashi Miura,⁵ Takahide Kagawa,⁶ Qing Li,³ Shigeyoshi Kumeda,⁷ Michiko Imai,⁸ and Yoshifumi Miyazaki^2,*  Physiological and Psychological Effects of Forest Therapy on Middle-Aged Males with High-Normal Blood Pressure Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2015 Mar; 12(3): 2532–2542. Published online 2015 Feb 25. doi:  10.3390/ijerph120302532  PMCID: PMC4377916

Jae-un, Limb Forest healing prevents cardiovascular disease Department Global Communication and Contents Division, KoreaNet Sci-Tech. Feb 28, 2014Juyoung Lee, Yuko Tsunetsugu, Norimasa Takayama, et al., “Influence of Forest therapy on Cardiovascular Relaxation in Young Adults,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2014, Article ID 834360, 7 pages, 2014. doi:10.1155/2014/834360

Keys, Jon Licensed Professional Counselor and Herbalist  Healing the Heart: Exploring Heart Rate Variability and Trauma 

Murata T, Takahashi T, Hamada T, Omori M, Kosaka H, Yoshida H, Wada Y. Individual trait anxiety levels characterizing the properties of zen meditation. Neuropsychobiology. 2004;50(2):189-94. http://www.karger.com/?DOI=10.1159/000079113

Telpner, Meghan. Into The Woods: Healing Benefits of Forest Bathing

Tobaldini E, Nobili L, Strada S, Casali KR, Braghiroli A, Montano N. Heart rate variability in normal and pathological sleep. Front Physiol. 2013 Oct 16;4:294. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2013.00294

Polizzi, Nick.  Can walking barefoot heal your heart?  August 1st, 2017

For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park

For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

For more information:

Blairmore Sector Plan Report; planning for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area,  George Genereux Urban Regional Park and West Swale and areas around them inside of Saskatoon city limits

P4G Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth The P4G consists of the Cities of Saskatoon, Warman, and Martensville, the Town of Osler and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park; planning for areas around the afforestation area and West Swale outside of Saskatoon city limits

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SW 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com
Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map
Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Facebook: South West OLRA

Twitter: StBarbeBaker

Please help protect / enhance /commemorate your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)

Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year).  Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers  Please and thank you!  Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated.  Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!

Paypal

Payment Options

Membership : $20.00 CAD – yearly Membership with donation : $50.00 CAD Membership with donation : $100.00 CAD

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

 

“St. Barbe’s unique capacity to pass on his enthusiasm to others. . . Many foresters all over the world found their vocations as a result of hearing ‘The Man of the Trees’ speak. I certainly did, but his impact has been much wider than that. Through his global lecture tours, St. Barbe has made millions of people aware of the importance of trees and forests to our planet.” Allan Grainger

“We forget that we owe our existence to the presence of Trees. As far as forest cover goes, we have never been in such a vulnerable position as we are today. The only answer is to plant more Trees – to Plant Trees for Our Lives.” ~ Richard St. Barbe Baker

“Act. Don’t react. See a need, fix it first. Worry about the details later. If you wait until you are asked you have just missed a golden opportunity. They are fleeting and rare.” Philip Wollen founder of Winsome Kindness Trust

This sublime view

National Pink Day June 23

How to celebrate National Pink Day in a green verdant lush forest? With a rose or two!

National Pink Day June 23

How to celebrate National Pink Day in a green verdant lush forest? With a rose or two!

The rose is a flower of love. The world has acclaimed it for centuries. Pink roses are for love hopeful and expectant. White roses are for love dead or forsaken, but the red roses, ah the red roses are for love triumphant.     

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As the sun rose above the horizon, all the earthly circumstances were gradually forgotten, and merged in the surpassing grandeur of the scene that rose majestically before me. The previous day had been dark and stormy, and a heavy fog had concealed the mountain chain, which forms the stupendous background to this sublime view, entirely from our sight. As the clouds rolled away from their grey, bald brows, and cast into denser shadow the vast forest belt that girdled them round, they loomed out like mighty giants—Titans of the earth, in all their rugged and awful beauty—a thrill of wonder and delight pervaded my mind. The spectacle floated dimly on my sight—my eyes were blinded with tears—blinded with the excess of beauty. I turned to the right and to the left, I looked up and down the glorious West Swale wetlands; never had I beheld so many striking objects blended into one mighty whole! Nature had lavished all her noblest features in producing that enchanting scene.~Susanna Moodie

 

Spring Sunset Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Wild rose

One morn—it was the very morn
July’s sportive month was born—
The hour, about the sunrise, early;
The sky gray, sober, still, and pearly,
With sundry pink streaks and tinges
Through daylight’s door, at cracks and hinges:
The air, calm, bracing, freshly cool,
As if just skimm’d from off from the marsh;
The scene, red, russet, yellow, laden,
National Pink Day beholden. Adapted from Thomas Hood

For directions as to how to drive to “George Genereux” Urban Regional Park

For directions on how to drive to Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

For more information:

Blairmore Sector Plan Report; planning for the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area,  George Genereux Urban Regional Park and West Swale and areas around them inside of Saskatoon city limits

P4G Saskatoon North Partnership for Growth The P4G consists of the Cities of Saskatoon, Warman, and Martensville, the Town of Osler and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park; planning for areas around the afforestation area and West Swale outside of Saskatoon city limits

Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada north of Cedar Villa Road, within city limits, in the furthest south west area of the city. 52° 06′ 106° 45′
Addresses:
Part SE 23-36-6 – Afforestation Area – 241 Township Road 362-A
Part SW 23-36-6 – SW Off-Leash Recreation Area (Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area ) – 355 Township Road 362-A
S ½ 22-36-6 Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area (West of SW OLRA) – 467 Township Road 362-A
NE 21-36-6 “George Genereux” Afforestation Area – 133 Range Road 3063
Wikimapia Map: type in Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area
Google Maps South West Off Leash area location pin at parking lot
Web page: https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com
Where is the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area? with map
Where is the George Genereux Urban Regional Park (Afforestation Area)? with map

Pinterest richardstbarbeb

Facebook Group Page: Users of the George Genereux Urban Regional Park

Facebook: StBarbeBaker

Facebook group page : Users of the St Barbe Baker Afforestation Area

Facebook: South West OLRA

Twitter: StBarbeBaker

Please help protect / enhance /commemorate your afforestation areas, please contact the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. (e-mail)

Support the afforestation areas with your donation or membership ($20.00/year).  Please donate by paypal using the e-mail friendsafforestation AT gmail.com, or by using e-transfers  Please and thank you!  Your donation and membership is greatly appreciated.  Members e-mail your contact information to be kept up to date!

Paypal

Payment Options

Membership : $20.00 CAD – yearly Membership with donation : $50.00 CAD Membership with donation : $100.00 CAD

1./ Learn.

2./ Experience

3./ Do Something: ^***

 

See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence . . . We need silence to be able to touch souls. ~Mother Teresa

“I believed that God has lent us the Earth. It belongs as much to those who come after us as to us, and it ill behooves us by anything we do or neglect, to deprive them of benefits which are in our power to bequeath.” Richard St. Barbe Baker

Stand firm. Grip hard.
Thrust upward to the skies.
Bend to the winds of heaven.
And learn tranquility.
~Richard St. Barbe Baker

 

“In the stillness of the mighty woods, man is made aware of the divine”
Richard St Barbe Baker