Ashtabula County Metroparks touts itself as a place “for fun, for health, for life.”
The “health” part of that catchy slogan likely comes as no surprise to the mental-health community.
Mental-health professionals have recognized being out in nature as a way to improve your mental well-being.
There’s even a name for it – nature therapy.
“The environment we spend time in can have a direct impact on mental health,” according to information provided by Ashtabula Regional Medical Center. “Ashtabula Regional Medical Center providers remind patients that being outside is a practical, evidence-based way to support emotional well-being and improve physical health.”
ARMC states that the benefits from being outdoors add up over time.
“Natural light supports circadian rhythm, energy levels, and mood regulation,” ARMC states. “Outdoor activity increases movement, leading to endorphin release and improved cardiovascular health. At the same time, natural environments reduce mental fatigue and sharpen attention. Together, these physical and mental effects make time outdoors a simple but effective way to support overall mental health.”
ARMC Psychiatrist Samar El-Sayegh, MD, said, “Getting outdoors can be as effective as antidepressants for mild depression and anxiety. Not only does it help with physical health and energy levels, but it makes us feel good about ourselves. It also helps with improved sleep and motivation.”
Dr. Elaine M. Marlowe, who has Counseling Services at Sunlight Farm at 3080 Brown Rd., Jefferson, said clients tell her that being in nature allows them to breathe, calms their mind, and clears their thinking.
“They say nature allows all of their senses to be activated including hearing, feeling, seeing, and smelling,” she said.
Dr. Marlowe pointed out that neuroscience research has validated that this experience creates integration of the nervous system.
“Researchers have further found that the senses being used, being able to breathe, and the body moving out in nature is supportive of quieting depressive and anxious thoughts, reducing stress, and creating a sense of well-being,” she said.
Being at one with the creative energy of nature, she said, provides an innate sense of being alive.
“A sense of well-being can go a long way in dispelling a state of being stuck in life’s many problems and complexities,” she continued. “Nature bursts with promise, life, and intrigue. Curiosity and wondering can further open channels of thinking more positively, and problem solving with greater clarity while generating possible options.”
She noted that Canada is a leader in nature health practices.
“They believe so strongly in the potential of nature to heal that the PaRx Program allows doctors to write a Park Prescription or Museum of Nature script for their patients at no charge,” she said. “Canada’s nature health program believes from research that spending two hours weekly and 20 minutes daily in nature can boost health and well-being. Prescribing nature practices is an intriguing potential path to improve health.”
Dr. Marlowe said that Ashtabula County is “replete with opportunities to be in nature.”
“It is the reason I returned to this area after being away for 25 years,” she said. “I can personally attest to the healing power of being surrounded by nature daily. I highly recommend spending as much time in nature as you can.”
Ashtabula County Metroparks, with numerous places where people can do such things as hike, fish, birdwatch, picnic, canoe and kayak, is one of those places in Ashtabula County that offers many opportunities to cut down your stress and anxiety.
Ashtabula County Metroparks Executive Director Brett Bellas thought the Metroparks were a good place for nature therapy.
“A lot of people come to the parks and hike the trail just to get away from the hustle and bustle and everyday stuff,” he said.
He noted the visitors come to Metroparks to watch wildlife, fish, birdwatch or ride bikes.
He said it’s especially relaxing to watch the water at Harpersfield Covered Bridge Metropark. He said the waterfall seen from the trestle at Rock Creek on the Greenway Trail is also popular.
Bellas noted Metroparks tries to create relaxing experiences when laying out its trails.
“We try to incorporate that as much as we can when we design where the trails are going,” he said.
Haley Surckla, a naturalist with Lake Metroparks, thinks that Lake Metroparks are also conducive to nature therapy. And she noted they’re easy to get to.
“We have many parks across all of Lake County, so that’s makes it very accessible to multiple towns and populations across Lake County,” she said, noting there are parks within 10 minutes of large towns like Painesville and Willoughby.
She said being outdoors helps with a lot of different things.
“You are not only helping your mental health by reducing your fatigue by being more mindful and getting outside, but you can benefit your physical health,” she said, noting that you can boost your immune system and heart function by getting outdoors.
She thought children could especially benefit from nature play areas at Penitentiary Glen Reservation and an adventure play area at Jordan Creek Park.
“Those two locations are great for kids to get outside and learn problem solving skills,” she said.
A description of nature play on the Lake Metroparks website notes that nature play spaces “contain mainly natural materials designed to encourage hands-on manipulation and discovery.”
The information states that “natural elements provide inspiration, allowing children to shape their environment and at the same time, exercise judgment and fine motor skills. These activities motivate cooperation through play, encourage social interaction and help to sharpen wise decision-making skills that are essential to childhood development.”
Lake Metroparks further states that nature play spaces “help children understand, appreciate and value nature’s ecosystems” and that “frequent visits to a nature play space foster a kinship with nature and promote a greater understanding of our place in the natural world.”
Nature Play at Penitentiary Glen Reservation features interactive sites designed to engage children in creative and imaginative play, according to the information.
“Kids can traverse through an acre of green landscape with logs to climb on, tunnels to crawl through and hillsides to roll down,” it states. “Features include a play campsite, a shallow pond and natural objects to discover. There is no start or finish, nor map or suggested route. Kids are encouraged to chart their own course of adventure through this outdoor play maze. There are very few rules or limits and parents, although present, observe from a distance.”
Adventure Play at Jordan Creek Park, meanwhile, “features interactive sites designed to engage children in creative and imaginative play.”
According to the Lake Metroparks website, “there is no start or finish, nor map or suggested route.”
Rather, kids “are encouraged to chart their own course of adventure through this outdoor play maze.”
