It’s amazing what trees can do to improve our health. That’s what a study involving 75 children in two Finnish cities found. The study was briefly reported in the Oct. 23, 2020 issue of The Guardian Weekly. In the study, the play areas of children were changed from gravel yards to mini-forests. Within one month,
I was selling my books at a local store today, something I do twice a week for about an hour each time. When there were no people checking out at the cash register where he was stationed, a new employee came over to talk with me. He wanted to learn more about my books. “Which
Neighborhood leaves gather by a fence This autumn, leaves are falling from trees and blowing all over the place. Some of them are quite beautiful, and many of them have different shapes. Maybe some of them are blowing into your yard. As they fall down and blow near your house, see how many you can
When Katie and Francisco, the characters in If I Were a Tree, What Would I Be?, talk about what they have learned from trees, they discover that trees are really good at staying grounded. That means they focus on what is happening right now. Often, we try to stay focused, but we end up rehashing
In the news these days are stories about huge wind storms, sometimes with lots of flooding, and intense wildfires that are destroying entire communities, including trees. Sometimes trees are uprooted, ending their lives. Even worse, those trees might land on a house, damaging it and sometimes killing people who live there. These kinds of news
Though we often think of bullies as being mostly found in school settings, they pop up everywhere, even among adults. They can be found in every walk of life. Usually, bullies try to belittle and intimidate others because they have a low opinion of themselves. If they can make someone else feel sad, uncomfortable or
When you take a walk with your child or children someplace where there are several trees, encourage your children to be especially aware of those trees. Notice their color, their shape, their beauty, their individuality. But notice more than that. This kind of noticing might seem a little weird, woo-woo, or even spooky. But it
If you’re looking for a free, educational outing for your elementary school age kids, think about taking them to a place where you can both walk and enjoy trees at the same time. If your city has walkways along a river with plenty of trees, that would be a perfect place to go. Otherwise, find
