June 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 45

Not to mention the diseases you
can be exposed to while walking in
the woods. Lyme disease, Zika virus
disease, Chikungunya, West Nile virus - I could go on, believe me. You
can make yourself sick just thinking
about the ways you can get sick from
spending time in the woods.
The wildlife you can see when you
are walking in the woods - big deal.
It's just a bunch of deer and wild turkeys and great-horned owls and flying squirrels and song birds - you
can see all that on TV. Same goes for
the woodland wildflowers - columbine, Jack-in-the-pulpit, showy orchis, trillium, cardinal flower and the
ferns like Lady fern, Maidenhair fern
and Cinnamon fern. Go to a nursery
if you want to see them. Oh, wait...
you can't see those in a commercial
nursery - those flowers and ferns
only grow in the woods. Well, so
what, they're no big deal. They only
bloom once a year anyway.
Look, forget about the fact that
medical research is now showing that
walking in the woods actually produces calming brain waves in kids and
adults. And, it just isn't true that people's creativity, productivity and general health are all improved by daily
doses of nature, no matter what all
that scientific evidence now claims.
You can take drugs for all those benefits. And as far as physical health goes,
you can cure obesity in many ways
- surgery, for one. You simply don't
have to go on daily walks in nature.
Sure, there are some who say all
these hazards can be easily avoided
if you take your time, be aware and
become a part of the natural environment in which you are walking.
They say, just take a few precautions
like wearing loose, long-sleeved lightweight clothing and sturdy shoes.
Use bug spray, wear a hat and sun	

screen when you need it, and learn
what real hazards are from those
who know how to avoid them.
Come on! You believe all this stuff ?
I know many parents and kids are
starting to believe that this kind of
activity actually does improve your
physical, emotional and even spiritual health. Oh, spare me. Put the

notions about health benefits and
medical research findings of spending time in nature in the trash! You
want to stay healthy, at least for a
short while? Forget about walking in
the woods. 
Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA's Vice President of
Conservation and Parks (rdolesh@nrpa.org).

W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | J U N E 2 0 1 6 |

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June 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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