The average American spends about 90 percent of their time inside, according to the EPA. What if the scales were a little more even? That’s what Atlanta’s Blue Heron Nature Preserve is encouraging with its August Wellness Month.
This month, the 30-acre preserve is hosting a slate of events for National Wellness Month, all focused on getting folks to spend extended time outside. The Blue Heron team launched August Wellness Month in 2021 with a vision of helping visitors deepen their relationships with the natural world.
The initiative is held in partnership with Northside Hospital. The events are free and intended for anyone who wants to spend time in nature, ranging from kids to seniors.
The program line-up includes:
- Connecting Mind, Body, and Spirit to Nature: On Saturday, Aug. 12, Sally Sierer Bethea (retired founding director of the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper) will guide a discussion and walk along Nancy Creek. Attendees will learn more about the ecosystems surrounding our local waterways and will be encouraged to develop deeper relationships with the natural landscapes.
- Trees and Forest Ecology Walk: On Saturday, Aug. 19, master naturalist Kathryn Kolb (executive director of EcoAddendum) will lead an ecology walk and teach participants about the story of Atlanta’s urban forests and what makes them special. She will also teach folks how to identify trees and other plant species.
- Wellness While Birding: On Saturday, Aug. 26, visitors will learn tips and tricks for spotting and identifying local birds. Sheridan Alford (environmental educator and director of community engagement at Georgia Audubon) will also discuss the conditions that help native birds thrive.
For the Blue Heron Team, wellness and time outdoors are intrinsically tied. We all know that time spent outside can offer benefits — both mentally and physically — but it can still be difficult to make it happen regularly. As Executive Director Melody Harclerode puts it: “There’s a lot of incentive to stay inside.”
Take for example the release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” which broke box office records. And in an era where the entertainment industry is continually updating its marketing techniques, Harclerode said the outdoor industry needs to follow suit.
“We have to be creative and persistent about finding ways to motivate outdoor enjoyment,” she said. “The entertainment industry stays creative about how to draw people in. Greenspaces and parks also need to also be creative about how we engage the public. With August Wellness Month, that’s our way of being creative with the ecological beauty of Blue Heron.”
At the end of August Wellness Month, Harclerode hopes that residents will have a deeper appreciation of our local greenspaces.
For additional details and registration, click here.
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