The leaves of the old rhododendron shrubs hang straight and stiff outside my window—the surest indicator of freezing temperatures. I dress in layers and head out to the forest in NYBG.
In the late 1800s Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.” Recently a friend posted an article about shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, a term coined in Japan in 1982 that sparked my interest.
Shinrin-yoku was inspired by the ancient Shinto and Buddhist practices of letting nature enter the body through all five senses. For several decades now Japanese researchers have been studying the psychological and physiological effects of leisurely walking in the woods and breathing in the scent of old trees. They found correlations with stress and blood pressure reduction, improved mood, increased energy, improved sleep, increased concentration, and increases in the body’s immune cells. Now there are forty-eight designated forest therapy trails in Japan and shinrin-yoku is an accepted form of preventative medicine there. It is estimated that an astounding one quarter of the Japanese population use these forest trails. With increasing urbanization and use of technology, other countries around the world are investigating the potential health benefits of spending time in nature.
What we have long believed intuitively to be true regarding the benefits of spending time among the trees may in fact be linked to biological and chemical changes in our bodies. In the meantime, as I walk these paths in the Thain Family Forest, I smile to think that in other native forests under different native trees, others are walking paths, different yet similar, and experiencing a comparable sense of peace.
Each year, wandering winter-lovers take the time to craft tiny snowpeople throughout the Garden, leaving them for visitors and employees alike to puzzle over. This tiny fellow happens to be the first one we’ve found in 2015.
Tiny snowman in the Forest – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
This weekend is the culmination of NYBG’s Fall Forest Weekends! Winter will be here before you know it, so don’t miss your chance to come and admire our stunning fall foliage while enjoying a wide variety of seasonal programs and activities. Take a canoe through New York City’s largest remaining tract of old-growth forest via the Bronx River, see live hawks and owls, and watch a master woodcarver at work—whose handiwork will be for sale in the Shop in the Garden!
Next weekend will be the debut of all of NYBG’s winter programs and exhibits, including the 23rd year of the Holiday Train Show, so be sure to reserve your tickets soon before your preferred date sells out! In the meantime, click through for all the ways you can take advantage of peak color at NYBG!
Looks like Groundbreakers‘ moon gate is moonlighting on the Bronx River. We’re almost into the very last week of our summer exhibition, so if you haven’t found the opportunity to pay us a visit, now’s a great time!
Along the Bronx River in the Thain Family Forest – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
The Great-horned Owl nest of 2009
I have had the pleasure of taking thousands of photos of wildlife at The New York Botanical Garden since my first treks here in 2008. Among the birds of prey that I enjoy photographing are the Great-horned Owls. My first encounter with these winged hunters was back in March of 2009.
It was a little after 4:00 p.m. as I was walking down Azalea Way that I heard hooting coming from the Forest. I looked through the trees only to be surprised by the outline of an owl. Back then, I was shooting with a small point-and-shoot that had nowhere near the zoom range of my current camera. But it didn’t matter. What was important was that I got to see an amazing member of the animal kingdom for the first time, and I got a photo!
Later that month I spotted the female owl and one of her two hatchlings in the nest, which was located in a snag overlooking a trail near the edge of the Forest. I’ll never forget the day when a fluffy little head popped up and looked right into my camera. It’s still one of my all-time favorite photographs.
While we won’t be open on Thanksgiving Day, a fact the Garden’s turkeys are all too fond of, there’s still the entire holiday weekend to go! We’ll be taking advantage of it with the ongoing Holiday Train Show, several tours of specific collections and seasonally fascinating autumn plants, and some fun for the kids in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden.
It’s also a perfect opportunity to get a head start on working off those Thanksgiving and Hanukkah carbs before any incoming December feasts you have planned. Of course, there’s no better place to do this than our Forest trails. While most of the leaves have already fallen, there’s a certain elegance to the netting of branches that overlays the trails in our 50-acre old growth woodland, and I doubt you’ll find many places in this bustling city quite so insulated from the urban world outside.
Check out our relaxed schedule below for detailed information on the tours we’ll be having throughout the weekend, and if you’re leaving town for the holidays, here’s to safe and stress-free travels!
I shot this on Tuesday, October 30th. As my shift ended early, I decided to take advantage of the daylight and photograph the continuing explosion of fall colors. The Forest is especially wonderful this time of year. Reds, yellows, oranges, and great shades of violet cover its 50 acres. According to the Garden’s fall foliage tracker, we are now about halfway to peak color. And it can only get better. I didn’t edit this photo in the least—mother nature provided excellent colors!
The spotlight falls on our 50-acre woodland this weekend as we leapfrog past ghouls and ghosts and straight into Fall Forest Weekends! The timing couldn’t be better, either, with the leaves on the trees sitting at just over 50% of peak color. Over the next two weekends, we’ll be making the most of this painted season with canoe trips, Forest tours, tree-climbing courses, woodcarving demonstrations, beer tastings—you get the idea.
My suggestion? Come early, wander a bit to orient yourself, then launch into Saturday’s 11 a.m. Bird Walk with Debbie Becker. That should set you up for the rest of the day’s activities in the Forest while giving you a chance to experience the variety of wildlife that calls the Garden home. There’s a good mix of active and casual events taking place throughout each day, too, so take it all at your own pace!
The weather’s been mild, the colors are bright, and we’re super excited to get outside and enjoy it all. Everyone is welcome to join us!
The leaves of the old rhododendron shrubs hang straight and stiff outside my window—the surest indicator of freezing temperatures. I dress in layers and head out to the forest in NYBG.
