How to Connect to Your Environment
Environmental wellness is one of the seven dimensions of wellness, and it refers to the relationship we have with our world around us. We all want a comfortable, beautiful location to spend our days in, and finding engaging outdoor activities that keep us active while also preserving and protecting the world is key to enjoying a high quality of life.
The Best Outdoor Activities for Seniors
To improve your environmental wellness, it’s important to find ways to interact with nature and your own personal environment. No matter what your current abilities may be, you can find plenty of life-enriching outdoor activities to enjoy regularly that allow you to appreciate your environment to the fullest extent.Continue to stay connected to your environment by taking part in the following activities:
- Grow a garden. Gardening for seniors a great way not only to connect to your environment, but to also enhance your physical health and mental health. In fact, you can burn up to 300 calories in one gardening session! Plant all your favorite flowers, veggies and herbs to beautify your living space and boost your mood. If you have conditions that make bending or kneeling difficult, look into raised bed gardens or flower boxes, which allow for easier access to your plants.
- Do some pruning. Engage several different muscle groups by keeping bushes and hedges trimmed and looking symmetrical. Here’s a tip, though – prune plants early in the growing season, but be careful not to over prune them, as this can make it difficult for them to grow properly during the peak season. You can always just tidy them up regularly to make your yard look fresh and polished.
- Say hello to your feathered friends. The state of New Jersey, in particular, is one of the best states in the entire nation for birdwatching, with roughly 475 different species in the area. Birdwatching is great for at improving your environmental wellness, too, allowing you time for contemplation and reflection while providing a true appreciation for nature and your surroundings. Birdwatching can be accomplished as easily as setting up a feeder near your kitchen window or by heading out to a nearby park with a set of binoculars.
- Take a hike. What better way to enjoy the great outdoors than by heading out for an invigorating hike on a trail or walking path. Hiking is a physical activity that allows you to enjoy nature while getting physical health benefits too, like improved circulation, reduced joint point, increased muscle strength, and it also decreases feelings of isolation and depression. Just make sure to choose a trail that matches your current abilities and bring a bottle of water with you to stay hydrated.
- Create a weather station. A personal weather station is basically a set of weather measuring instruments you can set up in your yard to let you know details about the weather, such as the temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and more. Whether you’re a gardener, outdoor enthusiast or simply a weather buff, creating a DIY weather station allows you to make decisions about your day before heading outside. Collect the instruments you need like a thermometer, rain gauge, barometer, etc., and do some research online to learn how to set your station up to your liking.
Environmental Wellness at Springpoint Senior Living Communities
In our Springpoint Senior Living Life Plan communities, we make it our goal to ensure residents are enjoying the highest level of wellness in all seven dimensions: physical, intellectual, social, emotional, vocational, spiritual and environmental. For environmental wellness, you can enjoy gardening in one of our on-site greenhouses and raised-bed gardens or help reduce waste by joining a Recycle, Repurpose and Reuse program. You’ll find plenty of opportunities to enhance your green thumb and enjoy the world around you.
Find vibrant independent living and a continuum of care at one of our senior living communities near you today. Or, contact us today learn more.
