Your Brain Needs the Nature
So don’t deny it of that, please.
More and more research is leading scientists to believe (and engage in further research) that we humans function much better when there is some piece of nature around us. Even if it is just a small patch of grass or a glimpse of a tree, we seem to be able to concentrate better, heal quicker from injury, make better decisions, even live longer, when we have some exposure to natural elements, in our urban world. 
I personally am fascinated by this and it is truly my engine for wanting to be involved in the movement to approach the city as an ecosystem and habitat for humans. Better humans = better cities. As Plato said, “This City is what it is because our citizens are what they are.”
This is a budding field, with plenty more to question, but it is an exciting time for us urban habitat explorers. While I do love to hug trees–and most things actually–the benefits and value of doing so seems to be coming away from the fringes and into more common discussions about what we really can gain when we look at the city from an urban ecology perspective. I love it. It excites me. I could talk about this for hours on end.
And tomorrow night I will talk about it for 6 minutes at Green Home NYC’s Women of Green event. It is Pecha Kucha format, so there are 12 of us speaking, with 20 slides each, and 20 seconds on each one of those slides. Come join us! Should be a good night. And if you can’t make it, stay tuned for more discussions on urban habitats.
