Celebrating Snow in all its Forms

Snow, rain, stormwater & all the opportunities.

Snow days stick in our memories and turn parking lots into community play zones. Images from this past weekend of deers in the streets of D.C., time-lapse videos of snow packed backyards, and children touching the snow for the first time are joyful reminders of our love of impromptu nature.

A Brooklyn child is inspired into a handstand. Source: Several Seconds
A Brooklyn child is inspired into a handstand. Source: Several Seconds

For us at NatureSacred, we wonder, do the health benefits of nearby nature extend to snowscapes? Much of what we know about the general nature and health domain comes from Western Europe and the United States, although some of the most groundbreaking research comes out of Japan 1 2. Most of these studies analyze a type of ‘nature’ that is green, warm and sunny; emerging theories suggest humans respond to the color green differently than other colors.  Research camps are divided between the health benefits of ‘green exercise’, perhaps exemplified by the recent NYC snowboarders, and the health benefits of restorative experiences, like the quiet calm noticeable after a snowfall. For landscapes that are snow covered, or dry and sparse, there is less research in any area. Most researchers will agree that the ‘type’ of nature is less important than the associations and relationships humans have with those places. If your home has snowscapes much of the year, your healthful, meditative walk may be in places others find stark. Conversely, those who inhabit harsh places may have less romantic or calming associations with the outdoors.

What about snow’s counterpart, waterscapes?

Nearly all of our human settlements have sprung from nearby water supplies. A clean and accessible water source allows new villages and cities to grow. Evolutionary biologists would argue that our modern day romance with lake and ocean-views ties back to our original search for such life-giving places.

“We massively undervalue the oceans. I work with a group of veterans who use surfing and kayaking to help with PTSD. They now realize that healthy water is important to them. And they are now all ocean conservationists; they realize the ocean or river saved their lives and make sure it’s available to save their lives. Access to the “blue mind” means access to a waterway that isn’t polluted.” – Wallace Nichols

Several scientists write about the calming effects of waterscapes. A marine biologist-turned-neuroscientist believes people will more likely care and act to conserve our oceans if they are aware and appreciate the positive feelings we have around water. After several years of bringing neuroscientists and oceanographers together, Wallace Nichols describes how floating in water activates what scientists already know is the brain’s default resting state. When the brain has few auditory or visual distractions, it uses a different network of connections (a “default mode”) than it does when attention is focused on a task. Evidence suggests that brain systems activated during rest are important for active, internally focused psychosocial mental processing. In other words, rest improves the ability to recall personal memories, imagine the future, and feel social emotions with moral connotations 3. Nichols describes this state as the ‘Blue Mind’.

Another advocate, Tim Beatley, has shifted emphasis from green spaces to blue spaces. His recent book, Blue Urbanism, calls for a recognition of water surrounding many modern cities and the role these play in the health of living beings above and below water. Emerging research and design is beginning to explore theoretical accounts for why we might be attached to specific lakes and oceans, or whether our feelings extend to general waterscapes.

In the urban planning realm, ecosystem services refers to the practical benefits from trees and parks, such as tree canopy density to combat the heat island effect, or bioswells to filter pollution and capture excessive water during floods (or snowfall). Several cities such as Berlin, Philadelphia, and Copenhagen are re-imagining and implementing green infrastructure to better manage stormwater and provide places for meaningful community experiences.

Philadelphia’s Green City, Clean Waters initiative is adding 19 square miles of green space to neighborhoods while keeping 9 billion gallons of stormwater and sewage out of nearby rivers each year. Philadelphia’s plan envisions transforming the city into an oasis of rain gardens, green roofs, treescapes, and porous pavements.

Copenhagen’s new design is another creative combination of green infrastructure and community engagement. A sizable open space transforms into a city pond if a massive rainfall hits. The flowerbeds fill with water, upside down umbrella sculptures capture rainfall for future watering, and water is pumped courtesy of bouncy children.

A Copenhagen square provides community greenspace during dry weather. Source: Tredje Natur
A Copenhagen square provides community greenspace during dry weather. Source: Tredje Natur

Although Copenhagen does not typically capture much snowfall in the winter months, their design could likely be adapted in U.S. east coast cities struggling with the massive amount of snowmelt.

A Copenhagen square designed to fill with rainwater. Source: Tredje Natur
The same Copenhagen square is designed to fill with rainwater and become a waterscape. Source: Tredje Natur

 

Next snowfall, let us imagine and appreciate the snow in all its forms, and the life it provides for all living beings.

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1 Keniger, L. E., K.J. Gaston, K.N. Irvine, and R.A. Fuller. 2013. What are the benefits of interacting with nature? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 10: 913-935.
2 Toda, M., R. Den, M. Hasegawa-Ohira, and K. Morimoto. 2013. Effects of woodland walking on salivary stress markers cortisol and chromogranin a. Complementary Therapies in Medicine 21: 29-34.
3 Immordino-Yang, M.H., J.A. Christodoulou, and V. Singh. 2012. Rest is not idleness: Implications of the brain’s default mode for human development and education. Perspectives on Psychological Science 7, 4: 352-364.