{"id":341,"date":"2020-04-21T12:10:02","date_gmt":"2020-04-21T19:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/?p=341"},"modified":"2020-04-21T14:56:29","modified_gmt":"2020-04-21T21:56:29","slug":"earth-day-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/2020\/04\/21\/earth-day-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth Day 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blair McFarlane with his daughter enjoying the view from Elk Mountain, Chilliwack<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Submitted by guest blogger, Blair McFarlane, Energy Manager, Facilities Management<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The 50th<\/sup> anniversary of Earth Day falls on Wednesday, April 22, 2020! Amid COVID-19, we are forced to approach celebrations of Earth Day differently. Many of us have had a quietening of our lives \u2013 some daily routines have become simplified and the busy-ness has subsided. As our lives become quieter in times of social distancing, self-isolation, and even quarantine \u2013 have you noticed how prevalent the songbirds are in the mornings and evenings?<\/p>\n

As we endure anxious and stressful times, you might want to reassess or celebrate your relationship with nature. Perhaps recently you\u2019ve found more opportunities to explore the outdoors. Have you ever experienced physical, physiological, and emotional benefits from a connection to nature? Perhaps try Shinrin-yoku<\/a>, or Japanese Forest Bathing: The practice of spending time in forested areas for the purpose of enhancing health, wellness and happiness.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Nancy Scarrow enjoying a forest bath on Mt. Thom<\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nature and the ability to see or immerse yourself in green spaces are increasingly being considered when designing new green buildings. Studies<\/a> have shown that nature restores mental functioning the same way that food and water restores bodies. Green building standards like LEED<\/a> (Student Union Building, CEP A) prioritize quality views to enhance student and employee satisfaction and productivity. These two UFV LEED Gold certified buildings are not only aesthetically pleasing, but very easy to be in as well. An abundance of natural light and sight lines to naturescapes provide elements of forest bathing from the indoors. This design was very deliberate.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to recognize the impacts that nature has on our mental and physical well-being. It is through this perspective that we can be re-energized to protect, reclaim, and enhance naturescapes in our communities.<\/p>\n

Have you noticed how when we use less fossil fuels (gasoline, natural gas, etc.) air quality improves<\/a> a lot? I bet the songbirds birds appreciate that. Not to mention spending significantly less money on gasoline or diesel. Think of the impacts electric vehicles could have on the Fraser Valley airshed if we all transitioned to clean electric vehicles. We would be saving money, reducing pollution<\/a> and impacts on ecosystems, while reducing noise levels and ultimately improving our livelihoods on all accounts.<\/p>\n

The 50th<\/sup> Earth Day on April 22nd<\/sup> will be like none other. The coronavirus pandemic has given us a glimpse at what impacts a low-carbon future could look like in our local and global communities. It has in short order given nature the opportunity to recharge and reclaim some of its spaces. It has given us more time to spend with the friends and family that live within our households and time spent with them making connections with nature.<\/p>\n

This Wednesday you could celebrate by going for a nature walk around the campus, or if working remotely, take a break and enjoy a walk in the park. Feel Shinrin-yoku shed the stress and anxieties you carry with you. Breathe deeply and often. Appreciate the benefits of plentiful and healthy natural areas. It is increasingly clear that nature supports us in more ways that we typically consider on a day-to-day basis. An appropriate way to celebrate this Earth Day is to head into nature and take in the silence. You might want to preserve what you hear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Submitted by guest blogger, Blair McFarlane, Energy Manager, Facilities Management The 50th anniversary of Earth Day falls on Wednesday, April 22, 2020! Amid COVID-19, we are forced to approach celebrations of Earth Day differently. Many of us have had a quietening of our lives \u2013 some daily routines have become simplified and the busy-ness has … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":213,"featured_media":345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-employee-stories","category-events","category-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/213"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":348,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341\/revisions\/348"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/ufv-at-work\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}