Ways to Connect With Nature in the City

The gap in terms of the geographical landscape of urban and rural areas worldwide has been continuously widening in recent years. Globalization has urged nations to refurbish their metropolitan districts to accommodate the demands and meet the expectations of people from abroad who might be part of their next set of stakeholders in the future. Heavy investments in technology and infrastructure are among the most evident efforts poured out by governments to ensure that their respective country’s capital is as enticing as it can be to the visitors. On the other hand, there hasn’t been such a massive transformation that transpired in the countryside. Partly, ancestral domains hinder governing bodies of the land to reclaim such properties and transform them according to a modernized form. 

Nonetheless, rural areas are slowly gaining momentum since it offers a stress-free environment that most urban dwellers are longing for. With the hustle and bustle in the cities, it is hard to find silence and tranquility within sky-high buildings and jam-packed streets. Pollution in all forms has also been more rampant in the metropolis than in the provinces. To address this, country leaders are starting to insinuate a glimpse of nature in modern-day infrastructures to provide a sanctuary in the middle of a chaotic territory.

If you are a city dweller who aspires to reconnect with nature but has no means to go back to the provinces and take a short break, here are five ways how you can satisfy yourself while staying within the vicinity of urban areas:

1. Make way for native fauna and flora in the city

Just because cities are filled with enclosed infrastructures doesn’t mean that there is no way to bring nature into them. Especially since the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, the idea of “plantito/plantita” has circulated throughout the web in the Philippines. More Filipinos have shown interest in raising plants since they demand a sense of responsibility and stewardship from their respective owners. At large, this concept has been translated into a much more visible cause such as the case of Singapore, where residents have the top of their skyscrapers filled with plants.

Integrating this into your list of hobbies can also bring positively impactful effects to the environment–propagation of fauna and flora can ignite a green revolution, which is highly called for as alarming issues such as global warming and climate change have reached the headlines in recent years. 

2. Create a work of art through nature

Since art reflects reality, why not turn it into a channel to promote appreciation for the environment? To date, the power of the said communication medium has been greater in scope than it has ever been before. Artists have spoken their voices to express the significant role played by their magnificent outputs in raising awareness about alarming issues around the nation. 

By choosing subjects from the creatures that make up nature, onlookers may reminisce how life used to be from the time when there was only fresh air, potable water from streams, and noise-free surroundings around them. If you can find objects such as stones and leaves and incorporate them in your final work, it may pull off a more poignant ambiance. And from this, a certain level of awareness is instigated and inculcated in their minds that there is only one home planet for everyone and the issues that it is constantly battling alone must be confronted and resolved by humans.

3. Visit memorial parks

Another way to bridge the gap between nature and cities is through memorial parks. Known to many is the fact that it is but a sanctuary only intended for the departed. However, it is more than surface level–it is a place where one can reflect and meddle in complete silence amid the huge chaos that happens in urban areas. This is one of the most plausible ways to find your way back to the ever-calming environment–it is a hidden gem in the garden of thorns that must be protected at all costs.  

Having said this, consider prioritizing the Golden Haven Memorial Park as your topmost go-to destination. With different branches throughout the country, it offers numerous amenable facilities aside from the final resting place of people’s loved ones that can help you reignite your connection with nature. Ecclesiastical fixtures to reinvigorate your faith? Solemn spaces to maximize your time to reflect? Picturesque landscapes to give you calm senses? Everything that you may be looking for can be found within its vicinity, so make sure that you pay a visit to its nearest branch to you. 

4. Take a stroll and appreciate animal life

If you don’t have the luxury of time to visit nearby places within the city to reconnect yourself with nature, you can still do so by being a bit keener with your surroundings and appreciating life forms as you see them. It is one of the simplest yet most effective ways to put a smile on your face despite the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. 

May it be a bird flying off your window or a stray cat that is sleeping on the sidewalk, there is a joy that you may find from taking a pause and being grateful for crossing paths with them on a random day. There is no need for critical questions such as where they came from or why they are living the way they do at the moment. Just witness their mobility as it unfolds right in front of your eyes–soon enough, you will find yourself making a trope in your mind about their fanciful life stories.

5. Seek green community parks

Another tip that you may follow when trying to connect with nature in the city is by paying a visit to community parks located in urban areas. Now, local governments are hearing the voices of their residents who are calling for a more sustainable environment to be constructed for the benefit of the next generations that will spring in the long run. This is evident in the increasing number of pocket green spaces within the country. 

There is so much power brought by these open spaces provided by the state for its people. Aside from a common place where you and your colleagues may convene, it also serves as an eco-friendly zone where you can spend your time doing errands or staring at the wondrous environment that you are fortunate to have. As they say, it is your home away from home.

The current generation of world leaders is all ears to the concerns of the public about the environment. Truly, there is a lot of work that must be done within both rural and urban areas to foster a collective sense of progress, but the presence of readily available ways to reconcile these two community categories is an indication that everyone is going through the right direction in terms of the pursuit to safeguard the environment.

READ MORE: Golden Haven Memorial Park News and Update