Katie Chapman - Final Reflection/Feedback

i.  It wasn't challenging to do the actual challenge because I was out in the neighbourhood already with running and biking that I do pretty regularly.  My only barriers were that I felt that these places were too boring and I needed to find new places for the challenge, so that I had interesting things to write about.  I spend a lot of time in nature, so overall, it wasn't too challenging.
 
ii.  I think I was exposed fairly frequently, growing up in North Vancouver.  I think that the exposure I had has affected the kind of natural environment I'd like to be in.  I dislike damp dense forests, and prefer open grassy summery fields, and deciduous forests.  I'd like to be more exposed to the places like this in the city so that I could run/ride through.
 
iii.  I don't think my concept of nature has shifted too much.  I think my meditation skills may have!  I tried to close my mind to thoughts and just focus on my surroundings, and I was reminded quite frequently of my childhood.  I think I'll always need to live somewhere that has beaches and parks nearby.  I can't imagine living somewhere without these spaces, and I'm trying to appreciate them more (I already used them frequently, but I'm trying to be more grateful now).
 
iv.  I don't think I'll try access nature any more than I already do, but I will take time to enjoy sights, sounds, smells, and feelings that nature exposes me to, instead of rushing through or not noticing my surroundings.
 
v.  I'm taking away a grateful attitude that I live in Vancouver!
 
vi.  I might make the challenge over a longer period of time, or ask participants to make sure they expose themself to multiple kinds of green environments - forests, fields, flower gardens, etc.

Darth Andrea - Final Reflection/Feedback

1. Did you find anything about the Accessing Nature Challenge challenging? If so, what were your biggest barriers?  

I did find it challenging to pick where I wanted to go and to fit it into my schedule. On really busy days I didn't go very far, but I was also unsure whether the field by my house was actually a park or not. The barriers were whether I could convince myself to take the bus, because I felt bad driving my car, for a 5 minute bus ride to the local community park.

2. How do you think your exposure to nature growing up influences the way you conceive of nature now (if at all)?

Nature was always considered an outing. It was the time on weekends when my dad would take us to the Seymour mountain, or parks nearby (when I lived in Burnaby). They have always been a fun place to be, and now I feel like nature spaces are an escape from the stress I experience through school and work.

3. How do you think your concept of nature has shifted during this challenge (if at all)?

I dont think my concept of nature has changed very much. Although I wish the ravine I like to visit was closer, and not so scary at night.

4. Do you predict you will "access nature" more frequently or with a new approach due to participating in this challenge? If so, how?

I will probably try and access nature more often, as I found I was more productive on writing my paper after coming home from the park. I don't think I will approach nature any differently because I like how I experience it now. Perhaps during the summer I will plan a few more hikes.

5. What are you taking away from your experience?

I need to visit parks more during the winter. They aren't so bad in the rain, just wear my boots! Also, after I get to the park I am happy I went, and the bus ride isn't bad at all. I just have to stop being lazy.

6. What would you change about the challenge to improve it for future participants?

I don't think I would change anything. The map was nice to have to plot where I went and the log is great. Maybe having a theme for certain days would be interesting. For instance, on one day you must go to a park you have never been to before. Or you must visit a park that is within walking distance and see how that can be a barrier to certain participants and why?

Sarah Lind - Final Reflection/Feedback

i.         I found it much more difficult than I had expected to spend what I considered to be quality time in nature.  I had thought at the outset that I would go to the beach, or a park or go for a hike and didn't end up doing anything but visiting my back yard and taking a moment to notice what was around me and to be more present when I was outdoors.  I think the biggest barrier was feeling that it had to be a big deal for my moment in nature to count and I never felt I had the time required.  However I did appreciate the positive experience of being present outdoors and taking a moment to get out of my head and notice all the life that is always around me when I am outside, whether it's in a garden or walking through an industrial area.

ii.        I'm not sure how my upbringing and childhood experiences shaped my relationship with nature.  Likely, since I grew up in urban environments, and wilderness was required an excursion I still think of it as distant and less accessible, which could explain why I thought I would need several hours to be in nature.  It could also point to my having learned a dualistic view of nature vs urban and, having identified myself as urban, I therefore often feel separate from nature.

iii.        I was powerfully reminded of my belonging to nature and somewhat of my role in it.  When I would be present and take the time to notice myself in the world and to take note of everything (and everyone) around me I would see that wherever I looked was myriad of life.  It helped me feel less that the cities are my or mankind's dominion and that all space on the earth is shared space.  These aren't entirely new ideas to me, but they are also not something I am always aware of.  

iv.        My thirst for time in the forest and further from the city has increased or I have become more aware of it, but I benefited so much and so enjoyed being present whenever I remembered to be and taking note of everything around me (especially the critters! I noticed so many different little fauna) that I will make that something I do regularly.  I learned that even 5 or 10 seconds of doing nothing but observing blossoms, or the many varieties of rain was and is so enjoyable and profound and brings me peace.

v.         I think I've already answered this.  I'm extra excited about cataloguing a list of rain species.  

vi.         I'm not sure what could be changed.  I felt very guilty and had a sense of having failed the challenge because I didn't make a special excursion into the more wild world, but was reassured at the end that this was an acceptable outcome of my challenge, and is still a valid contribution.  If I did it again, I would like to take the time to take my moment(s) in different areas, different locations and different environments just to see what different things I could observe.

Michelle Simpson - Final Reflection/Feedback

Did you find anything about the Accessing Nature Challenge challenging? If so, what were your biggest barriers?    Barriers :  weather - I was more likely to get out if it wasn't raining - especially in the evening.   Volume of work and time - so wasn't as likely to take a break at lunch as I would have if not so busy - and thus not as likely to access nature during the work day  

How do you think your exposure to nature growing up influences the way you conceive of nature now (if at all)? 

I would say that my exposure growing up made me more likely to appreciate nature

How do you think your concept of nature has shifted during this challenge (if at all)?  

has made me realize I don't need to be in the 'wild' or the 'wilderness' to take a moment to enjoy nature - can do so in my own backyard and have been taking more notice and appreciating those moments

Do you predict you will "access nature" more frequently or with a new approach due to participating in this challenge? If so, how? 

No - I have tried to practice 'taking a moment' and being present for a few years now - it has brought me peacefulness and joy and continues to do so.

What are you taking away from your experience?  

above 

What would you change about the challenge to improve it for future participants?    

might make it accessing nature 10 times over a longer span  ;0) so that if there is a day that is particularly busy it wouldn't be a barrier

Janet Moore - Final Reflection / Feedback

Did you find anything about the Accessing Nature Challenge challenging? If so, what were your biggest barriers?

Biggest barriers were the constant feeling of getting somewhere else - passing through places and not stopping to enjoy. Weather is much more of a factor than I would have thought.

How do you think your exposure to nature growing up influences the way you conceive of nature now (if at all)?

I think my mom hated being inside in the sunshine- and I feel this too. The idea of being inside on a glorious day is against my own nature and the way I was raised. It makes me wonder how I ended up in rainy vancouver...

How do you think your concept of nature has shifted during this challenge (if at all)?

I think I have shifted my awareness of my 'getting' to places - enjoying the moment is really important and I think I'll take more moments for myself and with my kids to just breathe it all in - take notice.

Do you predict you will "access nature" more frequently or with a new approach due to participating in this challenge? If so, how? 

I think I'll keep loving green space and keep working hard to ensure more of it happens in vancouver.

What are you taking away from your experience?

I think that small challenges are big - I hope this challenge is adopted by the city of vancouver.

What would you change about the challenge to improve it for future participants?

I think responding to questions by email or facebook would be easier - I also think the once a day photo upload and one sentence might be a good way to go.

Becky Till - Final Reflection/Feedback

1. Did you find anything about the Accessing Nature Challenge challenging? If so, what were your biggest barriers?  I did. Time time time. So fickle! I chose to do this challenge during the busiest time in my semester and it proved to be pretty tough. The moment started to become just another thing to add to the list of things to do. Having to write about it everyday also made me think about what I should write while I was trying to just have my moment. Too much thinking.
2. How do you think your exposure to nature growing up influences the way you conceive of nature now (if at all)? As an individual who was brought up in nature, quite literally born on an isolated mountain top in the Okanagan -- the nature in the city never seems like enough. As a kid I spent almost everyday doing something outside. If it wasn’t building snow caves and wheat field forts it was making bike trials and climbing to the highest possible branch. As a youth, I was dragged up many a mountain with my wilderness counselor father. My family did something in nature every Saturday, rain or shine. For many of the men in my life it seems like nature is place to concur weakness, push limits, get to the top. Because I no longer related to this perception the older I got, I rejected the outdoors lifestyle for a while as a backlash to the rigor I'd come to associate with it. I didn't know if for myself. Now, I think I do. It is a place to push limits in and challenge oneself, but it is also a place to slow down, to take notice, to respect, to be thankful.    
3. How do you think your concept of nature has shifted during this challenge (if at all)? Well I go back and forth between being thankful for the nature this city does have and wishing I could be somewhere else entirely. I have stretched my notion of nature even further -- I wonder if I am connecting to nature when I look into the eyes of a human I love, when I cook, when I get cold and wet, when I connect with myself. I realise how unnatural humans seem to me, when really, we are as natural as anything else. 
4. Do you predict you will "access nature" more frequently or with a new approach due to participating in this challenge? If so, how? Yes, how could I not approach it differently? Everything impacts everything. The need is more present with me now. I have already accessed nature each day since the challenge has been over. The sun made it easier. And the lack of pressure to do it made it more fun.
5. What are you taking away from your experience? An awareness of the need to take little moments often. This turned out to be less about connecting with some ants and bees in my garden and more about just breaking my efficiency oriented routine. Also, a new slant on priorities, it should not feel like I'm cheating on my school-driven life to take 15 minutes to listen to birds. 
6. What would you change about the challenge to improve it for future participants? Maybe make it 7 days only. Maybe ask people if they learned anything about their city parks and green spaces.

Dani K - Final Reflection/Feedback

1. Did you find anything about the Accessing Nature Challenge challenging? If so, what were your biggest barriers?  My biggest barriers were during the weekdays: my need for relaxation upon entry from work (aka my mind wanting to decompress for a while), being hungry and wanting to cook food instead of going for a walk as well as trying to fit in my moments to be on the way to something else so I was using my time efficiently.

2.How do you think your exposure to nature growing up influences the way you conceive of nature now (if at all)?  Interesting question. My exposure to nature was a huge part of my childhood but was an indirect influence of my parents. I have never seen them camp, hike, bike or even swim. But they sent me away to summer camp and allowed me to visit the country and we played in the snow together. So my connection to nature was something that I fostered of my own accord and connect it to my independence, my ability to challenge myself and a way to get to know others in a place outside of all social norms. And now, I cannot help but foster this connection to remind myself of all the things listed above. 

3.How do you think your concept of nature has shifted during this challenge (if at all)?   My concept of nature has not shifted so much as the knowledge of how just leaving my house for half an hour or less can really shift my day in a positive and productive way.

4. Do you predict you will "access nature" more frequently or with a new approach due to participating in this challenge? If so, how?   I hope so! Will try to make it a 3 out of 5 days during the week. It was a great way to have down time, alone time and fresh air time


5. What are you taking away from your experience?  Remembering how important it is to just take the time.


6. What would you change about the challenge to improve it for future participants?   Make it a solid week. 7 days seems like a good chunk of time to devote to this challenge and to make it consecutive days. Perhaps an electronic mapping system where you can put pins into the areas you visited so that you can see the spots that everyone else is visiting and perhaps go there. Especially if you are interested in their descriptions if the blog is kept up!

Cheryl & Jim - Final Reflection/Feedback

1. Did you find anything about the Accessing Nature Challenge challenging?  No  
2. How do you think your exposure to nature growing up influences the way you conceive of nature now (if at all)?  We appreciate it more now.
3. How do you think your concept of nature has shifted during this challenge (if at all)?  It hasn't
4. Do you predict you will "access nature" more frequently or with a new approach due to participating in this challenge? No change.
5. What are you taking away from your experience?  Nothing

Gary - Final reflection

1. I did find it challenging. Making the time and hateful spring weather were the two biggest hindrances.

2. Growing up probably influenced my view of nature a lot. I was spoiled as a kid; we had two acres with two duck ponds, 24 fruit trees, some cats and dogs, a fort, sweet BMX's, etc. The parks I've visited over the last ten days actually have had nothing on my old yard. Sorry park with just a bench, you're still nice.

3. I wouldn't say my concept of nature has shifted too much. I would say I've realized I'm pro park though.

4. I will access nature now more that the weather is changing. Lil frisbee, lil football. Getting a bike soon.

5. I'm taking away an ever slightly increased sense of appreciating quietness.

6. Perhaps hold the challenge in the summer and make it a bit shorter. I found myself going to pretty lame little spaces ( I counted a traffic circle) as there weren't enough parks in my direct vicinity. That said, I'd probably have gone further afield in the summer.

Kaylen and Deanna Reflections part 2

Well, I definitely found this challenge challenging. While it was easier on days off (weekends, holidays) to get out and access nature, it was certainly harder once back to work and the day to day responsibilities of the week. The biggest hurdle for me was time. I too was and am caught up in getting places. Home to school. School to work. Work to school. School to store. Store to home. Repeat.

Growing up in a rural area, I think accessing nature was perhaps easier than being in the city, although looking at my son, he seems to be able to do so with ease in the same surroundings. So maybe it has more to do with the way we live our lives. I feel like I am too often saying "hurry up" or "it's time to go". Maybe taking 5 more minutes, or even a minute won't hurt? Maybe it will actually help.

It has been equally important for me to take the moment, as much as the moment being in nature. Today I was enjoying the walk to work and saw this great shot (above) of the blossoming branches on the blue sky. I almost kept going, but the seed has been planted to stop for a moment, and I'm glad I did.

Tana - Final Reflection

I'd say our humanly constructed world, be it green or not, is an example of our inner life creating an outer form. It's kind of a shocking thought. What do all the appalling human messes say about our collective inner life? I am most at ease in the green constructs: in parks, botanical gardens, back yards and areas I think of as gentle wilderness. I definitely want my nature relatively benign. I do not want to enter into the hurricane or avalanche except on a DVD. I do not want to be stalked by a cougar in a dry canyon bed or a polar bear on an ice floe. Essentially, I'd rather not be prey. I love my walks along the Fraser, binoculars in hand, looking at herons, eagles, winter wrens, muskrats. I rejoice in the beaver felling cottonwoods with their teeth along the river banks. In that same vein, I felt total outrage over the human felling of trees behind our house last week.Both actions, beaver and human, will result in homes. Why is one acceptable to me and one not. I will end this weird reflection with part of a poem by Canadian nature poet ( and GG winner), Don McKay. It's from a poem called Apres Chainsaw -
            
            Is this the way it works,
            locking you, stunned, in the imperative,
            making a weapon of each tool?
           Why can't we just bury innocence instead of
            wrecking it over and over, as if
            it could never die
            enough?

Craig - Final Reflection / Feedback

This project has given me a chance to focus on experiences that are an important part of my life; the enjoyment of natural spaces.  I've been able to explore what draws me to these areas.  My interest in birds serves as a primary draw, but, like many a hunter and fisher, it's partly just an excuse to "get out there."
  The nice thing about birds is they move around.  Any part of the natural world that can show up on our doorstep can help remind us not only of the beauty of this world but the complexity and interconnectedness of it.  And we don't have to venture far at all to witness it when the things like habitat, food, etc. are around to attract the more mobile wild things.  As if to underscore this, on day 6 I enjoyed seeing a Varied Thrush (similar to a robin but more striking and less commonly seen in Vancouver).  Two days later, I saw the same species in my front yard, suggesting they might be moving through the area on migration.  Another aspect of visiting natural spaces that I often take for granted is the camaraderie of people who appreciate and seek out the natural world.  At Queen Elizabeth, I chatted with a fellow "birder" about owls in Vancouver's parks.  On the Southlands River Walk, a path used primarily by horses and dog walkers, a young man with binoculars shared his observations with me and commented how nice it was to see someone else enjoying birds and the peace and quiet that usually enhances that enjoyment.  
  Before the project, I could certainly have told you that I enjoy and value natural spaces.  After taking part in the project, I'm much better equipped to tell you why.

Feedback:

1. Did you find anything about the Accessing Nature Challenge challenging? If so, what were your biggest barriers?

Going to a Natural Space every day would have required a bit more effort.  Using our yard for some days made it easier.

2. How do you think your exposure to nature growing up influences the way you conceive of nature now (if at all)?

Probably not much since I really didn't take an interest until my early twenties.

3. How do you think your concept of nature has shifted during this challenge (if at all)?

Probably no shift

4. Do you predict you will "access nature" more frequently or with a new approach due to participating in this challenge? If so, how?

One thing that surprised me was my enjoyment of meeting other nature seekers.  This may influence me in some way.  Seeking these folks out more?

5. What are you taking away from your experience?

A better understanding of how and why I enjoy Natural Spaces.

6. What would you change about the challenge to improve it for future participants?

Seemed good to me

Gary - Reflections part 2

Hmmm... now that the ten days have passed I have to admit that I had a hard time being conscious. I don't think I have a very quiet mind. My observations were usually along the lines of "lots of green stuff, that's kinda nice, I hear birds, etc". The weather is my excuse. Had it been nice I would've laid in the grass and made careful observations of bugs or something a bit more interesting. The last few days were kinda hectic, that's all I got.

Becky Till - Day 10 (last day)

Last day of this thing, and not much to show for myself -- I looked at some birds in some branches, at swaying branches through a skylight, and the moon as its light passed over my bed.
I seem to be on a one day on, one day off schedule.
I can barely remember what happened on Monday. It feels like forever ago. Time goes by like it never existed at all. And all the sudden this is over.

Kaylen and Deanna - Day 10!

Monday, Day 10 of the challenge - we made it!

Today we had another nice neighbourhood walk home from the community center. The best part was when we got back and noticed the first apple seed had sprouted in Kaylen's greenhouse!

Kaylen and Deanna - Day 9

Sunday, Day 9 of the challenge I started with an early morning OT shift. I took my moment in the grey drizzle listening to the birds chirping. When I got home the boys and I decorated some easter eggs. Eggs come from birds. Full circle.

Kaylen and Deanna - Day 8

Saturday, Day 8 of the challenge was an amazing spring powder day for us on Seymour. How awesome is that? I was stoked that we could have such great riding at the end of March, and hopeful that we might be able to keep it going until the end of April. Kaylen was feeling a little tired and needed to take a break to chill and make some snowballs, also pretty awesome.

Kaylen and Deanna - Day 6 and 7

Thursday and Friday, Days 6 and 7 of the challenge were more "back to the grind days."

Commuting, busy life days. I was back to walking Kaylen to and from school for my part of the week, so we used our moments here. We took a little more time to observe the nature we might just pass through on any other day. Kaylen of course also got in some time at the playground at school, and I sat and watched him and his friends play for a while before we started home. On Thursday we passed by this tree we've walked by a hundred times before, but this time I noticed it was puckering up for a kiss - the trees want more than hugging now. For some reason I didn't take a picture right away, but when we passed it again on Friday, I couldn't refuse.

Tana - Reflection

March 28th came and went and I was unable to speak. On March 27th from our backyard I watched an old three-story house being clawed down by a giant orange machine. Shocking to see it only took an hour and a half. The last thing standing was the front door in its jamb. It is said that our homes metaphorically represent our souls. So it was sombre and meaningful to me to see "the way in" enduring the carnage and still standing. The next day a man in a red hardhat began to lop off giant limbs of one of two magnificent cedar trees at the back of the property. Several minutes later it dawned on me that he was not pruning but was taking the tree down. And so a healthy, 80 foot cedar, who knows how old, was felled. I was filled with such grief and anger. The only solace was the fact that its twin was still standing. The following morning I awoke to the sound of chainsaws and the twin cedar was coming down so the new owner could dig a basement. I had not cried that hard for a long time and the sorrow remains with me everytime I look out expecting a curtain of green. The City allowed this. The same city that wants to make Vancouver the greenest city and wants to plant a gazillion more trees. HAH. I am well and truly disgusted.

Becky Till - Day 9

Success!!!
I don't have to scrounge around for tenuous ways to count this day because I filled this day with nature moments!
While I was (1) returning the mini forest back to it's nursery in South Van I
(2) pet a goat and a pony,
(3) winked at a very focused farm cat, and
(4) watched a bee keeper tend to bee boxes with no gloves on. He had the whole suit on but no gloves! He was just slowly pushing bees out of the way and using his chisel to clean the wooden frames. He pulled what looked like the papery material real hives are made of from each panel and shook bees off as he went. He moved slowly and intentionally and walked over to his binder to write notes every once in a while. A photo would have been nice, but cameras can tend to steal moments.
Then when I got home I (5) sat in my backyard on a blanket near the tree in the sun and ate an entire bowl of popcorn.