Duck, duck, goose, heron, hawk!

One of the great things about the District of Maple Ridge is that there are many natural areas, most of them containing numerous walking paths and accessible bodies of water. This in itself creates tremendous allure for the community, but it goes beyond that. It turns out it is all good for your health.

A Global News broadcast cited that doctors are beginning to prescribe getting outdoors as a way to improve health and reduce stress (click here to see video). I can validate many of the assertations; my love for the outdoors happens to have a positive impact on my general sense of well-being.

Getting outdoors for the sake of being outside is reason enough to be there, but there is more to it than that for me. I can think of a dozen ways that I benefit from seeking the great outdoors, but I will keep to the main four.

• Exercise - putting one foot in front of another and repeat ad infinitum will get your blood moving, keep your heart strong, and help prevent or at least delay the plethora of ailments we all will face as time has its way with us. I find that the more I walk the further I can go the next day, up to a point that is. I personally max out around the 6 or 7 kilometer mark in a single effort.


• Stress relief - ever have a bad day and need to clear you head? One of the best ways I have found to do that is to go for a walk. Although any concrete path will do, I find that the best places to achieve a peaceful mind involve trees and water. It's always nice if you can get some sun in there too.


• Take your mind off things by focusing on something else - Walking in itself in a beautiful natural area does me a world of good, but it helps if I can also focus my activity on something. For some, it involves walking a pet or going with a friend. Others prefer to listen to their music. My own methodology requires a camera or two and the required lenses to capture the cool things I see and find. The walk I went on yesterday allowed me to capture at least 9 species of birds and I heard another half dozen that I never saw.


• It allows me to improve my photography skills and obtain useable images - I teach photography, write photography books, and enjoy photography as a hobby. To obtain images I require subject matter, and the subjects I love to shoot most involve nature. Landscape and wildlife photography are my two main photographic passions and I have to be outside to facilitate them.

Spring is my favourite time to be shooting because of the light, weather, breeding behaviours, and abundance of life. There are crocuses, daffodils, snowdrops, and primroses blooming. I even saw the beginnings of cherry blossoms on one tree. Life, it seems, is all around me and the season hasn't quite started yet. Oh, there is so much to look forward to.

Thanks for reading.     Ericspix     Eric Svendsen