Rooted In Nature

By Tiffany Reese, Bethine Church Boise River Trail Stewardship Team

Do you remember the first time you really connected with nature?  What is your earliest memory of absolute fascination with the world around you?  Was it trying to get the spider web off your hand after you stuck your fingers through the mysterious patterned silk in the windowsill or was it walking through the grass barefoot as it tickled the bottom of your toes?  Was it the flowering dandelions that caught your eye? Was it the joy of picking them and placing them in a glass of water to give to your mother?   How about climbing the neighbor’s tree to hide from your siblings or watching the bumble bees eat pollen from the sunflowers? 

Ken Miracle

For me, it was meandering down to the end of the potato field where the water would form a temporary pond.  I have a vivid memory of sitting in the muddy pond making mud pies, building mud castles, and just exploring.  Suddenly, I was entranced by these small, dark, fish-like creatures with a globular body and a long tail.  I giggled as I would scoop a few into my hands and let the water trickle between my fingers as these fascinating new friends would wiggle their way back into the pond.  After playing with these quirky little polliwogs for what felt like hours, I raced home, out of breath, grabbed a mason jar and raced back to my new found playmates. I had decided I was going to catch these strange little creatures and take them home with me.  Little did I know at the time that my new squirmy friends would eventually grow into frogs.  It may seem like a simple activity for a young farm girl, but it was my first solo, grand adventure into the wild and the beginning of my lifelong fascination with nature’s wonders.

Nature’s Harmony

Stepping into nature, whether it’s on the Bethine Church Boise River Trail, at a bustling city park, or in a majestic forest, offers a powerful remedy for the mind and a potion to soothe the soul. There’s a connection between our welfare and the natural world.  Actively engaging with mother nature is magical; it significantly improves my mental and physical well-being. It can be as simple as sinking my knees into the dirt of my garden or taking a stroll early in the morning to hear the beautiful song birds singing.

Birding on the Bethine Church River Trail

In my opinion, there’s nothing more harmonious than watching an owlet stare down at me with his big eyes full of curiosity and intrigue while his mother slept peacefully next to him in the tree.  Or the momma deer, with her twins in tow, on high alert making sure nothing was going to harm her babies.  The bald eagles bringing food back to the nest for the eaglets have been a magical experience to witness up close all spring and summer as well as the coyote hunting for his next meal.  And there was the bobcat finding coolness and refuge under a large tree while staying vigilant of his environment. I have been lucky enough to witness all of this, and countless other encounters, right outside my backdoor on the Boise River.

Photos by Ken Miracle

Discovery Is Outside

During the last several years, I have been lucky enough to spend countless hours in nature observing its intricate interrelatedness.  Whether riding my bike through the back country, hiking the trails, or just spending innumerable hours on the Bethine Church Boise River Trail and other sections of the Boise Greenbelt observing, listening, watching, being curious, I have developed a greater appreciation for

the natural world and my place within it.  This has inspired the adoption of sustainable practices and actions to protect the environment that we live in.  Cultivating a relationship with nature has allowed me to foster a deeper sense of ecological awareness and stewardship.

Nature is a place where we can all be kids again. Engaging with nature awakens the senses, prompting questions, and a search for answers. It is so easy to lose touch with the rhythms of the natural world.  As an individual that has never forgotten her first interactions with mother nature, I love to relive those same types of joys of discoveries each and every day. The connections to nature are the miracle, the nurturing of each and every moment is the journey.  Enjoy the journey with me!

Tiffany working on the Bethine Church Boise River Trail