My friend Mary, who was raised in Croatia, was telling me about the forest spas there. Where we would go to a spa here, get massages and pedicures, eat small amounts of healthy food and basically get pampered, Croatians might go to a lodge in the forest and enjoy the sun, trees, streams, plants, animals and the quiet. So when I read about forest bathing in the Globe & Mail and then again in the Alive magazine, I connected. Because I have all that right here and my dogs had been privy to two daily walks in the Copeland Forest, just across the road from us.
Copeland Forest, Simcoe County
The Copeland is crown land and 1700 hectares (about 4200 acres) of diversity in its terrain of hills and ravines, and in the many kinds of trees and plants. In May there are banks of trilliums, mostly white but sometimes pink and even maroon ones. Then the wild lilacs and later, the berries.
Besides the calming effect of the forest to reduce stress in our lives, studies in Japan show that plants emit natural preservatives and fungicides that can enhance the immune system in humans by increasing natural killer cells.
When I’m not in the Copeland, I’m lucky enough to have my own little 5-acre forest where Jesse loved to lie down and cool off on the plush moss.
Forest bathing is whatever you want it to be. You can sit and read a book, meditate, stroll or just “be”, inhaling the sites, sounds, scents and feel of your surroundings. It’s all about relaxing and being at one with nature.
Copeland Forest, Simcoe County
To learn more, Google “forest bathing”. I liked the article by Healthy People Central.