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When natural disasters strike, we are reminded of nature's power to alter our lives and communities in profound ways. With such visible damage, it can be easy to forget nature also has the immense power to positively impact human health and well-being. Consider a simple walk through a prairie, a paddle down the Wisconsin River, casting a line off a dock or a hike to a favorite waterfall-even memories of these activities can have a positive effect on your physical health and mental well-being.

As the director of the Wisconsin Master Naturalist program, I have had the opportunity to see exactly how time spent in nature positively impacts individuals. I have a wall of thank-you notes describing the rewards of being in nature and networking with like-minded individuals. The notes discuss the sense of peace and calm that being in nature provides and the call to action it invokes to protect these places and teach others about their value.

A selection of thank-you notes, many from individuals describing the healing aspect nature has on their lives.

Exposure to nature can also benefit physical health. In his recent article on ecopsychology, Jim Robbins discusses how being outside can reduce blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the production of stress hormones, which lessens anxiety and improves moods. Studies have even shown that exposure to natural materials like plants, trees and water can help people cope with pain and distract them from discomfort. And people are starting to take note. Robbins explains how this research is now reaching the ears of policymakers, employers and healthcare providers who are looking at ways to address the beneficial effects of spending time in nature.

Janet Dow, getting her feet wet while volunteering in nature. (Credit: Vicki Damron)

Master Naturalist and Navy veteran Jim Killian said he always found his time spent outdoors to be healing, even prior to his military service. With more active involvement through the Wisconsin Master Naturalist program and his stewardship site restoration work at Kishwauketoe Nature Conservancy in Williams Bay, he believes his "nature time" has become even more important. Killian is an active volunteer in a variety of capacities throughout his community, but he says he finds his naturalist work to be the most meaningful: every moment spent out in nature is restorative to mind, body and soul alike. Robert Bennicoff, another Navy veteran and Master Naturalist, echoes Killian's point of view. "Being out in nature is incredibly important to me, my wife, children as well as grandchildren. It is an opportunity to 'turn the pump off' and let the sounds and sights of nature around me recharge my soul."

"I am drawn to working/learning in nature and understanding its calming power. For me, working with either youth or adults to more fully understand, take care of a woodlot, prairie or wetland gives me a satisfaction that relaxes and encourages." -Phil Kress, Master Naturalist and Army Veteran

Our communities are strong with nature centers, non-profits, local and state parks and national forests that give us opportunities to heal ourselves on the trail, in the water, across the prairie and even in our own backyards. But the relationship between people and nature should not be one-sided. The natural world also requires care and maintenance. Programs like Wisconsin Master Naturalist are necessary because they support the health and wellbeing of both people and land while maximizing the symbiotic relationship between the two. Our rich natural world will help Wisconsinites make it through challenging times now and in the future as long as we continue to take care of it.
Becky Sapper is the program director for the Wisconsin Master Naturalist Program.

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When natural disasters strike, we are reminded of nature's power to alter our lives and communities in profound ways. With such visible damage, it can be easy

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Habitat loss drives deadly conflict in Indonesia's tiger country

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PALEMBANG, Indonesia - A spate of recent tiger attacks on farmers in Indonesia's South Sumatra province has renewed calls from experts to protect wildlife habitats from development projects that threaten to further fragment forests. November and December 2019, saw a string of deadly conflicts between farmers and Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) in the forest [...]

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John Fisher and Ned Hettinger

Draft, Chap 1: Why Environmental Aesthetics?

Why should we care about environmental aesthetics? Because the beauty of nature figures prominently in why we value nature and nature today is seriously threatened in many ways. List of nature beauties threatened: Arctic Refuge, mountains of West Virginia, Polar Bears, flowers in Hawaii, urban sprawl (development: every open space turns into a shopping mall) , . . . .

Beauty is a serious motivator (stronger even than abstract beliefs about what is right) and thus aesthetics can be particularly useful in protection of the environment. The fact that environmentalists and environmental organizations focus on nature's beauty supports this contention. In addition, restoration is partly driven by concern for beauty.

One reason we have environmental problems is a lack of appropriate respect for the natural world. If we believe that we ought to respect nature, part of respecting nature appropriately is aesthetically valuing it. If you don't see the beauty of a forest or the wild animals that inhabit it, then you are unlikely to view it as any more than a resource to be exploited and altered in various ways. Whereas if you perceive and appreciate its stupendous beauty, sublimity and positive aesthetic value, you will take the issue of its degradation or even destruction very seriously.

Aesthetics is not just important for protection of nature, it illuminates nature and our relation to it. Someone who did not respond to nature aesthetically is missing something deep in their understanding and appreciation of nature. Conservation-education leader David Orr notes a decline in our capacity for aesthetic appreciation and argues that this manifests an "ecological illiteracy" that allows us to feel comfortable with ugliness. Along with Rene Dubos, Orr worries that "our greatest disservice to our children" is giving them "the belief that ugliness is somehow normal." "Ugliness," he argues, "is the surest sign of disease . . . or 'unsustainability'" and signifies a "fundamental disharmony between people and between people and the land."

Studying the aesthetics of nature will also make one better able to appreciate nature and will increase the aesthetic pleasure the natural world provides in our every day encounters with it. The beauty of nature is everywhere, not just in the spectacular scenery of the national parks. Even in humanized or "mixed-nature" (e.g., one's backyard, local parks and creeks, city birds) there is much beauty that can be found especially by those sensitized by the study of environmental aesthetics.

Some have argued that there are deep biological explanations for our love of nature and for our aesthetic attractions to the natural world (biophilia explanation). Local parks (Central Park), eating outside, camping, going for a walk in the park.

Although originally aesthetics, which was developed as a subfield of philosophy in the 17 th and 18 th century, was concerned very much with nature as well the arts, it became virtually synonymous with the philosophy of art in the early 20 th century. It was not until the last 30 years that aesthetic theorists began to devote serious attention to nature. It is no coincidence that this turn of events occurred in parallel with the growth of environmental consciousness. Environmentalism and the problems of our environment, from pollution to loss of open spaces, the extinction of species, and so on, has led everyone, including aesthetic and ethical theorists, to pay greater attention to natural environments.

In addition, when philosophers who had solely theorized about art turned to nature, they found that new and deep themes emerged concerning aesthetics itself. They found that the aesthetics of nature opened or greatly energized fundamental questions about the nature of aesthetic phenomena: What are the appropriate objects of aesthetic appreciation? Can an environment be an appropriate object of appreciation? Is aesthetic appreciation just restricted to the forms of objects or does it involve an appreciation of the history and nature of the object? How central is cognition to aesthetic appreciation? What is an aesthetic experience, especially when the objects of experience are natural things in an environment or the environment itself? For example, do we have to interact with nature to appreciate it? More broadly, what is aesthetic value and how does it measure up to other values?

In short, just as environmental ethics raises fundamental issues about ethical theory, which had been thoroughly anthropocentric until recently, so environmental aesthetics raises fundamental issues about aesthetics, which was until recently thoroughly focused on human artifacts, namely artworks.

About the importance of aesthetics for environmental preservation, Marcia Eaton says this: The Newsletter editors have asked me to describe my ventures in another "real world" area-environmental reform, if I may call it that. Partly, I think, as a result of the requirement imposed by the 1969 Environmental Policy Act that planners give "due account to aesthetic amenities," engineers and designers in the USA have had to attempt to identify what these are and then deal with them accordingly. Increasingly, ecologists internationally recognize that in the absence of a change in aesthetic preferences, sound environmental practices have little chance of being widely adopted. (For instance, as long as people want large, green, closely mowed yards no matter what the climate or soil or water conditions, they will continue to use polluting gasoline mowers and a toxic cocktail of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.)

Positive aes qualities of nature as strong motivation and justification for positive actions toward environment (including saving it from development).

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Natural Beauty and Env. Value/Philosophy: An Introduction to Environmental
Aesthetics

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Preserving Genetic Diversity Gives Wild Populations Their Best Chance at Long-Term Survival

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A new paper shows that genetic variation is crucial to a population's short- and long-term viability. The paper, by a NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center researcher, examined decades of theoretical and empirical evidence.

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Our Moral Responsibility for Conservation

Tue Jun 26, 2018

The Earth has already witnessed five mass extinctions and is about to experience one more. Our planet is now in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals-which is currently the worst series of species extinctions since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Scientists estimate that we are now losing species at 1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day. Opposed to past mass extinctions, caused by natural events like asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and natural climate shifts, the current crisis is almost utterly caused by us-humans.

Böhler and Orendt's exhibition, The Carrion Cheer, A Faunistic Tragedy, evokes viewers to contemplate their own relationships with the environment, as well as their moral responsibilities for conservation relating to the life of animals. This multi-sensory installation features apparitions of extinct animals such as the Pig-footed Bandicoot and the Carolina Parakeet-who emerge in chorus to sing a song of forgiveness to humans for causing their ultimate extinction. Böhler & Orendt's project confronts humanity's desire for exponential growth.

In fact, 99% of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, such as those prompting water and air pollution, habitat loss, the introduction of exotic species, population growth, overconsumption, and global warming. Consequently, as a human, I believe in an ethical duty for conservation relating to the life of animals-endangered or not.

Mass extinction means three out of every four species we are familiar with would disappear off the face of the Earth, possibly even before our grandchildren get the chance to witness them-all due to human activities. However, there are actions that we can be take in order to prevent further species endangerment. One of the first things we can do is educate our friends and family about the endangered species in our area. It's not only about tigers in Asia, but it's also about the ecosystem in our own backyard. Awareness of this crisis is the first step in making a difference. From the dolphins in our ocean to the mosquitos on our porch, there are many ways that our daily habits at home affect these creatures.

Another way to prevent species endangerment is by reducing our carbon footprint. Even little changes like recycling, using public transport, reducing water consumption, buying sustainable products, walking or biking instead of driving, and adjusting the thermostat can have a huge effect when multiplied by millions. We can also decrease our carbon footprint by eating whole foods from our local farmer's market and by not allowing ourselves to buy plastic bags. Wild animals get tangled in these products, and they end up in the ocean being ingested by small fish and killing off valuable microorganisms.

Lastly, we can protect endangered species by reconnecting with the nature surrounding us. Scientists claim that the best way for us to help is to protect the places where the animals live-the places they find food, shelter, and raise their young. To make a difference, we can volunteer at our local nature centers or wildlife refuge. Wildlife refuges, parks, and other places are often times underfunded and are in need of help. Volunteering at these places might mean simply educating visitors, or picking up litter; however small, these acts can go a long way. Humans are quickly taking over and habitat loss is the most damaging of all threats facing wildlife. In order to prevent further extinction, we must alter the way we treat our planet and come together to make a change.

By Marina Colket, Halsey Institute intern

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Our Moral Responsibility for Conservation

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Our Moral Responsibility for Conservation Tue Jun 26, 2018 The Earth has already witnessed five mass extinctions and is about to experience one more. Our planet is now in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants and animals-which is currently the worst series of species extinctions since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

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24 March 2019

Here at Pure Leisure, we're committed to doing our bit for our natural world around us. Our Fell End Nature Reserve offers a habitat to many protected species of flora and fauna. As well as a peaceful place for visitors to come and do some wildlife watching.

But why exactly is it so important to do conservation work and protect our natural world? We thought we'd talk you through some of the reasons why it's so important not only to us but for everybody!
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To protect wildlife

The most obvious reason for conservation is to protect wildlife and promote biodiversity. Protecting wildlife and preserving it for future generations also means that the animals we love don't become a distant memory. And we can maintain a healthy and functional ecosystem.

Some species cannot survive outside of their own natural habitat without human intervention - such as in zoos and aquariums. So the destruction of their natural habitats poses a real threat to their survival. Furthermore, species that migrate and inhabit more than one natural habitat are also vulnerable. Preservation of these habitats helps to prevent the entire ecosystem being harmed.

As more and more species face extinction, the work being done to protect wildlife is becoming more and more important.

To protect the earth

It's no secret that the future of our planet desperately needs to be safeguarded, with climate change already wreaking havoc on our natural environment. In order to preserve the earth for future generations, we need to reduce the amount of harm that human activities have on the environment. And support the natural world as much as we can.

Nature itself is our biggest tool in the fight against global warming, and through conservation work, we can fully utilise nature's contribution to the mitigation action that is needed to avoid a catastrophic increase in temperature.

Everything from tropical forests to our coastline has a part to play in the fight against climate change, as well as protecting our communities. So it's important to do all that we can to protect them.

For human health

One pretty big reason for conservation work is the impact that it has on human health. Both in preventing the emergence of new diseases, and production of medicines that we rely upon.

Having wild habitats for animals serves as a barrier. It prevents emerging infectious diseases from jumping from animals to humans. Previously undisturbed habitats have been cleared to make way for humans and agriculture. This has brought wild and domestic animals together and helped facilitate the jump of diseases to humans.

One such example is the Ebola outbreak. Ebola is a zoonosis (an animal disease that can jump to humans), most likely spread to humans from bats.

A lot of the medicines that we use as humans are also derived from chemicals that are produced by animals or plants. So by protecting nature we also protect the lifesaving drugs we rely upon, including anti-cancer drugs.

Simply put, we cannot be healthy in an unhealthy environment. It is in our own best interests to preserve the natural world as much as we can. The exploitation of the natural world threatens our capacity to provide food and water for the people on earth. And things like pollution are directly harmful to human health.

With all of this in mind, we are very proud of the work we do here at Fell End Nature Reserve, so if you would like to pay us a visit to learn more about nature and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of this undisturbed haven, we look forward to welcoming you soon.
24 March 2019

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3 Reasons Why Conservation Is So Important - Pure Leisure

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3 Reasons Why Conservation Is So Important by Pure Leisure. Here at Pure Leisure, we're committed to doing our bit for our natural world around us.

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How Nature Inspires Creativity - Getaway Journal

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Feeling stuck in a rut and out of ideas? Maybe Mother Nature has the solution to your lack of imagination.

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This article is the eighth in a series of decoders examining critical aspects of climate change. They are part of a project, funded by the European Union's Erasmus+ program and managed by News Decoder and the Climate Academy at the European School Brussels II, that will create innovative resources and strategies for schools to integrate climate science into their teaching.
For the first time in Australian history, a new coal mine has just been blocked by the national government under federal environment laws.

The planned open cut mine in the state of Queensland was just 10 kilometres from the Great Barrier Reef, a world heritage area.

Citing unacceptable risks from the mine to ground water and freshwater creeks which flow into the Reef, the Australian government decision in early February is the first ever refusal of a coal mine development under Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, which was introduced in 1999.

The Great Barrier Reef is a great global asset

The move to protect the country's internationally-renowned tourist destination was based on environmental risk factors, but it highlights why the economic value of Australia's vast natural assets is being more closely looked at than ever before.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth and makes up about 10% of the world's coral reef ecosystems. Spanning 2,300 kilometres, it's the size of Japan, and bigger than the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the Netherlands put together.

Rising temperatures on land and in the oceans, caused primarily by an increase of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, have triggered four mass coral bleaching events on the Reef in just seven years, reducing shallow water coral reefs by as much as 50%.

An increase in severe weather events has also caused significant damage to the reef, while greater ocean acidification because of higher atmospheric CO2 has impacted marine habitats all along the reef.

The Australian government considers climate change to be the single biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef. In 2022 it announced plans to invest a record A$1.2 billion to protect and build the resilience of the Reef.

The economic value of environmental protection

A report by Deloitte Access Economics, a research and analysis arm of the international financial firm, found that the Great Barrier Reef contributes A$6.4 billion each year to the Australian economy and supports tens of thousands of jobs.

Most of those jobs are in tourism. But there are also important economic contributions from fishing, recreational and scientific activities.

The small tropical city of Cairns in north Queensland, population of around 150,000, is a key gateway for Reef tours, with an international airport as well as facilities for massive cruise ships near the town centre.

Deloitte also estimates the value of the Great Barrier Reef as an Australian economic, social and iconic asset is A$56 billion.

Around A$29 billion of this value is in tourists who have been to the Reef, and another A$24 billion is accounted for by those who have not yet visited but value knowing such a unique global asset exists.

The remaining A$3 billion in value is made up of recreational users - Australians going to the beach, taking the boat out and diving on weekends.

"The significance of the Great Barrier Reef's contribution to the Australian economy, to Australian jobs and its remarkable asset value, strongly indicates the Reef should be given even greater priority by all citizens, businesses and levels of government," the report said.

Accounting for natural capital

Consulting firm KPMG says it's vital to value nature because not considering the full costs of human activity on an environmental asset is a market failure which has practical, real-world effects.

In a report last year, KPMG Senior Economist Dr. Sarah Hunter said the coral bleaching on the Barrier Reef and the resulting loss of ecosystems could negatively impact the economy because the Reef protects local communities from storms and erosion and is a direct generator of jobs.

"Fully recognising the value of these nature-based services is therefore vital," Hunter said.

Not just recognising but accurately accounting for the economic value of Australia's natural capital- whether land, or wildlife, or the Great Barrier Reef - is the next step.

Former head of the Australian Treasury, Ken Henry, is a leading advocate of "national environmental accounting" of Australia's natural capital, and says it should be incorporated into all levels of decision-making.

By developing a baseline dataset in a particular region, auditing everything from flora and fauna to quality of soil and waterways, scientists can track changes in the natural environment to see if it's degrading or improving.

This lays the foundation for new markets that attach a financial value to improving environmental conditions, which incentivises more businesses to invest - not just because it's the right thing to do but because it's the profitable thing to do.

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Decoder: When protecting the environment makes more cents

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The Great Barrier Reef isn't just an endangered world wonder. Protecting the world's largest coral reef system is also key to Australia's economic growth.

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This paper quantifies the costs and benefits of avian biodiversity at a rainforest reserve in Uganda through a combination of economic surveys of tourists, spatial land-use analyses, and species-area relationships. The paper argues that although conventional wisdom suggests that biodiversity conservation is often a noncompetitive form of land use and, therefore, requires subsidising, the authors' results suggest that the economic benefits derived from avian biodiversity could protect 80-90 percent of a tropical forest reserve's bird species.

In particular, the paper finds that: 1) the tangible economic demand of tourists for increasing levels of biodiversity is strong evidence that consumers may actually prefer higher numbers of species to lower numbers and, more critically, be willing to pay for it, 2) revising entrance fees and redistributing ecotourism revenues would protect 114 of 143 forest bird species (80 percent) under current market conditions, 3) this total would increase to 131 species (90 percent) if entrance fees were optimised to capture the tourist's willingness to pay for forest visits and the chance of seeing increased numbers of bird species, and 4) in contrast, the cost of purchasing agricultural land for ecological rehabilitation of the avian habitat would be economically prohibitive.

Altogether the result of the paper show that areas rich in biodiversity may be able to charge more for visitation rights than less diverse areas and, hence, may provide a mechanism for funding conservation of highly speciose ecosystems. The results also suggest that local biodiversity markets could play a positive role in tropical conservation strategies if the appropriate institutions for redistribution can be developed.

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Economic benefits of biodiversity exceed costs of conservation at an African rainforest reserve - Ecosystem Marketplace

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This paper quantifies the costs and benefits of avian biodiversity at a rainforest reserve in Uganda through a combination of economic surveys of tourists, spatial land-use analyses, and species-area relationships. The paper argues that although conventional wisdom suggests that biodiversity conservation is often a noncompetitive form of land use and, therefore, requires subsidising, the authors' [...]

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Biodiversity encompasses the diversity of life - the varying and different species, genes and ecosystems of the Earth. Given the myriad interconnections amongst all the forms of life, the loss of a species or variation within a species, or the diminishment of an ecosystem has the potential to threaten the rest of life, including humans. The current global rate of species extinction is between 1,000 and 10,000 times the normal and 60% of ecosystem services worldwide are either degraded or being used unsustainably. Whether one values biodiversity for the services it provides to humans, or instead sees all species and ecosystem as having a right to exist, the accelerating loss of biodiversity, driven largely by the development of natural lands, makes the need for conservation ever more pressing.

Water Quality impacts everyone, regardless of where they live. In developed areas, urban or suburban, a large portion of the land surface is covered by buildings and paved surfaces. This creates sizable areas that rely on storm drains to carry water runoff from roofs and paved areas to nearby waterways. Rather than using the ground as a natural absorbent for rain and snowmelt, the stormwater runoff in paved areas carries pollutants (oil, dirt, chemicals, fertilizers) directly into streams and rivers where they are harmful to water quality.Controlling damaging runoff by protecting natural areas, using low-impact development strategies and limiting pollutants are key factors in ensuring water quality.

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Biodiversity encompasses the diversity of life - the varying and different species, genes and ecosystems of the Earth. Given the myriad interconnections amongst all the forms of life, the loss of a species or variation within a species, or the diminishment of an ecosystem has the potential to threaten the rest of life, including humans.