By: Ashley Azzinaro Shinrin-yoku is a Japanese term that translates to “forest bathing” or “absorbing the forest atmosphere”. In 1982, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries created the term, encouraging people to simply spend time in nature. The focus being on immersing your senses in nature and present moment Read more
Join us in welcoming back our Executive Director, Jodi Levine, who recently returned from a 3 month sabbatical. When people use the word sabbatical they are usually speaking about a teacher taking a school year off to pursue research, travel, writing, or some such professional growth. The fact is, however, Read more
By: Staci Hansen I’ve been told by many people that being a grandparent is the best experience ever. My own mother used to tease us and say that if she knew being a grandparent would be such fun, she would have skipped having children and gone straight to having grandchildren. Read more
By: Shane Brown A lot of people ask where I got my knowledge and how I came to be the caretaker of Earthroots’ Big Oak Canyon. To many, I appear very unique, maybe even like a character out of a story or from the past. I’ve been called “wild”, “caveman”, Read more
Neurodiversity and The Outdoors By: Macy Pilkington As I sit down to write this article….less than 24 hours before my deadline….I ask myself; do I enjoy the pressure? Or does my brain just work a little bit differently? I come from a long line of “ADHD-ers”, though I am the Read more
By: Britta Moore Becoming Blind to the Presence of Plants Separation from the natural world has contributed heavily to “plant blindness”, the notion that people don’t notice, or are “blind” to plants in the environment around them 8. Scientists attribute this phenomena to two things: 1) Plants are generally not Read more
By: Angela Capps If you’re like me, the timeless metaphor, don’t forget to stop and smell the roses is something you often say casually or somewhat automatically. But do I ever stop and ask myself what that phrase really means? Do you? Do we ever stop and smell the roses? Read more
By: Diana Sherwood “Every plant is a story. An oak tree is a highly dynamic system. Though now, in early autumn, it may not look like a lot is happening in a tree, across oak trees, dramatic changes are taking place. In this story, begin to explore the oaks overhead Read more
By: Raz Allen On this gray day, I sit on the misty seashoreWondering of an opportune doorWill it open? Will it close?Will the clue be right under my nose? Watching pelicans glide on byWill I hear the answer in the seagulls cry? What say the waves crashing on the sand?What Read more
Heidi Lucero, member of the Acjachemen and Mutsun Ohlone tribes of California is interviewed by Karen Graham, Curriculum Development and Community Liaison for Earthroots Field School. Heidi is an anthropologist, culture bearer, and an educator in the American Indian Department at California State University Long Beach with a focus on Read more