Hi, Hayles.

What seems to be the problem?

Well, doc, I've been feeling really down lately.

Like sometimes out of nowhere, my heart will just start racing, I get super nervous.

Then sometimes I'm just tired and I get kind of brain foggy, and I'm so stressed.

Like, I work so much and I just feel like I never have time to relax at all, you know?

Hmm.

How often do you exercise?

I go to the gym a couple times a week, and that helps sometimes.

Are you spending time outdoors?

I mean, if you count walking from the car to your office, then, sure, but that's about the extent of it.

Well, I ran some blood work and checked your vitals and everything looks normal.

I wanna see you again in two weeks, just to monitor your progress and see how you're feeling.

But in the meantime, I have this prescription for you.

(melodious music) Three outdoor walks each week and forest bathing once a week.

What is forest bathing?

Well, there's a growing trend among doctors for heart prescriptions.

There's increasing evidence that shows that exposure to nature has health benefits and healing powers.

Stress is linked to so many different health problems because it releases the hormone cortisol, which increases your blood pressure and your heart rate.

And chronic stress is linked to anxiety, depression, heart disease, obesity, and so many other negative health outcomes.

Scientists are proving that spending time in nature alleviates stress and reduces cognitive fatigue, and there's a strong relationship between mental health and nature exposure.

Time in nature reduces stress.

So Hayles, you need to take a trip to First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, to learn more about healthy ecosystems and healthy people.

(melodious music) (bright music) (bright music continues) I am feeling better already.

I'm on my way to meet up with Park Ranger Laura Papp, to find out if she knows why the great outdoors equates with great vibes.

(energetic music) Hi, Laura.

Thanks for meeting with us.

Hi, Hayles.

Thank you so much for having me.

So can you tell us a little bit more about First Landing State Park and what makes the ecosystem here so special?

Absolutely.

As the Chief Ranger of Visitor Experience, it's actually my job to help all of our visitors understand what makes First Landing State Park so special, and we have a lot of major ecosystems that people might not immediately think of when they think of First Landing and the beach.

That's what a lot of people come here for.

So we do primarily have a mile and a half of beach along the Chesapeake Bay.

There's a beautiful place where people do enjoy the shore, and we're right at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay where the ocean comes in.

But right across the street, on our trail side of the park, we also have some kind of hidden gem.

We have our bald cypress swamps, which are my personal favorite, characterized by large, bald cypress trees, Spanish moss.

It's so magical over there.

We also have our maritime forest environment, which is essentially a forest in the area that's close to or used to be the beach.

So the soil content is mostly sandy.

Then we also have our marsh ecosystem, which is where water from the Chesapeake Bay would come in through Broad Bay, and kind of meet that forested environment like a buffer.

So would you say that First Landing State Park is a healthy ecosystem?

And how would you define that term?

So first, a healthy ecosystem would be defined by a multitude of its components, each being resilient and working together.

So when we talk about an ecosystem, that is characterized by different plant and animal species and geological features all coming together.

So I would say First Landing is definitely a healthy ecosystem, and that is in part because Virginia State Parks is a part of the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

So at the core of our mission, we want to preserve and conserve our natural lands and all of our other natural, historical, and cultural resources.

And we even have a team called the Resource Management Team, whose job is specifically to keep tabs on our environment and take mediation efforts when needed in order to kind of help sway the health of the environment.

But overall, just by taking a look around here and visiting this space, you can see that our ecosystem is thriving.

You might see lots of unique plants and animals moving around.

So we very much do try to manage how visitors may impact the environment and the things that naturally are found here.

So what are some of those qualities that make a healthy ecosystem?

So generally, when we're looking at an ecosystem, we're gonna look at the basic components, right?

How healthy is the water?

How healthy is the air?

And then also, what plant and animal species are existing that are native to this space?

And are they in balance with one another?

So if we wanted to be able to check and see if the environment was healthy, we might go run some chemical tests on water quality.

We can also do the same thing with air when we wanna see a measurement of air pollution.

When it comes to the environment itself and we're taking a look at the balance of plant and animal species, our Resource Management Team may even take inventory of the species that they find by putting out humane traps and sourcing those animals over a period of time.

We also have research students who come to partner with Virginia State Parks so that they can track specific species.

For example, right now, we have one graduate student who's specifically studying highbush blueberries here.

Cool.

So now tell me about some of the threats to the ecosystem, and what do you have to do to maintain this pristine environment?

Well, you can imagine with Virginia State Parks being very much visitor driven, that the number one thing that we have to keep an eye on is impact from people.

And here at First Landing, that often looks like making sure that the visitors who go out onto our beaches aren't leaving litter.

We keep a close eye on the amount of waste produced by people, and we often have to keep an eye on water quality as well.

And then across the street, over on our trail side, we put a lot of intention into where our trails are located and making sure that the amount of human traffic on those trails doesn't impact erosion negatively.

We have so much sand here, that the environment here is very much prone to erosion, especially from things like human traffic.

So that's part of the reason we ask people to stay off the dunes, for example, those sea grasses are intended to keep those sand mounds in place, and they act as a natural buffer between the water and our built environment here, everything that's further inland.

When it comes to some more specifics related to the environment, our Resource Management Team will also at times, have to actually manage the specific species we have here.

There are certain types of invasive species.

Phragmites is an example of a type of invasive grass found in our marsh environment, and that's one that can be really difficult to take care of because once it's seeded, it can grow really, really quickly.

So that's one species they work on taking out of the environment to make more room for natural species to grow.

We also have lots of other invasive species that could be found in our swamp environments.

So any kind of invasive reptiles or insects is something else they have to keep an eye on as well.

It sounds kind of scary.

So what can we as the general public do to help?

I think that every person is equally capable of having an impact on the environment, positive or negative.

So when we go outside, I would encourage everyone to be mindful of what kind of impact you want to have.

When you visit a park space, for example, whether it's First Landing or somewhere else, there are a couple little things you can do to make sure that as a community, we're all contributing to taking care of this space.

A couple of examples of that could be when you're headed out to the beach, make sure that you pack in and pack out all of your trash.

Same goes for hiking.

Anytime you can follow leave-no-trace principles, basically making sure that the environment looks the same or better than the way that you found it.

Other things that we can do, of course, practicing recycling, conserving natural resources, but also being mindful that when we interact with the natural world, that we are visitors in their space, but that we also all share this Earth as our home.

So making sure that you stay away from wildlife, you're not feeding them or leaving anything in their environment that could be harmful.

Well, thank you so much for meeting with me.

It is clear that you guys are working hard and doing an amazing job to keep it clean, so thank you so much for all you do for our environment.

It's really our pleasure.

It takes a whole team to help keep this environment protected.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, thank you.

Well, I'm heading off to explore a little bit more of the park.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

You as well.

(bright music) (bright music continues) I have this prescription for you.

What is forest bathing?

(melodious music) All right.

Walks, check.

Forest bathing... (melodious flute music) This is Sean Fertitta.

He is a certified Forest Therapy Guide.

I am so intrigued by forest bathing, so why would my doctor even prescribe this to me?

So forest therapy is incredible just to reduce stress.

You know, it just really helps you slow down, get out of that head, you know, where the mind is going all the time, and it just really drops us into our body and we get to just appreciate where we are right now.

So what do I have to do?

Like, roll around in the leaves?

Do I need a towel?

No, no.

So forest bathing is actually a translation from the Japanese practice, Shinrin-Yoku.

And what that really means is that all of the trees around us emit this essential oil called phytoncides, and it helps with their defense, and when we are in the forest, we collect those phytoncides and it helps our own immune system.

So what makes forest bathing or Shinrin-Yoku different from just walking through the forest?

Well, in forest bathing, what we really do is a concerted effort to slow down.

So it's not exercise, we're not out here to identify plants or animals, we're just here to slow down, just breathe, and take in exactly where we are right now.

So can you give me a demonstration on forest bathing?

Sure, so the first thing is going to be called Pleasures of Presence.

So if you just get loose, get comfortable, close your eyes if you feel comfortable, and I just want you to pay attention to your breath.

(birds cawing) (wind blowing) And I want you just to notice what you're feeling, feeling on the inside, or feeling on the outside.

(birds cawing) (mystical music) Now bring your attention to anything that you might be smelling.

(birds cawing) (mystical music) Now, shift your attention to anything that you might be hearing.

There's a cicada in the tree to my right.

And now to my left.

I hear the wind.

Some waves.

(waves crashing) And now I want you just to slowly open your eyes and notice what you see.

And just notice it as if you're seeing it for the first time.

Hmm.

The water.

I see the trees moving.

I see you.

The sand.

I see a bird over there.

And so just after that little bit, what do you notice?

How do you feel?

I feel a lot more calm.

I feel more like, centered in the place where I am.

Is that how it's supposed to feel?

Yeah, that's exactly it.

That's it.

That's it.

Okay, cool.

So what's next?

So what's next?

We're gonna do another invitation.

We're gonna notice what's in motion.

So let's go ahead and take a walk.

Great.

All right, so for this next invitation, we're gonna notice what's in motion, and we're gonna go at a really slow pace.

The whole point is to slow down.

And so I just want you to take note of maybe it's the leaves blowing in the wind, or even the smallest little beings- A dragon fly.

The smallest little beings, just notice anything that could be in motion.

Yeah, it's a lot of leaves shaking.

It's these ferns just like wiggling around, even just like the shadows changing the light.

(mystical music) So this next invitation is called Canvas, and we just think that nature is one big piece of art.

And in art, there's lots of color and texture.

So I want you just to notice all the colors and textures around you, right from this bark to this incredible leaf here.

Why don't we just go out and just see what we notice?

Okay?

(mystical music) (mystical music continues) Go out and just find any being that calls to you.

Just make sure you're not picking things off of the trees or the plants, you know, try and get something that's on the ground, and go out and I'll see you back in just a little bit, okay?

Okay.

(mystical music) (mystical music continues) Oh, a tea!

That's right.

That's so cool.

Yeah, have a seat.

What'd you find?

I found this fern.

I like how the brown and green come together.

Oh, yeah.

I found this bark with like, a lot of lichen on it.

Oh, nice.

This leaf was so yellow and it just like, stood out from everything.

Nice.

And the babiest pine cone that you've ever seen.

That's so cute.

I know.

I love it.

Well, thank you.

So, every forest therapy ends with a little tea ceremony.

And so today, since there's so many pine trees, I actually brought some pine tea.

That's so wonderful.

Yeah.

So pine tea is actually really high in vitamin C. Yeah, so it's really good for you, and you'll notice that I set out actually three cups and there's only two of us, but we always give one back to the land.

So it's just one of those things that, you know, just to be in gratitude of spending time in this amazing place, and we just wanna offer it back, back to the land.

I'll let you offer that cup of tea back to the land in any way that feels right for you.

I wanna say thank you to the forest for helping me to feel de-stressed.

Cheers.

(indistinct) (melodious music) I took your advice, doc.

I took some time to walk in nature, and I've even taken several forest baths.

It has helped to alleviate my stress, and I've learned so much about the connection between people and nature.

That's great news.

And your numbers are improving, so keep it up.

I'd like to see you back in four months for a follow-up.

Okay.

My time outdoors and forest bathing has really improved my mood and energy levels.

Being out in nature isn't going to solve every mental and physical health issue, but experts believe in the healing power of nature.

So what are you waiting for?

Get outside for better mental and physical health.

See you next time on "Spotlight Earth."

(bright music)