Venturing outdoors, connecting with nature, and feeling its endless power is essential for nature lovers around the world. We asked ecologist Charles Post, who loves birding, hunting, and exploring the mountains, what nature meant to him:
E.O. Wilson, one of the world’s greatest biologists and luminary thinkers of all things nature, coined a wonderful word imbued with the love and connection we humans have, innately so, with nature: Biophilia suggests that we humans have a deep desire to commune with nature, and to connect with other forms of life. This way of being is rooted in our passionate love of life within the ecological tapestry of our home planet to which are inextricably bound and a part of just like any other plant or animal. To know biophilia is to appreciate symbiosis between our life and the natural world.
There’s a feeling one gets when immersed in a wild place, where the buzz of insects and the chorus of birdsong fill the air. What a potent reminder that we are a thread in this vibrant fabric, interconnected and stronger together. The benefits of time spent outside has been well understood from the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, to the extensive research that has strived to understand the impacts of nature deficit and conversely how time spent in nature can have lasting physiological impacts.
A clear mind and a calm heartbeat are just some of the effects nature has on me. It’s where I go to rest and recharge and also satiate my curiosity. Nature is where I find clarity and joy. Even when days seem to be busier than ever, ten minutes outside beneath the trees and warm sun can transform the day in miraculous ways. And there’s no substitute for nature, no going back once it’s gone. This is precisely why we must save our home planet for in the preservation of nature lies the preservation of ourselves.
About the Author:
Charles Post
is a Norway based ecologist, Explorers Club Fellow, and award-winning filmmaker with a love for birding and exploring the outdoors with his wife, Rachel Pohl and their Samoyed, Mr. Knute. Following nearly a decade of field work and studies at U.C. Berkeley, earning his bachelor and master’s degrees in ecology, Charles embarked on a creative journey, spanning topics from the decline of kittiwakes in the Norwegian arctic to the beauty and fragility of migrating raptors across North America.
For more information and fascinating adventures visit his Instagram account: @charles_post.
We at SWAROVSKI OPTIK
#fortheloveofnature
want to inspire people to love and care for nature. Our premium products sharpen the senses so that we perceive the ever-present beauty of nature – and understand the need to protect it. We kindly invite you to let yourself be enchanted by the preciousness of the moment, so that you may fall in love with Mother Nature again.