Green Space & Happiness

[digitS']

I have just been reflecting on this short article with it long title:

Study: Green Space Means More for Satisfaction Than a Neighborhood's Average Income

There is quite a bit more to it than that. But, either the article or the research didn't delve into it.

Steve

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

it did seem to be an incomplete article. i have always found that i prefer to be in the yard working on green stuff over being at work slaving away on a computer. i used to work the next town over and there wasn't much green around that area. my former employer a couple years ago decided they wanted to start a 'gardening club'. it was a cheap way to get their workers to do the landscaping for the tiny piece of lawn they had. the area was no bigger than 20'x30' and most of what went in was perennials that were low maintenance and some mulch to make it look pretty. we maintained the tiny lawn area and just kept the plants looking nice by occasional watering/weeding/feeding.

 

[journey11]

I certainly believe it! I'm happiest when I'm completely surrounded by nature. I used to do a lot of hiking on parts of the Appalachian Trail in the Blue Ridge Mountains when I was in college. And a lot of hiking and fishing here where I live, up until I had my kids. So now I don't get to very often. It has a profound effect on reducing my stress level. I have a longing in my bones to get out there more often. I'm hoping to leave the kiddos with Nana for several hours this weekend so I can get out and do some morel hunting, my favorite spring past-time.

The view here is also one of the things that really sold me on this house. I love my WV hills. :happy_flower

 

[digitS']

No, they didn't quite say what people feel about having personal yards, gardens, and natural areas around their homes.

It is a good thing that the study looked at income levels. Strangely, they didn't find that income had any real bearing on life satisfaction or individual mental health :/. Read between the lines on employment & marriage . . ! Okay, unemployed people aren't likely to be very happy or unhappy people are probably not employed. Might work with marriage, also.

Some places are nicer to live than others.

I am always surprised with some people living near a park - those that look like they could care less about their neighborhood. It isn't common but now and then you find some residence where it looks like the owner couldn't possibly be much more dissatisfied with life. Maybe if they didn't live across the street from a park we'd hear about them in the newspaper just opening their front doors and firing at random vehicles that drive by .

I know it can't always be so great, especially when hoodlums show up for a night of carousing at the park. There's traffic and litter. Still, the good number of homes that are near a park have the look, that the residents are a little happier than most. I know, that I'm usually happy to stop and spend a little time.

Steve

 

[canesisters]

Ok.. a little off topic but here it is anyway.
Years ago ('95/'96?) I got hooked on this 'build your world' game. You had to colonize this little planet - get enough people to move there so that the work could get done - but also have enough set aside to feed them and keep them happy. I remember that it used to make me so mad when I'd be halfway through building something important like an O2 factory, and half my workers would go on strike or even leave the planet because there wasn't a park within a certain distance from their homes.
Even those tiny little invisible nanoid-people knew that you have to have SOME sort of nature to nurture your soul.

 

[ninnymary]

Steve, I'm one of those happy people that live 3 houses down from a park. I take the kids there every Thursday and I constantly see it every time I'm driving around doing errands. etc. Since the park is in a neighbor hood and kind of hidden it doesn't get to many people. It always gives me a peaceful feeling.

Mary