Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club general manager and course superintendent Leo Barber. Photo / David Haxton
Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club general manager and course superintendent Leo Barber. Photo / David Haxton
Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club general manager and superintendent Leo Barber won an Ed Walsh Award for an article he wrote for the Golf Course Superintendents Association of New Jersey's Greenerside magazine. He's reconfigured it especially for Kāpiti News online.
Despite a host of conveniences, modern life for many is seemingly becoming increasingly demanding. Occupations where long hours are the expectation and households where mum and dad often both work are quite commonplace.
There are finances to balance, mortgages to pay, a house to maintain, often kids that require pick-ups and drop-offs from their vast range of activities and just the day to day struggles of a normal functioning lifestyle that gets slotted in and around the general busyness of life.
Of course, often overlooked in this mix is taking some time for ourselves which importantly includes managing our physical and mental health. We can become absorbed in simply surviving life rather than conquering the daily battle and ultimately this can be to the detriment of our overall wellbeing.
Smartphones have only accentuated the inability to switch off, let down and recharge our minds and bodies as we are bombarded by a plethora of continuous notifications and distractions.
A few years back this was becoming a real problem for me as I was juggling all of the above and more, so I went searching for some solutions.
I found a host of options available — reading, travel, socialising, listening to podcasts, sport and gym to name a few, but for me it has been a case of, "getting back to nature" which in many aspects can actually encompass all of the above.
Here are four documented benefits to consider and if you think about it, these are not only good for the soul, but they are great for when we step back into the normalities of our busy lives.
· reduced stress and elevated moods — the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and feels of nature can have a calming effect and help our minds unwind.
· improved quality of sleep — natural sunlight helps set the body's internal clock that tells us when to eat and sleep.
· increased attentiveness and time for reflection — being out in nature gives your mind time to rest and think, to work out problems.
· enhanced satisfaction — people with access to nearby natural settings have been found to be healthier overall than other individuals.
Waikanae estuary.
Getting "back to nature" doesn't have to involve strapping a 30kg backpack on, lathering up with sunscreen and huffing it up a mountain (although, if that's your thing, tramp on!), it can be as simple as sitting under a tree at a nearby park, working in the garden or exploring a local track. It is the exploration of local tracks however that I have found to be the most rewarding.
New Zealand is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty but it's often the case that regardless of where you live, we are all guilty of ignoring what is lying right in front of us and beauty is everywhere. Even in heavily urbanised environments there is a huge push by civic leaders to create trails and tracks down their slivers of greenbelt.
In recent years, the Kāpiti Coast has seen an explosion of quality tracks and cycleways — the expressway cycleway, the Waikanae River and Estuary walks, Queen Elizabeth Park, Town Centre to Sea and the walk through the nikaus in the Barry Hadfield Nikau Reserve are all easily accessible from practically our doorsteps and are a few of my favourites but there are so many more to explore.
However, for me the real enjoyment and escape has occurred when I have managed to get a little further away from surburbia which granted might not be as easy but should still be possible.
Nothing too serious, some manageable walks of an hour or so into the bush such as the fabulous Hemi Matenga walk that climbs high above Waikanae or the slightly longer but exhilarating Paekākāriki Escarpment track along the coast to Pukerua Bay has worked some magic.
Escarpment walk between Paekākāriki and Pukerua Bay.
This in turn has led to some day treks and even an occasional overnighter up into the Tararuas with friends and family has proved to be incredibly uplifting. Not a hard-core tramper myself, I have enjoyed the escape and what occurs when the noise of our modern-day bustle is turned down as part and parcel of being off the grid and away from urban distractions.
I have found that the time to reflect, to enjoy the simple things in life and to take in the sights, smells and the sounds against the otherwise beautiful isolation of nature has been hugely beneficial.
Mt Hector in the Tararua Ranges.
A relationship with nature by the very choice of where we live is intertwined into our DNA and as we look forward to warmer weather this summer, maybe it's time to begin now to plan and research for ways you can find opportunities to invest in your health and wellbeing by "getting back to nature".
