The Sizes of Nature

Last weekend my husband and I went for a bushwalk at a local forest right near our house, Toohey Forest Park. It's only a ten minute drive to get around the far side of the park so we have no excuse not to explore many more of its trails while we live so close! 

We had a lovely morning and it was nice to see so many people enjoying the local bush. It made me think about the varieties of nature we have around us and how we can experience each of them so differently.

Our backyard
By far the easiest nature to access and the one we've spent the most time in this year. We moved into our current house in late February and have spent time getting to know the plants that were already established, and planting our first veggie garden.
We've deeply enjoyed visiting our backyard every day, and watching the space change slowly over weeks and months. It's an intimate, up close and personal type of nature, where you have some measure of control over what's in it and how it flourishes, or not. I've found having our own natural space a wonderful opportunity to tune into the seasons, observe local wildlife, and begin learning how to care for all the living things within it.

Local green spaces
For me, this includes bushwalking in local parks like Toohey, and bicycle riding along local creekways and bikeways. Also very easy to access, but requires you to leave the house!
I enjoy seeing the variety of people who are also out enjoying the local nature. I notice when the council has done some mowing or pruning, and now it's getting warmer it's very easy to see which trees are starting to blossom and change for spring.
The interactions are larger than your backyard, less intimate than daily care for something you've planted. Instead of learning what birds like the trees in your backyard, you're learning what birds and other wildlife frequent your local area. This type of nature can connect you with others at a community level, through groups that care for local green spaces.

Wilderness
Now to one of my favourite ways to experience nature, wilderness via our beautiful national parks. Sometimes easy to access, more often moderately difficult to access. It takes more conscious effort to organise a trip to a national park than it takes to walk into your backyard or ride a bike out of your driveway and head to a local creek. The effort is always worth it though!
You can disappear onto kilometres of tracks and hear no traffic or sirens and very often not hear other people for hours. This nature experience can be humbling due to its area size, and the immensity of trees that you walk beneath. It's impersonal in that you visit and enjoy and leave no trace, and that's taking care of this type of nature. I also find hiking to be deeply personal, as it's a reminder that you are part of nature as a whole and that is ultimately where you belong. 

There are days and times for all these types of nature, and all can be enjoyed for the various benefits they provide. When I was bushwalking locally last week, it scratched my itch to be out walking, but it also made me crave a proper, bumpy entrance road, national park hike.

​Despite being in my backyard daily and enjoying slower, smaller nature, what my soul really needs right now is a bit of humbling and rejuvenating wilderness.