Tag: neighborhood forest

Can Mindfulness Make Us Greener?

Posted on November 9, 2013 by vnarula

I compost, recycle, eat organic, use compact fluorescent light bulbs, own a hybrid car, have an electric lawnmower, shop at a co-op, and hug trees in my yard when neighbors aren’t looking.

I know I can do more. For instance, I don’t have solar panels on my roof, don’t have a composting toilet and I don’t dry my laundry on a clothesline. (I’m not interested in having my skivvies wave to the neighbors.)

It’s a good thing Thich Nhat Hanh isn’t grading me. I’ve been reading his latest book, Love Letter to the Earth, and if he was my school teacher and this was a green exam, he’d give me an F. (He’s a compassionate being, so he might bump it up to a C+.) It’s not that I’m not trying, but according to him I’m missing the most important green item from my list: my mind.

Fortunately, I’m not in elementary school. And as a world famous peace activist and Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh’s too busy to mark school papers. But his point is well taken. Can my mind — the pink, mushy thing lodged between my ears — make me a “greener” person through the simple practice he calls mindfulness?

Thich Nhat Hanh describes mindfulness as living with full awareness with all that is happening inside us and around us, non-judgmentally, from moment to moment.

I do get moments of lucidity, but my mind can quickly swing from tranquility to a hamster wheel on steroids. My awareness gets lost when my mind whirs over trifling things: an unexpected credit card bill, weeds on my lawn, a zit.

This is precisely the problem. My mind, according to Thich Nhat Hanh, is a teenager with the keys to dad’s car. It’s doing whatever it wants – donuts in parking lots, speeding down one-way streets, knocking out hydrants, flipping over fruit carts, scaring old ladies at crosswalks.

I need to get the keys, put the car on cinder blocks and keep it in the garage. To do this I need to stay present and say firmly, “Sorry mind. No more Justin Bieber concerts. No more trips to the mall. You’re grounded.”

If I don’t develop a deeper level of awareness and let the mind go unchecked on its wild, crazy adventures, I create the space for negative and destructive tendencies to arise — anger, hatred, jealousy – all the qualities seen regularly on reality television.

Dr. Stephanie Kaza, a Professor and biologist of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont, and the author of Mindfully Green, says a deeper awareness is key to reverse our environmental situation: “Much of our ignorance about environmental degradation is the result of not seeing, not smelling, not tasting, not hearing, and not feeling the deeper impacts of environmental suffering. We are too busy or perhaps too afraid to pay attention to what is going on.”

Mindfulness brings our attention back to what is going on around us and within us. Through continued practice, Dr. Kaza says we gain a deeper awareness of ourselves and of the interdependence of life and nature. When this awareness grows, we will naturally want to live a more greener lifestyle.

People in lab coats agree. Research has shown mindfulness not only reduces negative behavior patterns, but it can actually help a person develop qualities that form the basis of interdependence and connection like empathy and compassion. In other words, mindfulness practitioners would never be seen on an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Environmentalists like Bill McKibben have praised Dr. Kaza’s work, saying it is of “immense value to anyone looking for ways to live less in opposition to the forces of nature and community.” David Suzuki has said of Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings: “We need this great wisdom if we are to move from our destructive path.” Dr. Suzuki has even had talks with Thich Nhat Hanh to discuss how this wisdom can be used for collective awakening.

What does this all mean for our planet and a greener lifestyle?

It gives us hope. More importantly, it gives me hope. While I look to green myself on the outside, Thich Nhat Hanh reminds me to stay green inside – to keep my mind present, peaceful and clear. If I want to be happier and have the Earth give me bear hugs and high-fives, I need to grow in compassion and empathy, to slow down, soak up life in this moment and listen to what the environment is saying to me.

If I can do that, only then will I deserve an A.

Vivek Narula is the Director of Neighborhood Forest (@treesforkids) – an organization that gives free trees to schoolchildren every Earth Day.

Earth Day is Coming. The New Hires are Waiting.

Posted on April 6, 2013 by vnarula

“Mr. Finneas, your 9 am is here.”

“Send him in.”

Door creaks open.

“Come in, come in. You must be Mr. Quercus Alba.”

“Yes, sir. But you can call me Bob.”

“Sure Bob. Please have a seat.”

“I prefer to stand, sir.”

“Sure. Look, Bob, we reviewed your resume and here’s what we think: it’s outstanding. Graduated top of your class. Strong commitment to community service. Ivy League.”

“It’s actually oak, sir.”

“Right. What’s more, you have an impressive skill set.”

“Well, it’s nothing really…I…”

“Nothing? Produce oxygen, improve air quality, clean the soil, control noise pollution, slow storm water run off, provide shade, act as a windbreak, fight soil erosion…”

“Create spreadsheets.”

“Really…I…didn’t…”

“Kidding.”

“Right. Look Bob, your skills are great, but we’re concerned about our bottom line here at Finneas and Fir, and well, you know…”

“Money doesn’t grow on trees, right?”

“Right.”

“Wrong, sir. I increase property values too.”

“Really?”

“Second page, sir, under additional qualifications — next to eye for detail.”

“Right. Well, I think that settles it. Congratulations Bob. You’re hired. Now if we only had more overachievers like you on board, we’d be able to cut out some of the deadwood around here.”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Figure of speech.”

“Oh.”

If trees were employees, anyone would hire them. They are great workers. They don’t take vacations, they work long hours and definitely don’t embarrass themselves at office parties.

Like any great worker, they impact the environment around them. The roles that trees play in our neighborhoods and our communities directly affect the quality of our air, water and soil. What are some of those roles?

Trees make our lungs happy by cleaning the air. They take in carbon dioxide through their leaves and give off oxygen we need to breathe. A mature tree pumps out as much oxygen in one season as 10 people will inhale in an entire year.

When there’s rain, a tree’s roots help hold soil in place to prevent erosion, which not only saves soil but also keeps our streams, rivers and lakes cleaner.

“Trees, these wonderful stewards of the Earth, deserve our appreciation. On April 22, Earth Day, we invite you to spread the love.”

Of course, they are many ways in which trees affect our environment. That’s why these wonderful stewards of the Earth deserve our appreciation. On April 22, Earth Day, we invite you to spread the love.

On Earth Day we’re giving hundreds of trees away to over 10 schools throughout the Twin Cities. If you’re the parent of a child getting a tree, plant it with them and make it an event. Post a picture on Facebook or tweet about it to your friends and family. Your tree will love all the attention.

The trees are ready to meet their new families this Earth Day. Make them feel welcome. They’ve got a lot of work to do!

For more information on the many ways in which trees affect our urban environments, check out this excellent video.

Planting Roots Online

Posted on February 1, 2013 by vnarula

Welcome to our new website!

Thank you for being here. We hope the new website makes it easier for you to connect with us and find out what’s happening at Neighborhood Forest.

You might be familiar with us already. You might be a school coordinator, the parent of a child who received a free tree at school, or one of our green sponsors — if so, we’d like to thank you. It’s your commitment to Neighborhood Forest that’s helped us give more free trees to more schoolchildren each year. Your encouragement, your suggestions and your continuing support have been invaluable. Neighborhood Forest couldn’t have gotten this far without you.

If you are new to Neighborhood Forest, consider this an invitation to be part of our online community. Friend us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or drop us a line. Let us know your thoughts.

“You might be a school coordinator, the parent of a child who received a free tree at school, or one of our green sponsors — if so, we’d like to thank you.”

If your thoughts are you’d like more people to know what we’re doing, feel free to pass a friendly word along, or better yet, become a school coordinator or even a sponsor. Tell a friend, speak to your child’s teacher, your next-door neighbor, your boss, the school around the corner, the green business down the block, or even that progressive uncle who can’t stop talking about his plug-in hybrid, about our mission to give away free trees to kids every Earth Day.

What if you know people who live outside the Twin Cities or Minnesota? No worries. They’re welcome here too. We plan to expand beyond our state borders in the future, so we may be in their neighborhood soon.

So thank you again, all of you, new friends and old, for your interest in Neighborhood Forest.

We hope you stick around for this exciting journey. Together, we’ll be able to get more small trees into the little hands of more beautiful children.