Once The Buildings, Parking Lots, And Roads Are Finished, Whatever Land Is Left Over Is Seeded With Grass Or Laid With Sod, And Nursery-Grown Plants Such As Japanese Hollies Or Norway Maples Are Planted To “Beautify” The Site. If Any Mayapples, Turtles, Frogs, Or Patent Leather Beetles Lived On That Land Before, They Don’T Live There Any Longer.
Where is Oakland ? Oakland Map Location Photo Gallery
The Largest, Oldest Native Forest Within Fifty Miles Of My House Was Scraped Away To Build Spec Houses And Condominiums. I’M Sure You Have Such Heartbreaking Stories Yourself. Now The Market Has Collapsed And Many Of The Units Haven’T Sold. I’M Tempted To Think That’S Good, But It Doesn’T Matter. It’S Too Late To Go Back; It’S Too Late For The Trees.
The Sign On This Rhode Island Forest Says, “It Took Tremendous Effort And Great Generosity To Save This Forest. Now Everybody Can Enjoy Its Beauty And Experience What Aquidneck Island Looked Like Prior To European Settlement.” I Silently Thanked Them All For Their Effort And Generosity. Rhode Island Needs This Little Forest, I Need This Little Forest, And The Children Who Live In This Neighborhood Need This Forest. Let’S Save More Forests Like This, If There Are Any Left. If Not, Let Us Allow Space For New Ones.
We Need Natural Land Not Just For Beauty, Although That Is Important, And Not Just As Habitat For Other Species, Although That Is Important, Too. We Need It Not Just To Clean Our Air And Our Water, Both Vitally Important. Research Is Beginning To Show That We Actually Need Natural Places If We Are To Be Mentally Healthy Humans.
Henry David Thoreau Said We Need Natural Land If We Plan To Raise Poets And Philosophers: “A Town Is Saved, Not More By The Righteous Men In It Than By The Woods And Swamps That Surround It. A Township Where One Primitive Forest Waves Above While Another Primitive Forest Rots Below, Such A Town Is Fitted To Raise Not Only Corn And Potatoes, But Poets And Philosophers For The Coming Ages.”
Each Year, More And More Children Are Diagnosed With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Or Depression, And More Children Take Prescription Medications To Treat Those Problems. We Don’T Really Understand If The Conditions Themselves Are Increasing Or Just Being Diagnosed More Often, But There Is Growing Evidence That Time Spent In Nature Alleviates The Symptoms Of These Disorders. Adults, Too, Need Nature. I Am Acutely Aware Of The Healing Power Of Nature In My Own Life, But I Am A Sample Of One, With No Control Or Recorded Data. In The Few Scientific Studies Conducted On The Subject, The Evidence Suggests That Viewing Natural Scenes Can Lower Stress Levels And Speed Healing. Time In Nature Has Also Been Correlated With Increased Creativity, Ability To Focus, And Even Spiritual Epiphany. I Don’T Doubt That The Very State Of Our Souls May Be At Risk If We Show No Respect For The Natural World.
Oakland Forest Is A Success Story. Every Lot Counts.
