By Jessica Hearne
I learned the term “forest bathing” recently, and I find it very intriguing. The idea comes from Japan, where people started practicing it in the 1980s to fight burn-out in a society that was increasingly technology- and achievement-oriented. The term describes a practice of immersing oneself in a forest, connecting with creation through mindfulness practice while surrounded by greenery.
I didn’t know the term until recently, but as soon as I learned about this practice, I immediately believed in the validity of it. After all, I have seen the positive effects of spending time outside while working at the Grace and Main Urban Farm.
The Grace and Main Urban Farm was established in 2015 with the goal of helping people in our neighborhoods improve their health outcomes through several avenues. The Farm provides fresh, healthy food. Last year we grew over 800 pounds of fresh, culturally preferred fruits and vegetables that we shared with those living in our community. It is a source of food in a food desert.
The neighborhood where the farm is located is one that does not have a grocery store within a mile, and where many of the residents do not have adequate transportation to get to places where food is available. The farm is an education center. It is a place where people with direct experience of hunger and poverty are learning both gardening and leadership skills, as well as food system advocacy. It is also a place of creation care.
As we cultivate the land, we are learning how to do so in ways that are sustainable and that honor the health of all the things living there, including the soil, the plants, the bugs and even the groundhogs (though we also try our best to keep four-footed invaders outside the fence). These are all important benefits of our Urban Farm to the people who live in the community.
A recent conversation with Sarah reminded me that, in addition to the physical health benefits of our farm, our leaders and volunteers are also receiving the benefits of forest bathing, though I don’t think she would use that term to describe our work.
Sarah is a new member of our Urban Farm leadership team. She started coming with a family member, a long-time farm leader and volunteer who has had some health trouble and now needs a little extra support when he’s working. Sarah started coming so that she could be available for her loved one, but she has continued coming for herself. “I feel so much better when I get to come out here,” she told me recently.
Sarah has some health problems of her own, and some days she struggles to even get out of bed due to her pain. But getting out in nature, being surrounded by green trees, having her hands in the dirt and being active have had a positive effect on her mental health, and for Sarah that feeling of calm and community makes it easier to get up and moving. It even seems to make her physical pain a little easier to bear.
“I love coming out here, and I won’t miss it if I can help it” she said. “Moving around helps me hurt less, and it’s so quiet out here! I just love coming.”
Our bodies were made to be in contact with the earth, as our bodies are from the earth. Being outside, immersing ourselves in God’s creation, is an important way that we can connect with our Creator. Together, our farm volunteers are experiencing the joy of being surrounded by the love of God as it is found in the blue sky, the brown-black soil and the green plants and trees.
Jessica and her husband, Joshua, serve as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel in Danville, Va. Learn more about their ministry at cbf.net/hearne.