This time of year as the weather gets colder and more uncomfortable it’s tough to imagine in the comforts of our warm indoor environment that we are an intricate part of our natural world. Most of us isolate ourselves in our artificial indoor environment ignorant to what’s going on in nature. We should take the time to understand how important the health of the natural world is to our human health. We would then treat our outdoor environment with much more respect.

We all know and should understand the effects of toxic pollution, destruction of forests, the depletion of clean water, and how these can all create serious health issues. Do we all really understand the profound influence a clean, bio-diverse natural environment has on human well-being? How we manage or mismanage our land by needlessly destroying natural or critical environments can have a great effect on our natural resources. Studies show that by maintaining these native naturalized areas in a more environmentally friendly manner, we are sustaining the health of the natural world- which includes our human health as well.

We can start by changing our thinking and then our property management activities. Let’s start looking at human activity as part of the “web of life”- as an intricate part of nature’s evolutionary journey. We are a success because we have the ability to adapt to changes in our environment. As the most advanced species on the planet, it is our responsibility to the other life forms to sustain a cleaner, healthier environment for their health, as well as our own. It is up to us to hand the next generation direction toward a clean and healthy planet. It’s important that we start making these changes today.