Tuesday, Mar 10

Dear Reader,

You spot a rabbit nibbling a leaf beneath a shrub and, of course, you stop and observe, a smile on your face. Or you marvel at an ant dragging the corpse of a beetle many times its size along a sidewalk. How does it do that? 

This desire to interact with our natural world is a universal human impulse. (One wonders if that’s Instagram’s true purpose — to form a community of others equally enamored of cats and dogs and odd interspecies friendships.)

Edward O. Wilson called it “biophilia,” a term that speaks to the innate and, he proposed, genetically determined affinity of human beings for the natural world. 

Failing to cultivate our biophilia invites trouble. Science broadcaster and activist David Suzuki warns that “If people don’t care about the natural environment, and don’t see ourselves as part of it, we won’t fight to preserve it.” (And let’s pause for a moment and acknowledge that we are a part of nature, not apart from it.)  Suzuki’s concern is warranted. A 2014 UK study, conducted over two years, revealed that children were spending less time than prisoners outdoors, a consequence of screen time, fearful parents, and diminishing urban green spaces.

But the good news is that caring for and about nature provides real benefits for us. Take birdwatching, for instance. Not only does it offer us a chance to enjoy interesting wildlife, but also, evidence indicates that it boosts cognition, including in older folks. 

“In a Canadian study of 58 adults, the brains of expert birders, compared with those of novices, were more dense in areas related to attention and perception,” reads a story for NBC. “Such tissue density may indicate increased communication between neurons, and these structural differences were associated with more accurate bird identification.”

Dot is far from an expert birder but, thanks to my Merlin app, I’m getting better at identifying various bird calls. It’s a lovely pastime and, hopefully, one that’s turning me into a genuine birdbrain.

Biophilialy,

Dot