The Skin We're In.

We're talking all about SKIN thanks to my NPLEX studying this week; here are some tidbits that I have learned:

- Caucasians are mostly 'white' in appearance due to their melanin-poor skin.  Without a lot of melanin covering the skin and giving it pigment/color, the white-colored collagen---lying under the surface of the skin---tends to shine through, giving the skin a pale or 'white' color.

- The skin is thickest on our feet, palms of our hands, and on our lower back. The thinnest skin we have is on our eyelids.

Image source here.

- Some parts of our skin are extremely sensitive to temperature, pain, light touch, etc. (e.g. the skin on our face). This heighten sensitivity is due to the presence of free nerve endings lying near the surface of the skin.

- Each hair on our skin has a muscle near its shaft (the arrector pili muscle).  This muscle contracts and makes our hair stand on its end when we are cold (producing what we commonly refer to as 'goosebumps').

Image source here.

 - The purpose of the raised hair shafts (goosebumps) is to create tiny grooves or pockets on the skin in order to trap warm air, helping our skin warm-up.


P.S. Check out this info-graphic on the benefits of spending time outdoors (produced by the creators of the 30x30 Nature Challenge!). Cool stuff.

30 Days with Nature.

Congrats on spending 30 days with nature!

Today the 30x30 challenge wraps-up.  Let's take a look back at the last 30 days (feel free to answer these questions yourself if you participated):

What did you manage to do?  Lots of walking (including evening strolls), Frisbee, soccer, managed to explore a new park, picnic/ate outdoors, etc.

What didn't you do?  Didn't get out biking, no gardening, and not as much time reading outdoors as I had hoped (I did this a bit, but most days in June were just soooooooo hot it was hard to stay idle outdoors).

How did you feel spending so much time with nature? Loved it. Especially now that it is warmer, it was nice to take advantage of the warm and bright evenings too. However, I must say that most of the time I didn't actually feel like I was immersed in 'nature'.  Remember that I live in Toronto, people :P  Finding true green spaces was HARD, but I made the most of city parks and neighborhoods.

What was the trickiest part?  Rainy days were challenging.  I managed to find a moment during one particularly wet day when the rain had stopped and got outdoors.  On another rainy day, I just put on my rubber boots and took an umbrella to keep me dry. Oh, and as I said above, completing the challenge in a city was tricky.

Hmm, now that July is here, should we start another challenge?  I am thinking about starting a smoothie one. A smoothie-a-day would be quite refreshing! 

Halfway.

Today is the halfway point of the 30x30 Nature Challenge!  Congratulations to all those participating.  

Image source here.

Here's a recap of some ways that I've completed my 30 minutes a day (hopefully to give you some inspiration):

- walks (SO many walks)
- sat under a tree (yep, I just sat there (and ate a snack). Took in the sights and sounds of the world around me)
- Frisbee (the perfect Summer 'sport')
- did work outside (I sat outside and sent emails, etc. Feeling the breeze and sun while 'working' was enjoyable)
- sightseeing (went somewhere new and just took in the outdoorsy 'sights'. No need to go far to 'sight-see')
- read a book in a park (on a park bench)

Still on my list to try this month:

- picnic!
- bicycle? ...or garden?
- more reading outdoors (note the picture shown above)
- explore a new park in the city (hopefully going to do that TODAY)

...and even if you aren't registered for the challenge, that doesn't mean that today isn't the perfect day to spend some time in nature.  You got to start somewhere, am I right? ;)

Let's Go Foraging.

Taken with a cellphone camera; sorry for the poor quality.

I found this edible plant pamphlet (it kind of like an laminated handout) and a hardware store recently. I instantly fell in love with this little botanical medicine guide. Here are three surprisings things I've learned from it thus far:

1) The inner bark of maple trees is edible

2) All parts of buttercups (the little yellow flower) are poisonous

3) Spruce tree needles can be steeped as tea

In terms of the June nature (30x30) challenge, wouldn't this month be an excellent time to go foraging for edible plants?  If you decide to try foraging, I would highly recommend that you do your research first.  There are lots of poisonous ones out there!  Pick-up a guide or do some Googling online before you begin. Finding edible plants in the wild can be tricky.  Luckily for me, not only does my new guide point out the safe, edible plants, but it also contains a poisonous list too. By the way, the official name of my guide is Edible Wild Plants: An Introduction to Familiar North American Species.

Happy Foraging!

30x30: Day One.

Happy June 1st! 

Hope your first day of the nature (30x30) challenge went well.  I spent my 30 minutes in nature playing Frisbee with loved ones. 'Twas fun and I even got some sun (yeah vitamin D conversion!).  I think the hardest part of this challenge will be getting into nature during rainy days.  More ideas on rainy day activities to come!

Recap and Challenge.

Recap: Did you enjoy the Health Scenes? It's been a week and thus time to stop. I have many more scenes to show you, so I will likely repeat the week sometime in the future.

Aww nature, how I love thee. Image source here.

Challenge: I would like to invite you all to participate in this exciting new challenge. The David Suzuki Foundation is challenging everyone to commit to spending 30 minutes with nature for the next 30 days. The challenge starts June 1st, giving you a couple of days to plan out your upcoming month in the great outdoors! The website features all kinds of ways to enjoy nature and discusses the importance of finding time for nature (Naturopathic Doctors definitely encourage it for good health!). I am committing to the challenge and plan on spending my days:

- reading in sun

- gardening

- walking in the woods

- exploring parks

- picnics outdoors

- dance in the rain

- play frisbee, soccer, jump rope, and other outdoor activities

- and finding new ways to enjoy nature!

I will post recaps in the month of June detailing my time with nature.  Maybe even throw in a picture or two! Sign up for the challenge here. I'll end today with this inspiration instruction found on the website: Be sure to breathe deeply, feel the sun on your face, take comfort; absorb the wonders of nature bit by bit.