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Show Volume XXVII Issue IX The Ogden Valley news Page 13 September 15, 2020 Nurtured by Nature: Outdoor kids become happier adults! By Derek Taylor Most of us have heard it; you may have even said it yourself as your eyes scan the mountains, streams and open spaces that make up Ogden Valley: “What a great place to raise kids.” While this may be common sense to many of us, new research has shown that being raised near wild spaces can be even more impactful than we previously thought. A recent study from Aarhus University in Denmark determined that children raised with access to nature grew up to be happier adults. The study, published in February 2019, looked at data from nearly one million Danish residents over the course of almost three decades. After adjusting for various factors, including family mental health history, researchers found that children with the least access to green space had a 55-percent greater chance of suffering from mental health issues as adults. That children are happy when playing outside is obvious to anyone who has watched a group of kids throw sticks into a flowing stream. The Aarhus study, however, suggests the benefits of being out in nature as a kid extend into adulthood. Those “other studies” number in the hundreds and go back decades. Published in 1984, the book Biophilia suggests that humans have an innate affinity for nature. Though the New York Times recently called the arguments put forth by author Edward O. Wilson “mostly aspiration dressed as hypothesis,” subsequent research continues to back his premise. In the 2008 book Last Child in the Woods, author Richard Louv contends that the disconnection with nature is contributing to many of today’s childhoods illnesses, including anxiety, attention deficit, depression, and obesity. “Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature,” Louv writes. “Among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illness.” For Louv, the solution is not as simple as signing your kids up for little league or soccer. “The physical exercise and emotional stretching that children enjoy in unorganized play is more varied and less time-bound than is found in organized sports,” he writes. “Playtime—especially unstructured, imaginative, exploratory play—is increasingly recognized as an essential component of wholesome child development.” For her book, The Nature Fix, published in 2017, author Florence Williams followed researchers from three continents to learn the benefits of connecting with nature. Her findings were similar. “We all need nearby nature: we benefit cognitively and psychologically from having trees, bodies of water, and green spaces just to look at,” she writes. “Short exposures to nature can make us less aggressive, more creative, more civic minded and healthier overall.” While the very act of being in nature is therapeutic in itself, Williams asserts that there are also side benefits in what nature helps—or sometimes forces—us to do. “Nature appears to act directly upon our autonomic systems, calming us,” she writes. “But it also works indirectly, through facilitating social contact and through encouraging exercise and physical movement.” These findings have recently moved off the pages of self-help books, and into the medical community. Since 2014, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, California has operated a program called SHINE (Stay Healthy in Nature Everyday) that takes patients on monthly excursions to local parks. Similar park-prescription programs are popping up worldwide. Park Rx America, a nonprofit that advocates for such programs, works with nearly 200 medical providers in 34 states. Doctors in Shetland, Scotland, under authorization of the local health board, began writing “nature prescriptions” in 2018. None of these works suggest that you have to live in a mountain town to reap the health benefits of being in nature. A city park, river trail, or nature walk can offer many of the same advantages. It’s certainly easier, though, when you live in a community anchored by access to public lands, trails, and recreation areas. In other words, this is a great place to raise kids. Weekday Closures on Wheeler Creek Canyon Trail By Shanna Francis Ogden City has announced upcoming closures of portions of the popular biking and hiking trail known as Wheeler Creek Canyon Trail. In late August, Ogden City began rebuilding the old Wheeler Creek diversion structure and constructing a new concrete spillway/ diversion in this area. Thus, a portion of the Wheeler Creek Trail is projected to be closed weekly, Monday thru Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., through December 1, 2020. However, the trail will typically reopen for use on the weekends. Please note, however, weekend work may be scheduled as needed. As a safely measure, all recreational activity will need to use alternate routes and trails through the duration of the construction project on weekdays, as access will be closed below the trailhead near I-39 (Ogden Canyon Road) and the Ice Box Canyon Junction. For more information, please contact the project team at 801-719-9726 or email <zrogich@langdongroupinc.com> Eight-year-old Musician Entertains at Chevron/ Southfork Hardware Store in Huntsville By Becky Wood, Proud Huntsville aunt Eight-year-old drummer Cameron Buttars of Morgan is “rockin’ it” in front of his Grandpa Cameron Sidwell’s (Kay) Chevron/ Southfork Hardware store in Huntsville, concluding a month-long run of outdoor weekend drum solo concerts at the busy tourist venue. It was an idea that his proud Grandpa Sidwell and mom came up with. Along with playing the drums, he also sold fresh garden vegetables and eggs—a means for him and his brothers to earn their own money and an idea from family to encourage self-reliance at an early age. Cameron is the oldest of six boys. Labor Day was Cameron’s last public performance, now that he has headed back to school, which he will focus on until next summer when he plans to do more outdoor concerts at his grandpa’s other Southfork Hardware stores throughout the state. Even though there wasn’t seating, several pleased fans were willing to stand by, smiling admirably while he expertly played drums to an incredible array of songs, making it worth the stand! His Hawaii Five O drum set was a huge hit with the audience, too. He was phenomenal! Cameron, who is musically gifted, began playing the piano at four years old, which he quickly picked up, winning several piano competitions during the last few years. In addition, soon after he learned to play the guitar. His hands-on mother, who is also musically gifted, firmly believes in children studying music as a fundamental part of their overall education based on a proven theory that studying music actually strengthens the part of the brain that helps a child learn other subjects faster and with greater efficiency. Cameron is an-ahead-of-his class student and may go into engineering in college because he “likes to invent things.” His mom says that she never has to tell him to practice, he practices daily on his own and loves playing many instruments. He is currently learning, along with his five younger brothers, to play the ukulele (the only instrument some of them are big enough to hold) from moth- er Sky Sidwell Buttars. Cameron’s dad is Zachary Buttars, who also loves music and is a big supporter of his son’s talent—helping Cameron haul his drum set around isn’t easy! Besides being Cameron’s roadie, he manages the Chevron and Hardware stores. Zach’s parents are lifelong Huntsville residents Willow and Alan Buttars. Shown above is a picture of 8-year-old musician Cameron Buttars with his dad Zachary. Cameron entertained visitors to the Chevron/Southfork Hardware store in Huntsville this summer, wrapping up with a final concert on Labor Day. Cameron’s long-term musical goal is to one day form a Brothers Band with all his siblings playing different instruments; however, in the meantime, while he waits for them to get a little bigger, he will keep pursuing a one-man career as a solo artist. Look for Cameron and his red drums next summer at your local Southfork Hardware stores. Thanks for the memories, Cameron, and Rock On! You got this! Subscriptions available for out-of-area residents at $18 annually. Send payment with mailing address to: The Ogden Valley news PO BOX 130, EDEN UT 84310 |