Our family believes being outdoors creates a great foundation for health, and also education, so we try to spend as much time outside as we can. From doing schoolwork outside to hiking, we try to find reasons to be in nature, because not only does it lower stress levels, but it also can help your immune system! In addition to exercise, we are getting good exposure to vitamin D, inhaling essential oils direct from the source (tree hugging is a real thing) and if the weather allows, we will take off our shoes & socks to ground to the earth.
When we moved to Syracuse IN, we knew we were expecting baby number two, so the three public parks in close proximity were a perk, for sure! As we continued expand, by adding two more kids through fostering, we also found a gem in the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation (WACF for short), which has several parcels of protected land where we can hike, plus see conservation in action!
We tend to like their main campus for a couple reasons- first of all, there are three main areas to hike, which offer variety: a forest set of paths, a loop trail out past a canal and access to the largest natural lake in Indiana (Lake Wawasee), plus a set of trails that take an elevated boardwalk through a marsh area of the lake. All these trails loop back to the parking, so we can adjust the length of our hike. And when you hike with little people, short & sweet in the necessary plan!
All our littles enjoy the marsh boardwalk best, though I prefer to head to the lake if I’m hiking alone. Even if I can only spare 20 minutes to get outside, it really helps we have great nature trails so close to home!
If you are ever in our area, one of best ways to see our giant lake is from the quiet sanctuary of the protected land. There’s a peace here that is worth the stop.
Where do you find your peace these days?
Stay well & vibrant~ Naomi
PS- want to find out about other ways (besides hugging a tree to reduce stress) that scent benefits our minds? Text SCENT to 574 203 5701 for my latest notes on how scent impacts our brains!
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