The Art of the Awe Walk

Marcia feels into what exactly it is about nature than can improve our health and how ranger walks can provide a bridge to nature connection.

This week is Highland’s Green Health Week and as a person who feels connected to the natural world around me, I was excited when the notion of ‘green health’ and the ‘natural health service’ were being bandied about before the big C happened. And I think this very idea of nature as medicine was really felt for the first time by a significant part of the population during the COVID times.

However the discussions of nature and health always left me with a bitter aftertaste, a feeling that something was missing from the conversation. It’s only now that I’ve realised what that was.

Photo by Gary Ellis on Unsplash

I’ve been hearing recently about the concept of ‘Awe Walks’. There has been some recent research that supports the fact that not just existing in nature is good for you, but genuinely connecting with it, finding a sense of awe while in it, is what can improve our health and very sense of self. This means noticing the different types of moss on the ground, hearing that rustle in the leaves as somewhere a blackbird hunts for bugs, and even respecting those famous little bloodsuckers native to the Highlands (you all know who I mean).

Photo by Gary Ellis on Unsplash

When I go on a walk I am never alone and that’s not just because I usually have a group of people with me, but because I recognise the scurrying shrew on it’s mission for food, I notice the scat on the track that tells me I’m following in Mr Fox’s footprints and I breath in the happy chemicals produced by my neighbours, the trees.

I don’t see my self as separate from the place I’m walking in, I’m just entering a different neighbourhood, one with green skyscrapers and a wide diversity of other inhabitants, some too small even for me to recognise, but no less worthy of their place there.

Awe!

This is what has been missing from the conversation in the past, the sense of awe, the realisation that we are just one of many creatures wandering this earth, trying to get by. Yet this new research is another example of science demonstrating what some humans have long known.

Photo by Marc Pell on Unsplash

The Native American peoples have always seen their wild counterparts as cousins, not an ‘it’ but a ‘they’, a neighbour to greet with a wave and a smile, and one to avoid when their in a bad mood! Even a few hundred years ago people of the Highlands were regularly interacting, working, living in this neighbourhood more often that us modern folk. They knew all of their local plants and trees, they knew what gifts they could receive from them and what they in turn could do for their local flora and fauna.

This is what you get with a guided Ranger walk, and introduction to the awe. If you’re new to the neighbourhood we will show you around and introduce you to the local residents. It is our hope that you feel more confident to take a few journeys on your own.

Take yourself for a walk and not just the dog. Turn off the phone and resist the podcast, listen to the rhythm of the world as you pass by. The more you get to know this place, the more you will find to discover, the more you will find ‘awe’.

Marcia O'Hara is High Life Highland's dedicated Countryside Ranger for Easter Ross and South East Sutherland. She infuses her love for nature into every aspect of her work, from community clean-ups to guided events and workshops. With an academic foundation in Environmental Biology, Marcia excels in bringing fresh perspectives to her sessions, making science come alive in community learning. Known for her ability to engage and inspire, Marcia has a special interest in woodland botanics, including fungi, lichen, and trees. Her unique approach and deep connection to nature have made her an invaluable asset in preserving the natural beauty of the region she covers.