Latest news with #greenery
CNA
4 days ago
- Health
- CNA
Yes, you can go forest bathing in Singapore – this 49-year-old guide took us to the Botanic Gardens
When she mentions forest bathing, Hazel Yap often gets asked: 'Huh? Where is the forest in Singapore?' Forest bathing is, simply, spending time in a forest or natural environment, and the slow, mindful immersion of all senses to connect with nature. 'You don't need a forest for forest bathing,' declared the 49-year-old Yap. 'You just need to be around greenery. You can even do this indoors with a plant around you.' Yap is a certified guide by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy, a global organisation for forest therapy training. 'To me, the 'forest' in forest bathing loosely refers to nature. Forest bathing is about finding connection with nature,' she said. Originating in Japan during the early 1980s, the practice of forest bathing is rooted in ancient Shinto and Buddhist traditions, as well as modern scientific research. Studies have shown that it improves physical, mental and emotional health by reducing stress, lowering blood pressure and improving immune function. I had arrived 15 minutes late from a difficult school drop-off for my kids. And as I sat in a circle of strangers, my mind was still darting between my to-do lists. When we began in a yoga-like fashion, eyes closed, breathing deeply, I struggled to even keep my eyes shut. As Yap invited us to focus on each of our senses, my ears tuned in to the sporadic chirping of birds, my nose picked up the green scent of wet grass, my skin felt the soft drop of rain as it bounced off my skin. As my mind gradually stilled, Yap invited us to go on a solitary short walk through the glistening garden. It was a path I had treaded many times – for picnics, to cafes, to playdates for my kids – but never so purposelessly. I wandered amidst low hanging branches, bushes heavy with flowers and weeds growing rampant on the grass. By the time I returned, I wasn't half as frazzled as before. Finally, to end the hour-long session, Yap invited us to bring a gift back from nature. It was a treasure hunt for fallen flora and foliage. I returned with a fern-like leaf for my daughter's bedroom. That was it. My first forest bathing experience. No forest in sight. BECOMING A FOREST BATHING GUIDE 'My job as a forest bathing guide is to open the door to nature for you and plant a seed that will one day grow,' Yap said. This 'door' refers to a deeper connection with nature. 'Many go to the park with intention, and are often running or walking very fast,' she said. Because of that, they don't slow down and fully immerse in nature. Being a forest bathing guide is Yap's passion project; she earns her living as co-founder of Serious Media, a digital marketing agency with multinational clients. It is a fast-paced role, and by September 2021, three years after she co-founded the business, Yap was burnt out. 'I woke up and said, this is enough. I couldn't continue,' she recalled. That was still during the pandemic, so Yap took a 10-day break in Singapore and tried three new things: baking, knife painting and forest bathing. In fact, she arrived at the Healing Garden in the Singapore Botanic Gardens for her nature immersion with an upset stomach after lunch. 'It was raining and I was holding an umbrella. There were a lot of mosquitoes. I was bitten left, right, centre,' she laughed. But as she eased into the session, all her physical discomfort fell away. 'I'll never forget that feeling of the wind blowing on my skin. I felt so alive. When I opened my eyes again, I was surprised by how bright the colours were,' she recalled. When her guide invited her to 'befriend' a tree, it did not strike her as odd. She simply went up to a tree, touched it and leaned on it, and somehow, her stomach felt better, she said. 'After my session, I looked at the signage and realised this tree heals people with stomach issues when parts of it are consumed.' It was such a magical experience that six weeks later, Yap signed up for a forest-bathing guide course with the United States-based Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. 'It turned out to be a healing process for me,' she said. NATURE AS THERAPIST With the pandemic still raging, sessions were conducted over six months via Zoom with participants heading outdoors. It was during one of those sessions that Yap broke down in front of some 30 international course mates. Tasked to sit under a tree for self-reflection, Yap felt a connection to the tree and her thoughts began to wander to her beloved late grandmother, who died at the age of 78 due to respiratory problems. Yap was 40 then. On the day she died, she had just been discharged from hospital, but died unexpectedly as the ambulance pulled up to her HDB block. Yap, who had been following the ambulance in her uncle's car, did not even get to say goodbye. 'My grandmother raised me for the first seven years of my life and was like a mother to me. I felt like my world collapsed. Her death also led me to question what this life is for,' Yap told CNA Women. As these memories filled her mind, Yap started tearing, and soon, this became breathless sobs. 'It felt like a therapy session,' she said. Three years later, after pandemic restrictions on travel were lifted, Yap made a trip to Yakushima Island in Japan in October 2023 to complete her forest bathing course. As a final ritual, she wandered into an ancient forest and spent four hours on her own. 'I came out (of the forest) with a heart of gratitude, and as I was sharing my experience (with my course mates), I broke down and cried. Something was released in me,' she said. The experience changed the way Yap approaches life today. 'In Singapore today, everything is just fast, fast, fast. We think that it is the norm to go fast. It is not. We are not built to be like that. ''Fast' can mean efficiency and being ahead of the game, But it can also mean making hasty decisions. It can bring you stress,' Yap reflected. 'I used to be like that. I walked, talked, ate and did everything fast. I couldn't sit still. The biggest learning for me is to slow down,' she added. 'I now know how to take a pause and make mental space for myself. I will say, I'm not feeling okay today. 'Whenever I am faced with challenges or feel down, I spend time in nature. And even though I may not have solved the problem, I feel like the weight of the world has lifted off.' IMMERSING IN NATURE IN SINGAPORE Today, despite her busy full-time job, Yap makes time to lead others on this experience via her company A Good Rest. 'While forest bathing is still new in Singapore, I hope it will be like yoga one day, where almost everyone that you speak to would say, I have done it before or I'm actually doing it weekly,' she said. In addition, Yap also hopes to organise a weekly reading club in nature. View this post on Instagram A post shared by A Good Rest (@ 'I want to be an advocate for rest,' she said. 'Rest is important; you don't need to feel guilty about rest.' She hopes her children, aged 19 and 21, will benefit from this. 'They are born in an era where everything is fast, and everything they consume is digital. I don't think the word 'rest' is even in their headspace. I hope my children will learn what rest is,' she said. 'Rest does not only mean taking 10 days off for a holiday. In a world that is full of problems, noise and stress, sometimes all we need to do is take that one step out. 'Go to your park, or a quiet spot, sit under a tree and just be with yourself for a few minutes. That is the best way to enjoy nature,' she said.
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The Bachelorette's Courtney Dober and Abbey Thomason announce shock wedding - and you'll never guess where they tied the knot
The Bachelorette 's Courtney Dober has wed Abbey Thomason in Mongolia. The reality star, who was a frontrunner on Georgia Love's season of the dating show in 2016, took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal that he and his longtime partner had tied the knot after getting engaged in February of last year. 'For friends and family who missed it, yep, a few days ago we got married in Mongolia. Pics and vids coming soon!' he wrote across a picture of the happy couple on their wedding day. The new Mr and Mrs Dober, who have been together since 2021, wore big smiles as they posed for the snap, with a jaw-dropping backdrop of rolling hills and green trees behind them. Abbey, who is a realtor and renovator from the US, wore a stunning lace and tulle dress, which boasted a voluminous skirt, a feminine neckline and floral motifs. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. She accessorised the wedding attire with a woven cowboy hat. Her husband opted for an olive green suit paired with a baby blue button-up shirt. Courtney wore a light brown tie for the occasion, along with brown lace-up shoes, black socks and a fedora hat. The couple beamed as they sat on the hill while sipping on some canned beverages. Courtney is no stranger to the screen, having appeared on The Bachelorette in 2016 and The Bachelor Winter Games in 2018, as well as currently hosting and building on The Fixers. Prior to that, he also presented for Channel 10 and hosted Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in 2013. In 2020, Courtney made headlines after completing an astounding landscaping job for a very famous face. He shared a before-and-after video showcasing his skills after transforming the backyard of 5 Seconds of Summer guitarist Michael Clifford's home in Los Angeles. 'What do you get someone who has everything... a new garden? Twenty-four-hour birthday surprise build for our buddy,' Courtney captioned the footage, which he posted on Instagram at the time. 'My buddy's away, but this is his house, just a dirty patch,' Courtney said as he panned the camera to show the unkempt backyard. 'He gets home tomorrow, so we're going to turn this patch into a little slice of paradise, in just 24 hours.' The landscape enthusiast went on to clear, grade and lay the weed matting down in a bid to liven up the turf. He also added a few plants and stepping stones, and installed a wooden bench seat for entertaining purposes. The birthday boy was thrilled with the renovation. 'Oh my god, it looks sick!' Michael said as he took in the surroundings of his new backyard.
The National
17-06-2025
- Science
- The National
Vegetation in UAE deserts grew by 40% after 2024 floods
The flood that hit the UAE in April last year caused an increase in greenery in the country's desert landscapes, research has found. Vegetation in some areas increased by up to 40 per cent compared to the same time in 2023 and this has had a lasting impact, which is 'very surprising', climate scientist Dr Diana Francis told The National. 'If you drive through the desert now, you'll see green patches growing on the dunes. That's not something we are used to seeing in the UAE,' she added. Dr Francis, head of the environmental and geophysical sciences lab at Khalifa University, co-wrote the paper published in the npj Climate and Atmospheric Science journal. She said it provided evidence that extreme weather was beginning to reshape ecosystems and alter local climates. 'Of course, this has an impact on the ecosystem, on the biodiversity, the small animals that live there, and also in the long term,' she said. Boosting biodiversity Dr Andrew Gardner, associate director of biodiversity conservation at Emirates Nature-WWF, agreed that weather events such as the 2024 floods can have a profound impact on local ecosystems. 'Such rare bursts of vegetation can temporarily boost biodiversity. Insects become more abundant, which supports lizards and, in turn, predators like snakes,' he said. 'In May [2024], for instance, we witnessed a dramatic emergence of snout moths, whose caterpillars feed on these desert plants,' he said. This biodiversity also supports small mammals such as gerbils and their predators, including falcons and desert monitor lizards. However, Dr Gardner warned that such ecological responses are fascinating but 'they are short-term and cannot offset the broader risks and disruptions posed by increasingly erratic climate patterns'. Shifting tropical boundaries Such weather could potentially cause climate zones to shift, Dr Francis said. 'More vegetation means more moisture exchange and can even shift the boundary between arid and tropical zones.' She said her study, which was published in May, aligns with earlier work suggesting the tropics are expanding, bringing more humid conditions to traditionally dry areas. That could fundamentally alter ecosystems and biodiversity in the Middle East. Dr Gardner added that, in the Abu Dhabi desert, a flush of ephemeral plants – which grow only briefly when conditions are favourable – was observed. 'Remarkably, some of this vegetation has persisted even in the absence of further rainfall into 2024,' he added. While 2024 was the wettest year on record for the UAE, 2025 has so far has been the driest, with April and May breaching temperature records. Such fluctuations are driven by climate change, Dr Francis said. Climate concern The study confirmed that human-driven climate change made last year's rainfall in the UAE, the heaviest in 75 years, far more likely in the future. The research used cutting-edge climate attribution science to examine the rainfall, Dr Francis explained. 'We compare simulations of the actual event with a hypothetical version under pre-industrial conditions. What we found was that anthropogenic [human-influenced] climate change dramatically increased both the intensity and likelihood of this event,' she said. Is extreme weather the new normal? Dr Francis said fluctuations between extreme heat and extreme rainfall showed 'the fingerprint of climate change'. 'The Arabian Sea is warming rapidly, and with warmer oceans comes more evaporation, which fuels heavier rainfall events,' she added. A key finding of the study was the role of a weather pattern that meant saturated air from the Arabian Sea lingered over the UAE for 12 hours, significantly compounding the severity of last year's storm. 'Such events usually pass within hours,' Dr Francis explained. 'But this one was sustained due to unusual atmospheric and oceanic conditions. With ocean surface temperatures rising, similar set-ups are increasingly likely.' Need for resilient cities The study includes an analysis of the effect of the flooding on urban infrastructure. The findings suggest existing drainage systems and land use policies need to be enhanced to cope with such extreme weather. 'Our cities are not designed to absorb these volumes of water,' Dr Francis said. 'If we keep covering land with impermeable concrete, water has nowhere to go. We need to rethink urban planning with more green space and better drainage to reduce future damage.' Plans are already under way. In Dubai, a Dh30 billion ($8.16 billion) drainage plan was approved last year. The system aims to increase rainwater drainage capacity by 700 per cent, meet the emirate's needs for 100 years and ensure the city is ready to face 'climate-related challenges'. Hot topic Dr Francis and her team are turning their attention to extreme heat. 'We're studying past heatwaves from a public health perspective, and we're also integrating artificial intelligence into weather models,' she said. 'AI might help us improve the short-term forecasting of extreme events.' She also said more vegetation in the desert would affect its ability to reflect solar radiation back into the atmosphere, potentially leading to hotter conditions. 'Instead of being all yellow, it is now yellow and green,' she said. 'It's not the same energy that is being absorbed by the surface of the desert.'
Daily Mail
16-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Daily Mail
The huge Parkinson's risk linked to where you LIVE - and why it might be even worse in upmarket areas: Experts reveal who is most at risk
For many homeowners, a property surrounded by greenery, open space and a sense of community is the ultimate lifestyle prize. The appeal is obvious: proximity to nature, low-traffic streets, and easy access to outdoor leisure pursuits create a sense of wellbeing and prestige that's hard to match.
The Guardian
09-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Medellín's sublime return to nature
Over the last 10 years, Medellín, Colombia, has undergone a stunning transformation: huge swaths of the city that were previously encased in concrete have been restored to their natural state, such as in Parque Prado. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Parques del Río, seen on 3 June 2025. Since 2016, the city has invested in greening the landscape as a way to reduce the urban heat island effect, improve air quality, prevent flooding and restore biodiversity. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Parques del Río. Medellín's renaturalization plan includes the creation of dozens of 'green corridors' – interconnected streets, bike paths, parks and bridges – that have helped lower temperatures by 5F (2.8C) in some areas. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Parques del Río. 'Residents of Medellín feel that greenery is an important part of our landscape,' said Marcela Noreña Restrepo, the city's secretary of environment. 'There's a sense of ownership. People take better care of the spaces where there's greenery.' Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Workers maintain Avenida Oriental, a main thoroughfare in Medellín. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Officials added green roofs and vertical gardens to buildings, such as on Medellín's city council building, reducing the urban heat island effect and helping the buildings' interiors stay cool. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian A mourning dove perched on Medellín's city council building. 'With more greenery, we have more wildlife,' Noreña Restrepo said. 'Butterflies are coming, little birds are coming.' Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian View of a highway from Parques del Río. Many of Medellín's overpasses have been greened to promote biodiversity and improve air quality. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Parque Prado was a pilot project in Medellín's renaturalization plan. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian The site, which had previously fallen into disrepair, was restored using recycled materials and native plants. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Medellín has roughly 4,000 streams, and the city has been greening embankments, including in the Parques del Río. 'Everything is water,' said Noreña Restrepo. 'If we don't intervene appropriately, problems like flooding begin to appear.' Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Plaza Botero, a park with 23 statues by the city's own Fernando Botero, gained new vegetation and other updates. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Visitors get some shade in Plaza Botero. Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian Plaza Botero. Designers paid special attention to the composition of the landscape, Noreña Restrepo said: 'Where there's vegetation, it's not just a tree, but rather a combination of different species. So, it's very pleasant to walk around – yes, because of the lower temperature, but also because the city is much more beautiful.' Photograph: Jaime Saldarriaga/Guardian
