Epilogue

But are not exercise    and the open    air within  the reach   of  us  all?

—   WALT    WHITMAN

If there’s one major theme of this book, it’s that the benefits of

nature work along a dose curve. Tim Beatley, who runs the Biophilic
Cities Project at the University of Virginia, promotes a concept called
the nature pyramid. It’s a recommended menu for getting the nature
humans need, and I think it’s a genius idea. It also happens to mirror
the structure of this book, from quick doses of nearby nature to longer
spells in wild places. Inspired by the ubiquitous food pyramid,
Beatley places at the base the daily interactions with nearby nature
that help us destress, find focus and lighten our mental fatigue. These
are the birds and trees and fountains in our neighborhoods, our pets
and our house plants, public and private architecture that allow for
daylight, fresh air and patches of blue sky and naturalistic
landscaping. These are our daily vegetables, and Singapore, laser
lights and all, has it nailed. We should all be so lucky.

Moving up the pyramid are weekly outings to parks and
waterways, places where the sounds and hassles of the city recede,
places that we should aim to imbibe at least an hour or so a week in
the Finnish fashion. These might include wilder, bigger city parks if
we’re lucky, or regional parks that we can travel to fairly easily.

Moving up higher still are the places that take more effort to get
to: the monthly excursions to forests or other restful, escapist natural
areas along the lines of what Japan’s Qing Li recommends—a
weekend per month—for our immune systems.

At  the very    pinnacle    are the rare    but essential   doses   of  wilderness,