Bartlett Regional | House Calls | Summer 2020

Forest therapy Social distance in the great outdoors with this trail guide 1 Spend about 10 minutes sensing the outdoors. Close your eyes, if that feels comfortable, and take a moment to pause and tune in to smells, sounds and felt sensations. 2 Open your eyes and take a moment to see what looks different than before. Then, begin a very slow walk, noticing what’s around you. 3 Find a spot, like a tree stump, to sit in contemplative thought. Kruger recommends about 20 minutes. 4 Express gratitude. Kruger likes to end her sessions by sipping locally foraged tea and pouring a little out on the ground to show thanks. AS MEDICINE In 2018, spurred by studies showing spending time in awe of nature can counteract inflammation, depression or even high blood pressure, Bartlett Regional Hospital partnered with the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service on a Get Outside, It’s Good for Your Health campaign. Bartlett staff shared what they value about the healing natural environment of Southeast Alaska. We learned that health care providers in some states write “prescriptions” to visit parks and that trails dedicated to forest bathing are part of Japan’s national public health system. In this new era of social distancing and staying healthy, getting outside in the fresh air is more vital than ever. As the reality of the new pandemic paradigm sunk in for Southeast residents in spring, KTOO radio reporter Elizabeth Jenkins profiled volunteer certified forest therapy guide Linda Kruger, who spoke of lessons the rainforest can teach us during this time.* “To have this experience, you don’t need to be in an altered state or believe in any particular doctrine or ideology,” Jenkins notes. “You just have to be fully in the moment—out here with a tangle of blueberry bushes and a thick canopy of hemlock trees and spruce.” Horse Tram Trail (Out the road) Connects Amalgameadows to the Boy Scout Trail as well as access to the Eagle Landing Harbor. Trailhead: Eagle Valley Center off Amalga Harbor Road or Boy Scout Trail at the end of Herbert River Road Length: 2 . 5 miles Elevation gain: 185 feet Switzer Marriott (Lemon Creek) The Richard Marriott Loop Trail is 1.2 miles, and Davis Meadows Trail (from Dzantik’i Heeni to the Richard Marriott Trail) is 0.5 miles. Trailheads: Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School. Sunset Street, Lund Street, and Mountain Avenue Length: 1.7 miles Elevation gain: 150 feet Perseverance Trail (Downtown) From Perseverance Trail, you can access Mount Juneau and Granite Creek Trail. Trailhead: at the end of Basin Road Length: 3.2 miles Elevation gain: 700 feet Here are Kruger’s suggestions for nature therapy: *See the full story here: bartletthospital.org/ foresttherapy (Link will redirect to KTOO.) GET OUTSIDE, IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH 8 House Calls Summer 2020