I am Ava Goodman, a DLab student. My passions and interests are always changing as I learn more about myself and the world around me. The one thing I have always had an interest in, and one of the only things that has constantly stayed on my t-popper is nature. Throughout my life, any free time I had was spent outside, whether that was just in my backyard or camping with my family. Over my past immersion, (human)nature, I explored ways one can do good for themselves by being in nature. I expressed this learning through the informative writing piece above that was later added to the field guide our immersion created. Despite all my time in nature, its effects on the brain and body were something I never truly thought about before. I knew it must have some effects due to the fact that I noticed a change in myself while outside, I tended to be able to focus more, calm down easier, and generally be in the moment easier while outside. Until this immerison I never truly paused to think about why this happened. In my research, I discovered environmental psychology, or the study of how people are affected by the physical environment around them, and instantly fell in love. Before I knew it It had been hours and I had compiled pages of notes on the effects of nature and our environments on the human body and mind. This project inspired me to dig deeper into things I never would have thought about before and help me learn new ways to do good by being in or around nature.
