2019 Get Your Happy On! 10 Science-Backed Ways to be Happier

Everyone is happy on a hike in nature!

Wow, 2019 is here! Did you make a resolution? Lose weight? Get organized? Volunteer? The majority of my friends and family dislike resolutions. Why put such importance on the new year? Every day can mark the first day of positive lifestyle changes. It’s such a disappointment when you “fall off the wagon” then the whole year is blown…

On the other hand, I love resolutions. For me it is an annual reminder to reserve some time to really be aware and set a mindful intention for improvement. Thinking of resolutions as “intentions” (or desires) helps detach from the outcomes and also allows the universe to help out.

My resolution or intention for both myself and our readers is to be happier.

Fun fact: I truly believe that setting goals, desires, and intentions is how I have achieved almost everything good in my life.

That concludes our philosophical portion. Now onto the science…

Click to see larger

I did a little research and both Fast Company and Inc magazines posted online articles coming to the same conclusions about the 10 “Science-Backed Ways to be Happier.”The Fast Company article includes cool before and after brain pictures. Both articles provide a fascinating read and list a multitude of sources confirming that their recommendations are proven to make people happier. I have summarized their findings in a nifty table I titled, FoHVOS “Get your Happy On.”

Now I can’t help you with the recommendation to “Move closer to work,” although I can provide a testimonial confirming that while living in Hopewell, I’ve held jobs in Pennsylvania, DC and one requiring weekly drives to Newark or PHL. There is no doubt my commute to Titusville is an improvement and officing atop Baldpate Mountain is a dream come true.

More importantly, I can help with the rest of the list. Start by taking a guided walk on FoHVOS lands. Last year FoHVOS offered a popular “Force of Nature Hike” series and an #OptOutside hike.

Hiking by definition is a form of exercise so #1 is accomplished. We do it outside so we’re good on #5. An interesting aside was that happiness is maximized at 57 degrees outside.

Anyway, it is great if you sign up for our hikes with friends and family but even if you come alone, by the end you will have made friends with the others and we addressed #4.

Romy, me & lots of others

Here is where it gets more interesting. Romy of RomYoga led our hikes and her format is conducive to optimizing happiness. This means our hikes include smiling (#7), meditation (#9) and practicing gratitude (#10.)

Sleeping more (#2) or at least more soundly naturally results from having improved 1,4,5,7,9 and 10 on our hike.

This leaves us with number 6 or “Helping Others.” Your most basic self is probably helping others. By communing with the other hikers you share great energy with our community. Additionally, you can decide the level of commitment you would like to share. The science suggests a 100 hours is optimal, but even microvolunteering can make a difference. FoHVOS can customize volunteering opportunities to your needs. Whether it’s laboring outdoors, or applying your skills indoors, we offer those opportunities as well. Email me at Lwolff@fohvos.org and we'll get you hooked up.

The joy of Helping Others can be summarized with my favorite quote from Flora Edwards, "In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us."

I look forward to sharing the journey to increase your happiness. By doing so, you increase mine as well and for that I am grateful. Here is to a Happy 2019!

An excerpt of this article appears in January's Hopewell Valley Neighbors magazine.

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Connecting Children with Play & Nature

Emma enjoys bugs & Butterflies at her family’s home garden

On August 10 2018, the governor signed a law requiring elementary schools to hold at least a 20-minute recess period each day and restricts the reasons schools can take away recess from an individual student. The law, introduced and sponsored by Hopewell Valley’s Senator Shirley Turner, further states that recess should be held outdoors if feasible.

The opportune timing of implementing the law just prior to school’s start sets the tone for expanding free play time outdoors. The September 2018 Hopewell Valley Neighborsincluded FoHVOS Community Conservation projects at local schools including The Pennington School and neighborhood public schools. New ponds, meadows, performance, and mindfulness areas go beyond traditional playgrounds.

According to Gretchen Kish, Founder of Nectars Landscape & Design and the designer behind the new Bear Tavern Elementary outdoor space, “Kids are naturally very curious. So, we believe that by providing them with a fun and engaging outdoor environment, they can learn through natural discovery and develop skills not found in a traditional classroom.”

The new law is especially helpful by ensuring that children get outdoors at school since the advent of screens makes it less likely that children will be exposed regularly at home. A survey by The Nature Conservancy states, 88% of America's youth say they spend time on-line every day and less than half spent time outdoors.

The Nature Conservancy data suggest that if American youth are given more opportunities to have a meaningful experience outdoors, they will be more likely to value nature, engage with it, and feel empowered to do something about it.

It’s never too early to engage children to play or connect with nature. The American Academy of Pediatrics recently published a clinical report stressing the importance of play in child development. "Collaboration, negotiation, conflict resolution, self-advocacy, decision-making, a sense of agency, creativity, leadership, and increased physical activity are just some of the skills and benefits children gain through play." Further, the report notes "outdoor play provides the opportunity to improve sensory integration skills."

Nicole Langdo, FoHVOS Board Trustee and Founder of Painted Oak Nature School, adds thatnature provides a sense of place, both on a local level -- for example, knowing the bugs and trees reside in one’s own backyard -- as well as on a broader scale in better understanding how truly connected living things are on this planet we all share.

Lango concludes, “When outside, children have more opportunities for team building, peer collaboration, problem solving, managed risk, and creative thinking. Given that they will be our future leaders, engineers, teachers, and professionals, I think providing them with these opportunities is a pretty good idea!"

While the new law provides opportunities for a deeper understanding and skill development, during recess all the children focus on is the fun. Maria Montessori famously said,“Play Is The Work of the Child.”

We encourage families to augment outdoor experiences for the whole family. No extra equipment or training is needed. Open the door. Play outside and develop young brains, hearts, and spirit.

A version of this article appears in the October issue of Hopewell Valley Neighbors magazine.

So Long, Summer

By Samantha Bean

It never fails to amaze me that when you introduce yourself to someone for the first time and you begin to share stories and vignettes, you eventually strike a chord with them about something you both have in common.

This very same thing happened last weekend when I met with several other hikers on the Force of Nature hike series hosted by Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space (FoHVOS). All of us drove different roads and we all parked with our various makes and models of vehicle. And yet, once we got to talking and loosening our muscles before the two-hour climb to the top of Baldpate Mountain, we quickly shared our stories about what was present in our lives and families. 

As we went around in a circle and rolled our shoulders and breathed in the humid Sunday morning air a common theme of transition arose from all of our stories. Some of us were in the process of moving our children into college dorms. Some across the country, others, just across the state line...but equally as tough. Others were in the process of visiting colleges a year before the big graduation. Some of us were transitioning our kids into middle school while others were simply trying to transition the thoughts of no more lazy summer mornings. Morning that will soon be hectic dashes to the bus stop with the hopes that lunch wasn’t left on the kitchen counter.

Romy takes opening selfie after we stretch

Our stories shared, and our muscles slightly warmed up, it was time to move on and begin the hike through the Ted Stiles Preserve on Baldpate Mountain. At the Summit trailhead, I began to notice another moment in transition. The leaves on the trees, reacting to the shortened days and longer nights were just beginning to show their crimson and amber colors as the green slowly fades to memory.

The first few feet of the trail begin with giant flat topped boulders that poke out of the dirt at perfect stepping intervals. Neat, I thought. The trail was bone dry in the late August heat, yet I wondered if mid-April these stones offered safe passage across a wet portion of the trail, at the base of a mountain. Indeed, a mountain it was and I was impressed that even in a short amount of time my heart was pumping. The incline hadn’t stopped yet.

Further along the trail which I began to notice was heavily trafficked by both walker, dog, and trail runners alike, the trail itself began to transition. At first, just a narrow path through towering tulip poplar trees soon became much more rocky. Even an Icelandic pony would find the boulder-strewn path quite a technical one. A few times, more giant boulders strategically placed as a one- or two-step staircase further up the mountain. Moments later, it was apparent that these stone placements were not nature’s work, but the careful and very well executed work of trail builders. Ahead of us was a boulder staircase that a first glance may look like a post glacial retreat relic. Yet, nearly impossible to imagine that so many flat topped rocks could arrange themselves so neatly, and so precisely that upon traversing them, not one wiggles, moves, or wobbles. Reaching the top of that man-made Mercer county wonder, you can’t help appreciate what work and labor went into making that. No wonder this trail is so well utilized. It is beautiful!

Hawk watching

Red-tailed hawk

Not much time left to catch our breath, we carried on up the trail and I began to take note that those trees around us are enormous. Climbing still, the trees still had many feet above us. At this point, the trail offers you a long route (Northwest Loop trail) or a shorter Blue trail taking you directly to the summit to reach the viewpoint. We opted for the longer route. Further ahead, the trail meanders through the old summer house estate and pond of the Kuser family. Proudly reigning in his domain, a red-tailed hawk perched happily on the open branches of an old tree. The raptor grabbed our attention for quite some time. He didn’t move, nor did we. Our hearts needed a break, and dare we move, he might fly away. Yet, this bird was enjoying his slow Sunday just as much as we were.

Only a few paces later we took a pond-side break for some meditation and quiet reflection, led by our trail guide Romy Toussaint of RomYoga in Lawrenceville. The pond was so quiet and so still, broken only by the constant call of the cicada. As we transitioned out of our five minute meditation, it was time to keep climbing. The summit wasn’t far.

Walking a little bit further, this preserve covering close to 1800 acres was

starting to show its expanse. We continued through the open field of the old estate and into a lush grassy meadow. The yellow of the season was beginning to overtake the purple bergamot that was present before. At the top of the mountain, a long line of huge white pines mark the edge of the meadow. While in the other direction, a sweeping vista of the Delaware river in the distance. I can only imagine what this view will look like once all the leaves start to turn and the greens begin to fade away.

Our hike was taken to new level now as we traversed down the meadow and through the dense wildflowers and grasses. We stopped for a moment at the Strawberry Hill Mansion, headquarters to FoHVOS to admire the restored garden of native plants. A perfect sycamore in the middle of it all offering plenty of shade throughout the long day and dappling the array of native plants like beardtongue, monarda, and swamp azalea. Once the garden of the Kuser family estate, time took its toll and much was left untouched and as such, became overrun with invasive species. Today, thanks to FoHVOS and volunteers, this garden is regaining its beauty and harboring a home for butterflies and other pollinators.

Following the trail back down the mountain, and even more carefully executing the boulder stairs, I could feel a sense of completion. The heat not bothering me, I knew that all too soon, the air wouldn’t smell of humidity and wildflowers, it would take on a whole new smell. As the trees transition into fall and the humidity decreases we remember how short the season of summer is and how all too quickly we are forced back into raincoats and boots and hot tea. For now, I’ll enjoy this heat while it’s here and worry about leaving lunches on the counter when the time comes.

The next hike in this series falls on Sunday, September 30th at 1pm.  This 2-mile forest bathing experience will at a surprise location in Hopewell Township. Location information will be shared closer to the event date.

 Please click here to register.

Letting the Sky Tell Time

By Samantha Bean

Weekends are often a time of recharging and taking the time to do things we can’t fit in during the hectic weekdays. And if we’re lucky, we can silence our alarm clocks for a change of pace. On this particular Sunday, I was afforded the unique opportunity to not be jarred awake by a vibration across the room. Instead, I tried to guess the time of day based on the sounds of the birds and the light in my room peeking through the curtains. I honestly couldn’t tell if it was 6:15am or 8:15am. This was the first sunless morning we have had in several days.

On my way to the third hike of the season with the Force of Nature hike series hosted by Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space, I was driving along accompanied by the Beatles tune on the radio, Here Comes the Sun. I was feeling optimistic, yet when I got to the parking lot, I left my sunglasses behind. As we began to greet each other in the parking lot, I was certain the sun would be out by the time the 2-mile hike concluded and I had already penned in my head the name for my post-hike blog courtesy of the Beatles. I could picture the blue sky one and half hours from now.

Romy Toussaint, our hike leader from RomYoga in Lawrenceville began our hike with some welcoming remarks and simple stretches to get our blood flowing. We began to listen to Romy talk about finding our strength and our energy. And more importantly, where we get it from. Listening to her analogy about power and how we tap in to it, I watched the energy of an unfamiliar bird fly over head.

The Mount Rose Preserve is a combination of trails all stemming from a large abandoned parking lot (soon to be completely dug up and converted to a meadow). As we finished our stretches and our introductions, within seconds of entering the trail, we were greeted by someone else who was waiting for the sun. A lovely black swallowtail was complacent and completely willing to allow several iPhones delicately go right up to her. Usually these papillons are so fast bouncing from plant to plant, but this one...still chilled from the night was simply waiting for her wings to dry.

As the trail meandered through eastern red cedars and across dry stream beds, we came across the fenced in area of a shrub and native plant restoration project, courtesy of FoHVOS. As we stopped, we looked up to the sky at the possibilities of the rumble of distant thunder. We kept walking and quickly dismissed the idea as not one of us was prepared with rain gear.

Smart weed and stilt grass lined the well-marked trail, and we were soon greeted with a little light refreshments, sadly of the non-native variety. Standing out amongst the greenery...the most vibrant beautiful shade of fuchsia: the tiny wineberry. Resembling a miniature raspberry, these hikers’ delights were a welcome treat along the trail. Some were easily accessed, others tucked away behind thickets and thorns, far more than just off the beaten path and unreachable.

After taking a picture of these delectable forage finds, and yes, eating half a dozen, I quickly checked the weather radar. I showed the radar scan to my hiking partners. As red as the wineberries we just ate, there it was, a band of thunderstorms making their way across the central part of the state. Wonder no more, that was indeed thunder we heard in the distance not too long ago.

Deciding to quicken our steps, we hiked further along the trail into an area of black walnut and beech trees. The trail was now free of grasses, but filled with leaf detritus and black walnut halves. I touched the smooth bark of perfect specimen of beech tree, a sullen yet warm light gray color. The bark, unscathed from the usual haphazard carved initials of lovers nearly began to mirror the color of the sky above. Walking deeper into the forest at a faster clip—focused on beating the deluge to our dry cars—our hearts began to pump a little faster and we began to feel like we were hiking all day as the forest hue took on a dusk-like undertone. I jokingly remarked: “Did anyone pack a flashlight?”

On a prior hike, I quipped, “when you are in the forest, do you hear the rain coming down through the leaves before you feel it on your skin?” Well, my question was answered at this very moment. And the third or fourth dry creek bed that we crossed would be dry no more. Our last two hundred yards of our hike we definitely got showered on. But not before we had time to stop along the one shaded, boggy pool where we were lucky enough to see a painted turtle. This little guy was just as adorable as Mr. July should be on any wildlife of New Jersey calendar. No bigger than a lime, this turtle was patient enought to be held and photographed, but swam away in a lick to hide back away in the stones and grass of the small stream.

Our hike culminated with rushed waves and hugs and a hurried goodbye. Yet when I sat back in my car slightly dampened and cool, I was refreshed from my morning hike and taking the time to be in nature, and yet all too quickly placed back into the daily motions of a Sunday. Thankfully, I did not wear a watch and I may not for the rest of the day. I’ll know for sure what time of day it is all too soon on Monday morning when I hear that vibration across the room.

This hike is one in a series of six hikes presented by Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space and their Force of Nature Hike Series for Women and Girls. Join us on the next hike with Forest Bathing & Stream Side Meditation, August 26, 9:00am at Baldpate Mountain.

Still Waters Run Deep

By Samantha Bean  

Ash Tree at Thompson Preserve

The second installment in the FoHVOS Force of Nature Series began under the upturned leaves of the ash trees reaching up tall at the trailhead of the Thompson Preserve.  As the silvery backs of the leaves took over their bright green flipsides, we wondered if the hike might turn into a hustle of dodging raindrops. Thankfully, for the ninety minutes that followed, the Thompson Preserve remained dry. Well...dry from up above that is.

Romy from RomYoga of Lawrenceville opened the hike with some welcoming remarks and reminded us to be alive in the moment and to be thankful or grateful, or both. Next, some simple movements with shoulders, hips, and knees. Then we did our ultimate best to loosen the toes and roll the ankles. A task much more suited to bare feet. As we loosened our ligaments as much as our tread-heavy hiking boots could possibly allow, our senses started to notice something. It’s a feeling you don’t get inside the quiet walls of a yoga studio.

Made it to the trail!

While the chatarunga dandasana was not present and we didn’t hear the pit pat of barefeet around on hardwood floors that usually accompanies your first few yoga stretches, we were able to notice other omnipresent sounds that we tend to drone out. The wind whistled through the limbs at this force of wind velocity as much as it did through the leaves. There were birds everywhere and I even caught the brief coo of a rooster way off in the distance.

We finished our less than limber stretches as our gear was rather limiting, and then Romy headed us off in the direction of the trail.

While the clouds were able to withhold the impending rain that was forecast, the ground below was just not able to hold anything more. There were puddles of mud within the first fifty paces. While our feet did their best to avoid mud sinkholes, our senses began to pick up another token. The soon-to-be-summer air was alive and swirling with honeysuckle and multiflora rose. While not well-received in the native plant community, the scent by itself was. It lingered with the hike for the next mile and a half. And we all noticed it. It was subtle, but nonetheless a harbinger of warm nights and late sunsets.

At the end of first meadow, the trail takes a turn and offers the opportunity to move into the forest. The slight slope of the trail meant that the footing was drier yet the same scents swirled around from canopy to forest floor. The shift in topography also indicated that the downhill hike might bring us to a stream very soon. But first there was a presence in the forest in the shape of a dead tree. He was begging to be named. The wide trunk, the daft opposing limbs in the exact placement on his midsection as if to say “Whatever…!” Maurice Sendak no doubt could have used this tree as a character study.

As the trail moved deeper downhill, the wind dissipated, and instead the flow of water could be heard before being seen. The mighty Stony Brook, tested to the hilt in the past few months was running heavy. The water was not chocolate milk colored but a fresh crisp color and the water was bouncing happily over Sourland rocks and moving fast in the shallows. A few more steps along the trail and an Eagle Scout project in the form of a narrow yet sturdy bridge gave safe crossing over a steep ravine that, in the past, required

Grateful for Eagle Scouts

a leap of faith and a Hail Mary to cross on ones’ own. A little further downstream, the water quieted. There was no cascade. No bouncing bubbles of white froth over rocks. And the color changed. At this point, the wind and the birds took over their leading role as the sounds of the Thompson Preserve. The deep water was one of many areas of the Stony Brook where shallows and pools coexist in one rapidly and constantly changing stream bed. An enthusiastic crew of volunteers from Bloomberg, stewardship staff and board member, Ruth Jourjine, completed a stream-side restoration project for this very reason....to aid in erosion and streambed changes. The project involved the removal of invasive plants and

Giant birds nest sculpture

the planting of native ferns and deer deterrent foraging fences. A giant birdnest fashioned out of twigs and vines completes the area. After seeing the restoration in place, we kept our pace and moved on. 

Heading back uphill and leaving the windless stream banks, the hike comes back out to the far side of the meadow and farm fields from which we started. The wind was still swirling like mad and the mud underfoot returned. The wildflower meadow restoration project that took place several years ago is at this point--an inch above knee level. I’ll give it three weeks before the wildflowers are over my head.

Meticulously planting our feet around bogs of mud and perfect imprints of various dog paw prints, we wandered back through the meadow and the trail towards our cars and ultimately, our daily life. But for a little over an hour, we got to immerse our senses in the sounds and smells of an outdoor yoga hike. One with elements not found within the walls of a studio.

Thankfully, and just in time, another Eagle Scout project was underway. Wood chips were now being spread over the dense muck that more resembles thick chocolate pudding than a trail. With time, and hopefully a little less rainfall, the trails on this hike will be dry and the only thing holding water will be the deep pools of the Stony Brook.

The third hike in this series falls on Sunday, July 15th at 9am at the Mount Rose Preserve in Hopewell. A 2-mile wellness hike that will include a guided meditation and forest bathing experience. Please click here to register.

Note: FoHVOS Force of Nature was inspired by a national campaign started by REI to encourage women and girls to get outside and play...putting women front and center, and hosting classes and events nationwide.