The world is made up of connections.

Now more than ever, we are in a position to pause and examine these connections, and take stock of the ones that are most important to us. 

Despite how it may feel at times, how we are connected to our world (to nature, to society, to each other) is integral to who we are as people. It is when these connections are forcibly removed from us that we can no longer take them for granted. 

These days, it takes a greater and greater effort to link to the people that we care about, and to put our time and money and passion into the causes that are nearest to our hearts. But as proud Saskatchewan folk, we are a resilient people, and we are no strangers to making the best of difficult situations. 

Just as we have all been working hard to keep our relationships and community ties strong, so too must we continue to connect with our planet. It has quickly become obvious for many of us that the connections between nature and health do not fade in times of stress and social unrest. 

A few weeks ago, our Executive Director Gord Vaadeland told us to be strong and to get outside whenever we could. We want to echo that sentiment here. 

In honour of World Health Day 2020, we ask you to take a moment to pause, and to tend to your personal connection to the planet. Get outside if you can, even if it is just a step onto the balcony or a walk around the block. Remember that even as stress and upheaval in our lives is ongoing, we can nurture our own ties to nature— and that the protections that we work so hard to enact are worth it now more than ever. 

There is solace to be found in nature, and there is healing there too. 

But don’t just take it from us— click the photo below to hear it from Kim Derkach, a Registered Nurse in Saskatoon who carefully tends to her own connection to nature so that she can heal others.