Ask KPU: How Do You Connect with Nature?

Photos by Kristen Frier

For many, taking a step away from the hectic and often overwhelming demands of urban life can help refresh our sense of emotional wellbeing. 

Each KPU campus has its own little pockets of nature, like the farm school gardens in Richmond, the greenhouses in Langley, or the forested spaces in Surrey which, unfortunately, have recently been cut back.

Whether it’s spending time amidst the wildlife outside of the city limits or getting knee-deep into the soil of your own backyard garden, it’s interesting to learn each person’s unique way of spending quality time outdoors. This is why we asked people from the KPU community: How do you connect with nature?

Jennifer Reddington – Divisional Business Manager, Student Services 

“As soon as the days start getting longer, I start going for an early morning walk everyday. I camp a lot in the summer, and I try to get out in the sun as much as possible.”

Sukhman Deep Kaur – 2nd Year Business Administration

“I like nature, and I like photography also. I like to take pictures and admire nature. The background should be something green, and basically, I look at the focus in my picture and I blur the background in portraits. We go on walks, and the park is near our home, and me and my friends go just to chill.”

Navpreet Rapai – 3rd Year Biology

“I like going to the beach. I have a garden—a kitchen garden—and I have all types of vegetables. I’ve got spinach, tomatoes, chilies, and different kinds of flowers like roses in my backyard.”

Simranjeet Singh – 2nd Year Business Administration

“We go to the park grounds to play sports in the evening with our friends, or we go for evening walks over there. We go hiking on weekends in Squamish or other areas and I like the views there.”

Akashdeep Singh – 2nd Year Health Science

“I have a garden and I want an animal, but my parents won’t allow me. Spending time in parks, it’s very refreshing. And I heard that the green colour is very good for your eyesight.”

Navneet Kaur – 2nd Year General Science 

“I’m fond of travelling so I go trucking sometimes—hiking, trucking and camping. This summer we went to Lynn Valley. It was really fun, and it was 19 kilometres up and down.”

Tanisha Bedi – 2nd Year Business Management

“I don’t like littering in nature—if it’s recyclable I recycle it, and if it’s paper I throw it in the paper recycling. I’m working with Starbucks, so we go on staff huddles and stuff clearing forests and doing all kinds of stuff like that. I like to volunteer for that, so that’s one way I connect with nature. I love nature. I love the beauty of nature.”

Toby Danyliuk – 4th Year History

“I connect with nature mostly by sitting outside and reading once in awhile, or I’ll play my video games and bring them outside. I just kind of sit outside with my guinea pig, otherwise I just kind of stay inside mostly.”

Lyn Benn – Director of Student Development

“I’ve got my little flowerpots and veggie pots around. At the moment I have a chickadee nesting in one of my pots with four babies. When I think of connecting with nature, it’s very sensory. Not only is it a visual experience, but it’s also my happy place for meditation.”