Forest Bathing

As proposals come from left and right field for "improvements" to Golden Gate Park, it might pay to consider again why it is our forebears built the park to begin with. Conceived by visionaries to be the defining green gem of the newly minted metropolis in the American West, Golden Gate Park was created to become an space where all could escape urban pressures and enjoy a naturalistic park setting. Today, it is one of the most popular parks in the country, visited by over 13 million people annually to walk amongst manicured gardens, verdant open spaces and ageless trees. In the January 2011 issue of Landscape Architecture Magazine, ASLA Associate Nicole Neder explores the cultural relationship between people and trees in a much more populated and urban country, thousands of mils away. Japan, a country smaller than California, has over half of its land mass covered by trees. Naturally, Japanese society has developed a cultural relationship with the forest. Metaphorically called "forest bathing," it has become popular to take short, deliberately slow walks through the woods. For the routine outdoors men and women, it is obvious that time spent outdoors can promote relaxation, elevate mood and boost feelings of well being. Such mood-boosting benefits are now being proven in new research from Qing Li of China, who studied the effects of inhaling volatile organic compounds such as phytoncides (tree-derived essential oils). When inhaling phytoncides, the body increases the production of NK (natural killer) white blood cells, known to be the human body's line of defense when attacked by malicious viruses or cancerous cells. Furthermore, Qi reported elevated NK cells are sustained when "forest bathing" became habitual.

As Golden Gate Park acts as San Francisco's air purifier and green lung, we can all surely benefit from a slow walk in the woods. Perhaps we should cheers our health to the visionaries who planned the park to begin with.