Students spend time at the turtle pond on the campus of San Diego State University.

Credit: Noah Lyons/EdSource

Students spend time at the turtle pond on the campus of San Diego State University.

Noah Lyons

September 21, 2023

According to a 2018 study published by Frontiers of Public Health, spending time outdoors can aid people in a variety of categories: “attention and cognition, memory, stress and anxiety, sleep, emotional stability and self-perceived welfare or quality of life.”

Monicka Fosnocht, an associate therapist at San Diego State University with a background in natural public medicine agrees. “For a lot of students that are struggling with mental health, or even students who don’t and are just stressed, it’s really helpful to get a nice, big dose of vitamin D and get outside so that we can get our brains functioning optimally.”

SDSU has its own outdoor resources. One space in particular, the turtle pond, has become a popular destination for students seeking solace from their academic lives.

The origins of the turtle pond date back to 1973. The campus community asked for more green spaces, and the school delivered. Koi fish dominated the scene at first, but red-eared slider turtles eventually became the pond’s informal namesake.

Within this area, there are hammocks, slacklines, trees, ample seating and, of course, the pond itself, all providing students with a mental health boost. 

The therapeutic effect of being in outdoor spaces is increasingly being noted by mental health professionals, including SDSU counseling and psychological services faculty member Tri Nguyễn. 

“Therapists are moving a lot more outdoors.” Nguyễn said. “There are providers who do therapy outdoors, by hiking or going on a walk. It’s no longer just within the confines of an office space.”

While individuals between 15 and 21 years old are significantly more stressed than older generations, they are more likely to report their struggles and seek help. Fosnocht is optimistic that young people can normalize conversations surrounding mental health and find unique ways to address it.

“I’m really hopeful for Gen Z and the generations to come that are decreasing the stigma around mental health and also connecting it to very accessible things like being in nature, hanging out with the turtles, talking to other people and taking the time to connect with people in person.” 

A frequent turtle pond visitor is Natale Canepa, a fifth-year journalism and media studies major. While he isn’t a musician by nature, he’s added to the character of the turtle pond with his music. He said that to express his excitement about returning to classes after the pandemic, he started whistling.

Nicknamed “The Turtle Pond Whistler,” Canepa posts videos on Instagram, which has, in turn, attracted others to the turtle pond.

In addition to being an outlet for his self-expression, he views the pond as a place for truly living in the moment.

“I see the turtle pond as a place of magic; I come here and I’m mesmerized by the sights, sounds and smells,” Canepa said. “I think the best moments in life are the quiet, slow moments when you can hear the rustling of the leaves in the wind, hear the splashing of the water and look at the little turtles swimming around in the pond.”

Canepa is not alone in that sentiment. Lauren DuBose, a fourth-year business administration major, visits the turtle pond on a near-daily basis to unplug from her academic life.

Even if she only has a 15-minute gap between classes, DuBose spends time at the pond connecting with friends, listening to music and practicing mindfulness. 

“Being in San Diego, you have so many sunny days,” DuBose said. “If you can get 10 minutes of sunlight a day just sitting there and closing your eyes a little bit, that’s definitely beneficial to your mental health.”

Another outdoor amenity that SDSU’s counseling and psychological services provides involves a pair of four-legged friends. Baxter and Luna, the school’s therapy dogs, make frequent appearances at school events, including “Lunch with Luna,” which takes place at the turtle pond. 

College campuses across California are embracing the outdoors, too. 

Students, staff and faculty at University of California, Irvine are encouraged to participate in “Wednesday Wellness Walks” across parks and marshes across the city, while Chico State University has its own guided forest therapy program, based on “forest bathing,” a popular Japanese practice.

And in the spring of 2022, the University of California, Davis created an initiative called Healthy Outside.” This was part of a campuswide effort to get students outdoors and spend more time in natural settings. The program also rewarded students with prizes for participating. 

Fosnocht said that practicing mindfulness should go beyond the school, and into the local community.

“We don’t have to limit it to campus alone. When I work with students, I encourage them to use all the outdoor spaces throughout San Diego,” Fosnocht said. “We’re very close to Mission Trails as well as Cowles Mountain and the beaches.”

Noah Lyons is a fourth-year journalism major at San Diego State University and a member of EdSource’s California Student Journalism Corps.

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By Dr. Karen Shelton and Dr. David Gaines 

Warm weather brings out ticks. In Virginia, the lone star tick and the blacklegged tick give us the most reason to worry as they are everywhere and carry diseases that can make people sick. Ticks can be found anywhere there is vegetation, whether in a city park, a country field, or even your backyard, especially if where you live is near a wooded area where deer roam.

Both the lone star and the blacklegged tick can spread multiple diseases. Deer are a main source of blood meals for adult ticks of both species, and deer populations are plentiful in and around many suburban forests. If deer wander in and out of your backyard, they likely bring ticks with them.

Shelton

Submitted photo

Blacklegged ticks are best known for spreading Lyme disease, believed to be the most common tick-borne disease in the United States. States collectively report about 30,000 Lyme disease cases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each year. In 2019, Virginia reported 1,199 Lyme disease cases to the CDC. Case numbers for many states, Virginia included, dropped during 2020 and 2021, affected by the pandemic and incomplete reporting. Researchers analyzing insurance claims estimate that 300,000 to 476,000 people are treated for Lyme disease each year in the United States.

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Gaines

Submitted photo

Lone star ticks transmit ehrlichiosis, an illness caused by bacteria. A lone star tick bite can also trigger a red-meat allergy called alpha-gal syndrome. New reports from the CDC suggest alpha-gal cases may be increasing.

Lone star ticks are also implicated in the transmission of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), which can also be spread by other ticks. RMSF can be deadly if not caught and treated early. A telltale splotchy or pinpoint dot rash may not show up until the disease is further along. Hence, it’s important to be alert for other symptoms, such as fever, headache, nausea, chills, tiredness, and aches and pains. Other symptoms of tick bites to look out for include a bull’s-eye rash in Lyme disease and a similar spreading red rash for a tick-borne illness called Southern tick-associated rash illness. Not every tick bite will make you sick. See a health care provider if you develop symptoms.

For more information on tickes

New tickborne illnesses are being identified. The Heartland virus, another illness spread by the lone star tick, was discovered in 2009 in Missouri. It has since been detected in multiple other states. Virginia reported its first case in 2021.

For surveillance, VDH staff regularly do seasonal “tick drags” in which light-colored cloths are passed over grassy and leafy areas to collect ticks that grab on. The collected ticks are identified by species and sent to the CDC or academic partners to test for diseases.

Citizen science like the Virginia Tick Survey, offers to identify ticks found attached to people to inform individuals of the diseases they could have been exposed to if the tick was carrying disease.

Legislation passed by the General Assembly this year directed the Virginia Department of Health to convene a tick-borne disease workgroup focused on preventing the occurrence and impact of tick-borne diseases. Workgroup members represent clinicians, academics, public health experts, other state agencies, and other groups. A report is due to the General Assembly in November.

How do you prevent tick bites?

Wear light-colored clothing when going into areas where ticks are likely to be, whether your backyard or a hiking trail. Permethrin spray, which you can buy at retailers, is an insect repellant and insecticide applied to clothing and shoes and lasts through several washes. Follow package instructions. For maximum protection, tuck your treated pants into your treated socks. This makes it so that the tick must crawl on your pants, which you can spot, but it also ensures it gets a dose of permethrin.

Apply an insect repellant with DEET to uncovered skin when outdoors, or if you are allergic to DEET, other repellants such as picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus can be used.

Once inside, do a tick check. Check your body, clothing, equipment, and pets. Take a shower. The longer a tick is attached to you, the greater the risk for disease transmission. Remove them by using tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and slowly and firmly pull straight out.

Enjoy the outdoors and be safe!

Karen Shelton, MD, is the State Health Commissioner for Virginia. Dr. David Gaines is State Public Health Entomologist with the Virginia Department of Health.

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Canyonlands Field Institute offers free community classes for people seeking a peaceful and connected experience with the outdoors. Sponsored in part by a grant from the Grand County Economic Development Department, this free event is a highlight and delight for people seeking intentional spaces in the community. I joined a group of fellow Moabites on this “Mental Health Hike” for a day of conversation, community, and connectedness. 

Alison Anders and Elizabeth Bercel greeted us, ready to guide us into the outdoors. They are passionate about mental health and seek to create inclusive opportunities that destigmatize mental health struggles and illuminate strategies for self-care and mental and emotional healing. 

On a bright and hopeful Sunday morning, nine of us headed out to Professor Valley Field Station up River Road. This was a “challenge by choice” adventure, organizers said: the theme of the day was water, and we were encouraged to seek space for slowness, reflection, and connection. 

We began the hike with a “sit spot,” a chance to find a place to dangle our feet in the clear stream, guarded above by the Rectory rock formation. For ten minutes, we gave our attention only to our surroundings. When we gathered together to report our observations, we noticed we were not alone—dragonflies, hummingbirds, and even a deer had visited the group. 

Next, we came into our bodies and out of our minds by focusing on the five senses: what we heard, saw, touched, tasted, and smelled. A quick lesson on haikus and some space to arrange a 5,7,5 syllable poem captured the exercise in poetic perfection. 

We then used watercolors to help tune us into the details and essence of the environment by indulging in the classic childhood art. We were struck by the difference of approaching this activity in a group of adults, rather than children: we noted the inner child is a powerful presence over the inner critic. A discussion on the vocabulary of colors provided rich context as a creative group member crushed sandstone rocks together to produce an ochre  hue and terracotta texture. 

[Holly Lammert/Moab Sun News]

After lunch, we meandered with the spring-fed creek, reveling in spots of cooler water and creating connections of this theme to our lives, noticing the obstacles that water needs to move through. Yet it continues to flow gracefully, and finds its way. 

We were then led through a playful practice: partnering up to create a boat out of natural materials which we then released into the creek. The “Lazy Lady,” crafted out of twigs and leaves, took the win; but this excursion wasn’t about winning, but rather about the act of observing the currents of life. Sometimes it’s okay to eddy out when life gets moving too fast to stay afloat. Pausing to reflect on the metaphor of nature in life allows space for gratitude to bubble up, trickle in, and refresh the soul. 

Participants in a recent event created rafts out of natural materials to float down a creek. [Holly Lammert/Moab Sun News]

Invigorated and exposed, eroded and energized, everyone was shaped by this experience in their own unique way. As ubiquitous as water, even in the desert, water provides perennial fulfillment. 

Former teacher and manager of Pack Creek Ranch Donnaley Wolfe reported her delight in participating, saying she “must have dreamed herself here.” We all parted happy and in good spirits, refreshed and grateful. 

If you’d like to join the next hike, there are two more opportunities this summer on June 25 and July 8, with themes around the mind-body connection and growth mindset. There will be more hikes in the fall. You can register and find more information at  https://cfimoab.org/events/mental-health-hikes/.

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