By Madison Haller
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Anne Kerns, a volunteer park naturalist, forages for morel mushrooms at Cunningham Falls State Park, thankful that she’s not sitting in front of a screen.
Alone in the forest, Kerns said she finds serenity amongst the nature all around her, using the time outside to reset her mind from all her daily responsibilities.
“I almost need it as a sort of therapy,” Kerns said. “If I don’t get out at least once a week I don’t feel right.”
More people are visiting state and national parks to combat pandemic fatigue. Kerns said she notices an increase in visitors and volunteers now that spring has rolled around, causing full parking lots at the parks on a good weather day. Samantha Zurbuch, a volunteer program coordinator at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, finds the same to be true at her park.
“You definitely witness people looking to get outdoors when there are less opportunities for it,” Zurbuch said.
Though indoor facilities like museums and visitor centers are temporarily closed, people continue to flock to the park’s outdoor spaces when the weather is nice, said Amber Kodges, an audio-visual producer for the National Park Service.
Many people are faced with new obstacles in the way of their mental and physical health as they work and attend school online from their homes.
“I think that’s the thing people are realizing as they’re hanging up their phones and turning away from their computers,” Kerns said. “They’ve been sucked in and overloaded, and now they’re looking for something else.”
Terms like “zoom fatigue” and “quarantine nineteen” are now a regular part of people’s vocabulary from feeling overwhelmed with online work and having reduced access to exercise. But state and national parks may be part of the solution to these problems everybody has had the displeasure of becoming familiar with.
“I find peace and tranquility in these spaces,” Kodges said. “I can go to Shenandoah National Park and stand at one of the overlooks and take in the awe-inducing natural scenery and I’m not thinking of work or laundry or cleaning the bathroom.”
There is plenty of evidence to support the benefits that green spaces such as state and national parks have on a person’s mental health. Simply spending time outdoors has the ability to reduce stress, improve concentration, and improve a person’s emotional state.
It is wired into human nature to crave time and space outside, Zurbuch said. Which is one of the many reasons why she is grateful to do work where the great outdoors is part of her office. Likening it to a meditative experience, Zurbuch said that time spent in nature is a way for people to reconnect with their surroundings and take it all in.
Being confined to a desk for several hours a day with access to food at all times takes a toll on physical health, Kodges said. She finds that state and national parks are the perfect place to take her mind off work and provide an inexpensive location for exercise.
Kerns said she is in a similar position, attributing much of her physical fitness to state parks. With a vast variety of activities and trails to choose from while being accessible to everybody, these spaces are an essential resource for physical health.
“The trails and different areas in the park really provide a great resource for people to get out and get active and take care of their physical health, which ties into your mental health as well,” Zurbuch said.
Kerns hopes that people visit the parks and use it as an opportunity to pause and reset from the chaos of daily life. That is why the parks are protected, and they belong to us all, Kerns said.