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#NatureZen and Photography

NatureZen: Happy Bee Day to You

NatureZen: Happy Bee Day to You

Words and photos by Melissa McMasters Today is World Bee Day, an international effort to convey the importance of bees to our food systems and to the diversity of life on our planet. One of every three bites of food we eat is dependent on

NatureZen: The Elusive Indigo Bunting

NatureZen: The Elusive Indigo Bunting

Today’s guest post is by Steve Adelman, a writer who is an up-and-coming outdoorsman after living the majority of his life in major cities. He can be found most Sunday mornings at Overton Park with his wife, Michele, and their dog, Milton.  I had never

NatureZen: Connecting Our Hearts to Nature

NatureZen: Connecting Our Hearts to Nature

In part one of our Earth Day series, Melissa shared how naming what she sees in nature helped her develop a deep connection to conservation. In part two, Fields offers another way of connecting, one that centers the joyful experience of being a part of

NatureZen: How A Name Can Spark a Connection

NatureZen: How A Name Can Spark a Connection

Today people around the world celebrate Earth Day, an observation created in 1970 to show global support for protecting the environment. As supporters of Overton Park Conservancy, we know that you feel a deep connection to environmental protection. In a two-part #NatureZen, Melissa and Fields

#NatureZen: Spring Firsts

#NatureZen: Spring Firsts

words and photos by Melissa McMasters The last week has been full of somber anniversaries and memories of when the world shut down. It’s been a year of loss, sacrifice, too much isolation (or too much togetherness!), and reorientation. It’s been a year to find

#NatureZen: Crisis at the Feeders (Part 1)

#NatureZen: Crisis at the Feeders (Part 1)

In a special two-part NatureZen, our Programs Manager Fields Falcone sends a dispatch from last week’s extraordinary weather event, which she spent watching over a flock of desperate birds that on some days reached into the hundreds or thousands. In today’s post, she tackles some

#NatureZen: Winter Hunters

#NatureZen: Winter Hunters

words and photos by Melissa McMasters For our inaugural 2021 #NatureZen, we’re looking at some birds that are more noticeable in the winter than they are during the rest of the year: the birds of prey. (I suppose this will probably stretch the definition of

#NatureZen: Happiness is a Wealth of Birds

#NatureZen: Happiness is a Wealth of Birds

words and photos by Melissa McMasters A recent study in Ecological Economics found that living in an area with a high diversity of birds is just as important to a person’s happiness as their income. “The happiest Europeans are those who can experience numerous different bird species

#NatureTerror: What Are You Afraid Of?

#NatureTerror: What Are You Afraid Of?

photos by Melissa McMasters; words by you! Happy Halloween week, friends! Today’s edition of #NatureZen is decidedly un-Zen, as we asked you to share your deepest nature-related fears with us. We hope that it’s a light-hearted look at some creatures who are perhaps less conventionally