From Where I Stand

From Where I Stand — If you are reading this, you are burned out. I

and hiking and tennis and fishing. She had brochures. She had am not hedging and saying, “You may be burned out.” If you are made reservations. I was convinced my Mom had gotten to her. reading a landscape magazine in August after yet another busy, My wife told me there would be plenty of “pool time” and “beach grueling, and exhausting year — you are burned out. time.” That felt like she was writing, “Be spontaneous (3pm-

I have written in this column before about burnout. Almost 3:10pm)” in my daily calendar. always, it stems from stress and exhaustion. As the days went on, I realized she was right. That stress and exhaustion leads to contempt. There was plenty of time on vacation to relax, That contempt grows into indifference. A enjoy the local culture and customs, and take in stressed-out and exhausted professional no lon- the natural beauty of our surroundings. I didn’t ger feels valued by his or her customers, employ- come home with a wristband tan line, but I came ers, or coworkers. This breeds contempt and that home with incredible memories, photos, and an contempt eventually morphs into indifference. altered paradigm on stress reduction. The parts That is the recipe, and for many of us in jobs of the trip I enjoyed the most were the hikes and where the stress levels yo-yo, it leads to annual tours we took around Nueva and Puerto Vallarta. feelings of burnout. Our guide would take us down trails and paths to

For landscape professionals, this usually rivers and waterfalls far off the beaten path. The happens in the late summer. The “busy season” quiet and beauty of nature overwhelmed me. crescendos in mid-July and there is a slight Ever since that fateful trip, nature has become break that offers introspection and evaluation a central part of our vacations. Some trips allow before you dive back into the hole. The past us to hike or kayak for a few days. Others comfew years, the busy season has not let up. This has pletely revolve around National Parks and State caused elevated levels of stress and exhaustion. The snow builds up at the top of the mountain and In Our and National Forests. My family’s love for the outdoors has followed us home, too. We take then, in an instant, avalanche! We know it is coming, and, nevertheless, it always surprises us. If Nature weekend walks and bike rides through our local forest preserves. only there was a life hack. This July, my family finally made it to Glacier

My family vacations growing up were more National Park in Western Montana. We stayed like school field trips. My Mother was insistent outside of Glacier in Whitefish. I can honestly say, that vacations serve as some learning opportunity so we never Glacier National Park is the most beautiful natural space I have ever went to Hawaii or Florida or Cancun or Jamaica. We went to laid eyes on. It’s just stupid gorgeous and awe-inspiring. Even phocities heavy in American history like Boston or Washington DC tos don’t capture its grandeur and my photos are amazing. or Atlanta or colonial Williamsburg. We would go in the dead Going to the Sun Road is the central road that connects the of summer when the sun would slam into the granite and marble East and West entrances to the park. It is only open for 60-70 days and shoot heat back at you like a death ray. We would trudge per year. In the winter, the road is covered in over 80’ of snow through parks to stare at a statute of a dead white guy with a beard that is usually cleared by July 1st. The road is about two trailers and a sword. We would take long tours through buildings without wide. On the driver’s side there is a rock face, on the passenger air conditioning because someone lived there, died there, signed side are thousand foot drops - the guardrails have long been wiped a piece of paper there, or all three. I’d return to school and my away by rock slides and avalanches. friends would have tans and island cornrows. I would have stories The views from Going to the Sun Road are like the Swiss Alps. about making a candle or the night Lincoln was shot. Every quarter mile of road has turnoffs and lookouts. At each point,

When I finally left the nest, I was determined to make vaca- you say, “It can’t possibly get any more beautiful” and, yet, it does. At tions awesome. In college, my spring breaks were about lying Logan’s Pass, my family hiked the three miles to Hidden Lake. It was next to water, wearing SPF-1 sunscreen, and drinking rum like a late July and our boots still dug into ice pack and snow. Two daredevils pirate. It had been years since I made a candle. climbed one of the peaks and skied down the face. A herd of big-

When I met my wife, her parents were nice enough to lend us horned sheep thundered across the slope no more than 50’ in front of their timeshare in Nueva Vallarta for our first romantic getaway. us. Mountain goats and their kids walked next to us like dogs on a sideI had visited the website and saw a massive pool with water walk. It was like a petting zoo, except that every animal could kill you. slides and cabanas. A few steps from that was the beach. Each With each step, I could feel stress rocket out of my body. The day, you could wake up, purchase a multicolored wristband, and hikes are challenging, but the sheer joy and curiosity pushed us furthey would bring you unlimited drinks until the sun went down. ther. We would stop and chat for a few minutes with fellow hikers I had barely dropped my luggage at the door before I was racing and swap information, photos, or stories of what lay over the next hill. downstairs to get wristbanded-up for the day. Then, I felt a tug- People are friendly and relaxed. Everyone is living in that moment. ging at my shirt. No one is worried about dinner reservations or meetings or beating

My wife flew me down to Mexico to inform me that our traffic. In those moments, we are at peace with nature and ourselves. I vacation was not going to consist of chillaxing next to a Mexican even ran into Jeff True from Hursthouse in the parking lot! pool. It was going to involve snorkeling and mountain biking There are more scientific studies on the benefits of nature

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than one can count. Reconnecting with nature has a direct impact on stress, happiness, health, lifespan, empathy, and environmental awareness. Yet, I feel no one can understand nature’s impact on their lives until they walk in the woods. The impact nature has on each of us is deeply personal and very different. I asked this question to my family and got four different responses. I love the sense of adventure and accomplishment. My wife appreciates how nature centers her priorities and makes her feel at peace in the universe. My 13-year old daughter enjoys disconnecting and talking to her friends and family without distractions. My 10-year old son likes the animals and eating trail mix with chocolate chips.

In writing this column, I visited a number of member websites. The word “nature” was all over them. We have multiple companies with “nature” in their name. We have dozens and dozens more with “nature” in their mission, vision, or About Us pages. The connection between the landscape industry and nature is omnipresent. Yet, we know a well-landscaped backyard is different than disappearing into nature for a few hours. We can’t confuse working outdoors on landscape projects with the enjoyable and stress-reducing exercise of connecting with nature. If this industry wants to promote the tie between landscaping and nature, maybe landscape professionals need to better understand the profound impact nature has on us, our stress levels, and our relationships.

This brings me back to the life-hack of dealing with stress and burnout. Again, if you are reading this, it is September and you are burned out. The landscape industry’s connection with nature does not end with the landscape, it ends with the landscaper. Can we really continue to profess our ties to nature if we don’t take the time to understand the personal impact nature has on us?

No one needs to fly themselves or their companies out to Glacier National Park. I wager that most of us live no more than 10 minutes from a park or forest preserve that we have driven by 100 times without ever stopping. These spaces have large wooden signs that have attempted to beckon us in for all the years we have lived in our homes. Yet, we are too busy to stop by and walk its trails and enjoy its scenery. Just type your address into Google Maps and I bet you’ll be blown away by the green rectangles that surround our neighborhoods.

If you take my advice and disappear into nature, have an honest conversation with yourself as to how nature makes you feel. Determine what purpose these places and spaces serve in our lives. How does the stillness change when it rains? How do we register the flickers of wildlife that punctuate the serenity? How does the crushed limestone sound under our feet? How does our mood change when we pass a dog walker or runner or couple out for a stroll?

Like it or not, landscape professionals are in the nature business. Whether stated or implied, we profess that we can replicate those feelings on the properties we design, build, and maintain. This fall, as the days grow shorter, give yourself a few walks in the woods. At the very least, it will make you a more authentic purveyor of nature. At most, the stress you have absorbed from three busy years in the landscape industry will leave your body like the breeze through the trees.

Sincerely,

Scott Grams, Executive Director August 22, 2022