Question of the Week: What’s your favorite place out in the environment?
2009 June 8
Relaxing in your backyard. Hiking in a national park. Birding in a wetland. We all have a favorite place where we go to connect with nature. June is Great Outdoors Month.
What’s your favorite place out in the environment?
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The ocean for sure. Walking along the beach – sunrise, sunset – doesn’t matter. Swimming in the ocean or just listening to the waves. Hands down my favorite connection to nature.
I enjoy riding in the country side getting lost and finding my way back. During this time I get to see new places and vista views of the farmland, livestock and old farm barns.
More parks should be constructed for the public in these rural areas.
[idea] Farm parks
in my backyard, i live in the woods so i am surrounded by nature!
my favourite place is any open area be it a beach or simply green grassy land. whenever i can go i do go there but when time and work bindings are there i love sitting in my little garden filled with flowers very naturally!
Red rock Country in Arizona
Outdoors – the beach…any beach. I love the ocean, sand and people.
The Northwoods of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is peaceful, quiet, and relaxing.
The environment is everywhere without boundries and not one “specific” place. My two favorite places to marvel at nature are the Grand Canyon and anywhere in the Rocky Mountains.
My favorate places out in the environment are the beach and a flower garden.
Trinity Lake in Trinity County in Northern California when the lake is full. Lately they have been letting to much water out be cause of a court ruling. This has made the water level to low to enjoy the lake.
Ecotones. Places where the Earth is most dynamic and alive. Where forest meets savannah. Where mountains leave trees behind. Where waves crash against a craggy shore. Also in the edge of a coral reef, where abundance receded into nothingness…
south of turkey and taksim in istanbul…
I’ll second the ocean! Nothing as calming or freeing as the big blue. I could sit for hours and just watch nature.
I love the ocean; it’s my happy place! More specifically, I could spend the rest of my days on a pristine beach with mangroves and shrubbery… It is a rare find in Florida, but once found- there’s nothing like it!
Oh! And the Mounds @ Lake Jackson in Tallahassee, FL! Pure amazingness!
Chicago neighborhood parks and tree lined streets, Lake Michigan and LSD…
Any place I can relax, close my eyes and listen to nature …. hearing the birds in my backyard, listening to the ocean against the sand…. hearing the crickets and frogs at a lake or the stillness of the mountains.
“Out” in the environment? I disagree. The environment is here, everywhere we go on this planet. We transform the natural places mentioned in other responses into man-made creations where other species sometimes adapt, sometimes die out. We need to think of the earth in a different light. Humans have claimed more than half of all land, cut down half the world’s forests, dried up rivers, and have left 1/4 of mammal species on a course to endangerment by 2050.
National Parks are GREAT! State parks are GREAT! The beach is AWESOME! But take a look at a satellite map of the U.S., or open the window shade on your next airplane ride. How much unaltered space do you see?
Now think about your everyday choices as a consumer and how these choices affect the environment. For your daily commute, can you imagine using bike paths instead of your car? For your everyday food, do you know what crops are local to your area?
Let’s hope our great-grandchildren can inherit a comfortable, stable planet to enjoy every day, not just during Great Outdoors Month.
My favorite place in nature is watching the Sunrise in the early morning near the mountains as the fog clears as I review the beautiful scenery, flowers, trees, brooks, waterfalls and hearing the wonderful sounds of the trees rustling, birds chirping, wildlife talking to each other. What a glorious mass of sensory activities to observe and feel!
I like to be in any and all natural areas where I can peddle my bike and experience.
Some places I frequent when convenient are:
Shadow Cliff in Pleasanton, Ca.
Rio Hondo water duct/canal(aka marano bch) bike path.
Huntington & Venice Beach, Ca
Lake Havasu City, Ca
Yosimite & Sedona…
The beach…DEFINITELY the beach. As a native Southern
Californian, I’ve been going to the beaches of Orange County
ever since I was a tiny-tot, and my mother insisted after
eating ANYTHING we had to wait 45-minutes for our food
to digest, otherwise my brother and I would get cramps
and instantly-drown!
Y’day, for example, I went to Huntington Beach, on the
west side, where the parking in the residential neighborhood
is free and the waves are consistent and not to big.
I continue to boogie-board as I have for 4 decades, and
I’m going to keep doing it as long as my eyes and my
body function.
Cold? Heck, yes. And I never wear a wetsuit, but it’s
fun to challenge myself against the swells. And of course,
living now in the desert, going to the beach holds even
more meaning to me now than ever! Sometimes…it’s
the ONLY place to be!
Locally (SF area), I really like the ocean shore and sunsets.
That’s part of why I live about 200 feet from the Pacific Ocean. However, Golden Gate Park has some great treed areas to hike through (and you can get back to civilization by walking 1-2 blocks from any location).
2nd Place – Oregon (near Mill City/Salem) has forest, river, ocean and mountains all in one package! Very relaxed. Oregon/northern California is very similar.
My favourite place on earth is the tropical forest, warm and with a heavy moisture. In the morning the fog moves around toward the sky. At night nor the moon can illuminate the ground. The richness place on earth may put you in front of animals that you cannot expect and will let you in astonishment. Sometimes you can feel like you were in a maze. That’s terrific.
Game management of squirrels in my background – OK, I’m being antagonistic. My cynical sense of humor.
In truth I like anywhere that I can’t see, hear, or smell the press of people. Whether that is offshore in the ocean, on top of an Alaskan mountain, or just in the middle of the desert. I find wide open empty spaces hold a special appeal for me.
so many places and this is one: the beach
I grew up in Miami, Florida and so I have fond memories of walking on the beach at sunset or having a picnic at the beach with family and friends.
I also loved to go body surfing and feel the surge of the waves pulling me the shoreline. The ocean air and the waves always make me feel free and clears my mind.
‘da BEACH!
Hands down my favorite place to be is anywhere in Yosemite National Park. Yosemite Falls, Vernal Falls, Toulamne meadows, Tioga pass, Hetch Hetchy, Glacier Point, any of the Giant Sequoia groves or just sitting next to the Merced River. All of the national parks deserve to be preserved and protected.
so many places i can’t figure out which place. at my grandma’s house there is woods with lots of cool stuff of nature. my mom went to one of my favorite places the beach, i love it there its the best and in these days my dad made a trip to the beach and i found hundreds of shells and we invited some friends and we had a nice time thats how i turned out to like the beach i like it it is awesome!!!!!!!!
Death Valley, California. It is unique. It is wierd. It is almost unearthly. The light is brilliant. The vistas change every moment. The air is sparkling clean and fresh without a trace of humidity. Sand dunes, salt flats, etc.
I prefer going to a natural park with lots of tree, reading books in the forest, listening soft music and breathing the pure air.
To better put me in connection with environment nature. I get more than one favorite place out, those are: Sitting by beach seaside, High Mountain clips forest and riverside.
Well let see I planted a garden with cabbage,tomato,peppers,hot pepper, sage, cantolope,collar greens, and lot’s of flowers. So there are a lot of birds ,black birds, red robin, dove, humming bird,butterflys,moths,and birds that I have never seen or hard of.small with yellow bep and black tail.
There are so many to choose from, but Glacier National Park in early August is tough to beat! Going to the Sun Road to Logan Pass VC, Highline Trail, Granite Park Chalet, Swiftcurrent Pass, and then arrive at Many Glacier Hotel – no better hike on the planet.
Honestly anywhere. Excluding the city and urban areas. Somewhere where there is little pollution and fresh air.
I love walking through our pastures after a spring rain. We are in a semi-arid region and most of our rain events are May-June and in September. When it rains the wildflowers bloom and the air smells fresh. Plants come to life along with insects, birds, mammals of all types and the earth seems to start to mend itself. I wish all Americans had the privilege to own a few acres of rural land. It would change their outlook on life. It amazes me how intricate nature is and how God planned and created it. I feel the closest to Him when I have time to enjoy nature.
Forests…or wetlands…maybe a forest near wetlands.
My favorite place out in the environment is black mountain road in california. It has trees, hills, water, wildlife, a wire fence, benches and few people.
Hillo! I feel like so with you. My best place in nature is the wood in the early morning. It’s calmly and peaceful, fresh and neat.
My number one place to be outdoors is amongst the Ancient Redwoods, I especially love taking the roaring camp steam engine train in the Santa Cruz Mountains for a scenic tour. There is a place there called the cathedral where a ring of giant redwoods filter light, until it shines as if through leaded glass. It is a spectacular display of natural beauty, that never fails to take my breath away.
i love walking lonely along roads on the hills. i like to live in hill stations since they are cool and quite. i am a lover of nature and i love to enjoy the nature.
I’ve been blessed with the ability of hiking many, many national parks, beachs, countrysides, etc… can’t choose which one would be my favorite environment. God’s country is remarkable is every aspect.
standing besides my son (used to be my father) fishing on a small pond and listening to the frogs.
Love going to the lakes in Notheastern Oklahoma, but the lakes and rivers have become so polluted with heavy metals and hazardous materials and animal waste and warnings about going into the water or eating the fish it makes it hard to find safe water or lake to enjoy or let the grand children play in or fish.
i like nature
My own yard – I live on a farm and love to be anywhere on the property. Watching the sheep graze, walking along the creek, sitting by the pond, hiking in the woods or looking across the pastures. It’s my refuge from a world that is too polluted, overpopulated, noisey and greedy.
My heart’s favorite is hiking in the Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin. I love to watch the the hawks overhead. But Ireland is a green I have never seen any place – the Connemara area is beautiful. And I love when it is pitch dark and you can really see the stars. Where I live now that is hard to come by.
I guess what was said earlier, there is beauty in all of our environment and our environmenta is everywhere.
Oh, so true!
The term ecology was coined from the Greek and referred to “home” – so I guess we can really say that anywhere on the planet Terra, which is “home” for our species until space travel becomes a reality.
For my part, I’m happiest when I not anywhere near pavement, large crowds of humanity and the air is fresh to breathe.
Near water….it possesses such a calming feeling. I live by an estuary and enjoy walking along the bay, watching the shorebirds feeding in the mud, and the gulls & terns flying overhead. I also like the ocean’s shore and can become mesmerized by the crashing surf. There is a peace and serenity I feel as I watch the waves. And there’s nothing quite like a beautiful sunset.
Mountains with snow
and rivers