• University of Toronto, Mississauga

• BIO 331

While you wait – getting out in nature can help you deal with stress … Having trouble coping with COVID? Go take a hike. Literally. Researchers have long been aware of the positive impact of a connection with nature on psychological health and, according to a new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, the pandemic hasn't decreased the power of nature to improve mental well- being. "Thinking about the natural world in an interconnected and harmonious way corresponds to improved psychological health, no matter where you are," says Brian W. Haas, the lead author of the new study and an associate professor in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program at the University of Georgia. Haas and his collaborators -- Fumiko Hoeft, a professor of psychological sciences at UConn and director of UConn's Brain Imaging Research Center; and Kazufumi Omura, faculty of Education, Art and Science at Yamagata University in Japan -- used a survey in America and Japan to measure worldviews on nature as well as how much the pandemic impacted people's lives, and their current psychological health. The survey sought to gauge whether the participants had a worldview in harmony with nature -- being in tune or connected with the natural world, or a worldview of mastery over nature -- the belief that people have the ability to control the natural world. They also reported on their stress levels and were asked if the COVID-19 pandemic has affected them personally or impacted their employment or finances. The researchers found that, while participants in general report greater stress levels during the pandemic, individuals with a harmony-with-nature worldview were coping better regardless of whether they lived in Japan or in the United States. Both Haas and Hoeft say that, in an increasingly virtual and technology driven world, taking a moment to appreciate nature has clear benefits regardless of where you live. … "In Japanese, there's this word called 'forest-bathing,'" Hoeft says. "It's basically when you go out into nature, and enjoy being surrounded by trees. It's usually for forests, but you go walking and it's supposed to refresh you. People often talk about how they went out 'forest bathing.' I love thinking about these kinds of old phrases -- do they have some real impact or real scientific background in the end? And I think this is one of them where this really does have a connection. There is some scientific truth behind this." "Think about taking a step away from Zoom for a moment and taking a walk and listening to the birds chirp," Haas says. "I mean, just the benefit of that, and understanding that we have a role in this natural world, and we're part of it. I think that's really intuitive and it's obvious, but I think it's also really, really important. We're showing very convincingly with empirical data that, during a very difficult time like we are in now, that it's important to do these things to maintain your psychological health.“ From Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210218140115.htm Journal Reference: Brian W. Haas, Fumiko Hoeft, Kazufumi Omura. The role of culture on the link between worldviews on nature and psychological health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personality and Individual Differences, 2021; 170: 110336 DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110336 Non-synchronous lecture on March 2 I will post a lecture for March 2 prior to that class time but the lecture itself will be non-synchronous. I also need to push back office hours on that day and those will be 3-4 on March 2nd I will also add an hour of office hours that week on Thursday 11-12 or feel free to email me with questions How do predator and prey populations affect each other numerically? Lynx – Hare • Links b/w predator and prey in terms of the # of individuals • Lotka-volterra model of predator-prey interac