“Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.” - Lindley Karstens

I think the quote above explains it all. Many people, including me, enjoy gardening because it makes us feel good.

Just being in nature is so important for mind and body but actively connecting with nature through gardening is an added bonus. And why is that? All sorts of reasons have been linked to gardening: it’s a “meditative practice;” it’s “gentle exercise;” it’s fun and it allows us to be nurturing.

At work, I usually plan and implement a program for 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds called “Creepy Crawlers” and one of our topics was seeds and how seeds grow. I had the children plant a few bean seeds in some soil.

It was my hope when they took these little beans home that the grown-ups would foster this interest in gardening and watching the “baby plant” grow.

The children wanted to feel the soil between their fingers while some grown-ups had to hold themselves back from telling the children not to get “dirty.”

I emphasized the fact this was good rich soil and I wanted them to feel it … I know behind my back that some grown-ups were smearing hand sanitizer on their hands.

I could never put into words what I experienced when I spent time gardening. It just felt as though time had slowed down. I felt calmer. There was a sense of peace. I felt connected to the earth. It was a feeling I couldn’t explain but somehow, I knew I needed this.

My husband would scold me for not wearing my garden gloves when he saw me scrubbing my nails with the nail brush in the bathroom. My gloves keep me from feeling the soil. My garden gloves stay clean while my hands get dirty; just the way I like it!

This feeling is due to something I cannot even see. It is caused by a strain of bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, which has been found to trigger the release of serotonin, and that is responsible for mood changes and decreases anxiety. And on top of that, this bacterium has been found to improve brain function and possibly even treat cancer and other diseases. Which means that contact with soil, through gardening or other means, is nothing short of miraculous.

How did this discovery come about? Through cancer research some patients were inoculated with a strain of these bacteria to see if their symptoms improved. And improve they did! Fewer cancer symptoms, with an improvement in emotional health, vitality, and even brain function was recorded.

In another study, mice were injected with these same bacteria and then observed both mental and physical changes. The result? There was a definite rise in the release of serotonin. In one experiment, mice were put into a miniature swimming pool.

Stressed mice get even more stressed by swimming, unstressed mice actually enjoy it. And voila! The mice exposed to the bacteria swam around like happy little ducklings.

So, what does this all mean for us? This research is important because it indicates that the bacterium can affect us through normal everyday contact.

“From our study we can say that it is definitely good to be outdoors–it’s good to have contact with these organisms. It is interesting to speculate that creating learning environments in schools that include time in the outdoors may decrease anxiety and improve the ability to learn new tasks,” wrote Dorothy Matthews and Susan Jenks at the Sage Colleges, New York.

In the meantime, gardeners have one more excuse to root around in the dirt, and parents and teachers have another incentive to let their kids play in the great outdoors.

One of the tasks we assign to visiting school groups is “go outside and PLAY” …with no electronics… and take their parents with them. We explain how it really is good for them to get outside and experience nature. I am utterly amazed by how many children tell us they can’t do that for one reason or another.

C’mon… I challenge you! Spend one hour outside with no electronics and take a young person with you. Start a garden. Go connect with nature. It’s good for you.

Jeannie Carl is a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill. The center rehabilitates injured animals and educates the public on a variety of wildlife found in the area. For information on the Carbon County Environmental Center, visit www.carboneec.org.