Melzingah Falls in Beacon, NY

There are waterfalls in the city of Beacon. But I have not gone there until now.
That’s because Beacon, as far as I can tell, is a trendy little city just 60 miles north of New York City and the buzz of human activity would take away from the peace and tranquility that Nature provides, at least in my mind.
So it was surprising that once I started walking to the falls and then hiked to Melzingah Reservoir a short 0.8 mile away, all adjacent to the city of Beacon, I felt I was deep in the woods. I could have been in the Shawangunks or the Catskills and wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
A recent UK study showed that “every type of natural environment improved both self-esteem and mood, with proximity to water generating the greatest effect.” Additionally, “time spent in more natural areas helped restore depleted emotional and cognitive resources” with coastal areas providing “the biggest benefit, although woodlands, hills and mountains showed comparable effects…the longer people stayed [in natural areas], the better they felt…time spent in natural environments can improve self-discipline in children, help treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, reduce aggression and crime, promote better health in the elderly and delay the impact of Alzheimer’s disease.” (source: “What Nature Does for Britain” [2015] by Tony Juniper)
So there is now a push especially in deprived parts of the UK to redevelop existing low-cost housing projects that have “virtually no gardens” and playgrounds cast in concrete to “incorporate vegetation and ‘green infrastructure’ into their plans”. The payback-reduction in healthcare costs and depletion of crime-can be substantial and these can all be achieved with the simple reintroduction of Nature into their building plans.
There it is. Nature. Beacon’s original settlers-and other early settlers in the surrounding Hudson Valley-were in their right frames of mind when they moved 60 miles north away from the city. To them, the results of today’s studies would likely come as no surprise. They merely put in solid, scientific footing their long-held beliefs that our sustenance and nurturing are well taken care of if we would only keep Mother Nature close at hand always.