Benefits of The Enchanted Forest

"I'm out for a walk, and I see this sign that says 'You Are Enough', 
and it just brightened up my whole day!"   - unknown

These words were spoken by a woman at the park, she was pushing a child on the swing beside my niece, and she was talking about the Enchanted Forest.  The Enchanted Forest Trail was a section of the woodlot along Sheldon Creek which runs behind the white sports bubbles in Sherwood Forest Park.  It was a community project that took place from approximately November 2020 - April 2021.  It started with just a few little wooden houses and animals that were strategically placed throughout the one section of the ravine, put there by one person who was hoping they would attract the attention of children, and maybe even help bring some cheer to someone who needed it.  

I don't know any of this woman's life circumstances, or why those words were so meaningful to her at that specific time, but it doesn't really matter.  That's part of the beauty of it.  The quotes and signs that were in the Enchanted Forest were generic enough that anyone at any point could read them and they would be true.    Things like, "You are Loved", because everyone is loved by someone, but sometimes we need a reminder.  Or, the one that this woman liked that said "You are Enough".  She is enough.  We all are.  

This was one of the huge benefits of the Enchanted Forest- the messages and objects that people got to see, were not directed at any one person, the messages were universal and for every single person who walked by and read them, or had someone else read to them.  Some focused on self-esteem, some were about mental illness, some were song lyrics or jokes, and some were pointing our attention to even bigger issues, such as black lives matter, or LGBTQ+ rights, or any of a whole bunch of important life lessons.  

I do think that Mental Health Issues were the biggest benefit of this special project.  For those of you who are not familiar with the numbers, or need a reminder, let's take a look at them...  

Mental health issues are rampant in this day and age, and no one, regardless of their age, race, skin colour, gender, sexuality, native tongue, ability, social class, religion or anything else, is immune.  Especially right now, during a worldwide pandemic, it's reported that professionals have seen more than a 20% increase in Canadians seeking mental health support since the start of COVID-19 (Statistics Canada, 2021).  Let's take a look at some of the statistics:

• The population of Canada is close to 40 million- exactly 38 229 420 as of December 13th, 2021 (worldometer, current).  
• According to a poll done on May 19th, 2021 by Mental Health Research Canada "1/3 of Canadians report their mental health is affecting their ability to function" (MHRC, n.d.).  One third of 38 229 420 is 12 743 140.
• Only 2/3 of Canadians who report having had a mental health crisis in the past year (8 495 427 people), say that their needs were met (CAMH, 2021) which by elimination, tells us that 1/3 (4 247 713) are not.  

My math skills are pretty rusty, but according to my calculations those numbers tell me that over 4 million Canadians are not getting the treatment that they need and deserve.  Yeah.  You read that right.  FOUR MILLION PEOPLE.  And that's of the cases that were actually reported.  There are many, many more people who haven't said anything because they're afraid to face the possible consequences and the stigma and judgement of opening up to someone or for a myriad mix of other possible reasons.  

Let's move things to a smaller scale that we can better understand.  The population of the City of Burlington is approximately 195 284 (City of Burlington, current), and just over 65 000 people in Burlington aren't receiving adequate mental health care.  With staggering numbers like these, wouldn't you think that we should be doing everything possible to try to bring them down?   

What would you say if I told you that there was something we could do?  Something that would impact some of the 65 000 people with mental illness(es) who aren't receiving adequate treatment, and it would also reach a number of the people that are too afraid to ask for help or even to admit that they need it?  And, to take that one step further, what if I told you that someone had started to work on this very problem, that it was getting through to people, that the community loved it, and that people of all ages were stepping up and contributing to the cause?  But then the City of Burlington stepped in and got rid of it all!?  Because, that's exactly what happened. 

The Enchanted Forest offered so many mental health benefits.  Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, a psychology professor at the University of British Columbia states that "kindness is contagious", that there are numerous layers to artistic projects like this, and that "the cycle of goodwill can be therapeutic" (Vanraes, 2020).  Terry Smaczylo claims that a very similar project, called "Winnipeg Rocks" (CBC, 2017) helped him get through his depression.  "It's helping put a smile on my face" he says (Vanraes, 2020).  

Others have stated the same, that it's kept them sober, helped them reconnect with family, and even conquered PTSD and childhood trauma (Vanraes, 2020).  

And the mental health benefits stretch further than this, as well.  Every artist who created something for the forest was part of something larger.  The ultimate circle of kindness, that repeats in and of itself.  Kimberly tells us that "even the simple process of going and finding a rock, painting it, thinking of the people who will see it, whose day could be brightened- it's kind of a repeated act of kindness."  (Vanraes, 2020)   

The feedback for "Winnipeg Rocks" points out that the cycle of goodwill can be therapeutic.  This fact can be supported by scientific research which claims that acts of kindness improve both mental and physical well-being.  (Vanraes, 2020)   

Speaking of our physical health...  Going through the Enchanted Forest requires some form of physical activity.  I, personally, have seen people walking the trails, running them or biking through the paths.  This past winter, I even saw cross country skiing and snowshoeing!  Each of these people, regardless of background or current social location, is reaping the benefits of physical activity.  This includes helping to control your weight (U.S. National Library of Medecine, 2021), fighting and managing many health conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, mental health issues, some forms of cancer, and arthritis (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2019) as well as improving your overall mood (Collins, 2017).  Exercise actually boosts your energy (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2019), helps regulate your sleep/wake cycle (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2019), helps keep your thinking and judgement skills sharp (U.S. National Library of Medecine, 2021) and helps you live a longer and healthier life (U.S. National Library of Medecine, 2021).  One would also reap the physical benefits of laughter- a few of the art pieces had jokes on them, and there were some perfect pieces to start meaningful discussions among the people walking together.   

This simple act of painting wooden objects and putting them out in one small trail in Sherwood Forest was helping to solve some very big problems.  There weren't any restrictions on who got to go there- people of all walks of life were all welcome.  They all got to walk the same path, and see the same objects, and read the same signs.  They all had the same opportunities to contribute artwork or to choose not to contribute, to just walk through and look at the things already there, or to have someone else read the signs to them.  All these people, who are different in so many ways, found a common ground that brought them all together.  But now it's gone.  

The Enchanted Forest is no more...  because...  because, why?  Because some disgruntled citizen filed a complaint?  Well, to that person, I would like you to consider all the good that it was doing.  And I would be curious to know if your desire to see only completely natural forestry in this section of Sherwood Forest was worth sacrificing the mental health of over 4 million people, when there are about 3-4 other trails going right through that same area.  

And finally, to the people who work for the City of Burlington, that made the decision to take it all down...  First of all, I owe you an apology.  I'm sorry that I didn't ask permission before starting this, largely because I truly never believed that it would get so big, but that's completely on me and I take ownership of that.  I'm truly sorry that it became an issue.  

But, to take it all down, and beyond that even- to throw it all away, with no warning...  I find that rude and disrespectful.  Could you not have left a sign somewhere advising people that they had a week, or 3 days or even 24 hours, to take their things back or then they would be pitched?  There was no warning!  They were just, suddenly, gone!  Or, if that had to be the case, I'm sure there was a better way that things could have been done without ruining all the artwork that people worked so hard on.  I'm sure that if the City of Burlington is so adamantly against this project, that the artists would have been able to find somewhere else that would have been happy to put their artwork up.   

But really, (and I truly don't mean this disrespectfully) - how could you pass up an opportunity like this?  Look back at all the benefits that the Enchanted Forest brought to the community...  This special project was doing so much good (physical exercise, mental health, time spent in nature, laughter, providing jumping off points for discussion, and the mental health perks for the artists creating these pieces- and I have only just touched the tip of the iceberg on the health benefits it was providing).  How could you look at that, and all the good that it's done, and in good conscience still make the decision to take it all down?  Perhaps I'm missing something, but I just don't understand.  I've grown to learn that when you're faced with a problem, you work to find a solution.  As long as the Enchanted Forest isn't hurting anybody, can we not all acknowledge that it's a helpful, creative solution, that should be able to remain in place?  I mean, unless someone has a better idea of how to reach this many people with literally, little to no effort on the City's behalf...  I, for one, would be all ears.

References

CAMH. (2021). Mental Illness and Addiction: Facts and Statistics. Retrieved from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health:
         https://www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/the-crisis-is-real/mental-health-statistics 

CAMH. (2021). The Crisis Is Real. Retrieved from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health:
          https://www.camh.ca/en/driving-change/the-crisis-is-real 

City of Burlington. (current). About Your City. Retrieved from City of Burlington:
          https://www.burlington.ca/en/your-city/About-Your-City.asp 

Collins, R. (2017, July 25). Exercise, Depression and the Brain. Retrieved from healthline:
          https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/exercise#Exercise-and-brain-chemistry 

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2019, May 11). Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity. Retrieved from Mayo Clinic:
          https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389 

MHRC. (n.d.). Media Center- Our Releases. Retrieved from Mental Health Research Canada:
          https://www.mhrc.ca/home/media-centre 

Statistics Canada. (2021, March 4). Impacts on Mental Health. Retrieved from Statistics Canada:
          https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-631-x/2020004/s3-eng.htm 

U.S. National Library of Medecine. (2021, May 17). Benefits of Exercise. Retrieved from Medline Plus:
          https://medlineplus.gov/benefitsofexercise.html 

Vanraes, S. (2020, September). The Stone Angels. MacLean's Magazine, pp. 15-16.

worldometer. (current). Canada Population. Retrieved from worldometer: 
          https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/canada-population/