Go Outside. Remain

So today I want to talk about something a bit more personal. Let's talk about nature in general. Lately I've been getting urges of wanderlust as it's been a good few weeks of me stuck in a city. I am here to talk to you about this and about why you should experience a piece of nature at least once a week.

Even if it's a walk in the woods, or a stroll down the beach, none can argue about the therapeutic effects that nature has on you.  It allows you to relax and change your setting. The longer you stay outside the more you don't want to return. I am not even saying that you should go to the wildest places available. Even your local woods can be important to your wellbeing. We've associated feeling good in nature with hippies and somehow that's bad. If you ever take more than two seconds, stop and observe nature you will understand what I mean. Just listening to the sounds of nature, feeling the dirt on your feet and smelling the air can change your outlook. Regardless of your beliefs, you can't argue that some nature is always good for you.

Try and incorporate nature to your schedule once a week. Visit your local botanical gardens, go picnic at a lake or even just drive to a great viewpoint and just enjoy a cup of coffee while taking in the view. It won't massively effect your life but mentally nature can have huge benefits towards your well being. Nature doesn't necessarily mean isolation or the wilderness. In Aberdeen, there are great spots to enjoy nature that are in the city itself.

Incorporate a bit of nature in your schedule every week. I promise you won't regret it.

Wildlife Watching. Is there more to it?

Seeing as I am on my final year, the words CV, employment and experience get tosses around a lot. I've been recently thinking about what kind of skills you can gain by simply analysing your hobbies. And so today I decided I want to just talk about wildlife watching and whether there is something to it than just watching animals. For clarification purposes, all the skills I talk about here are gained when watching wildlife without a tour guide/tour. Also these are just ideas and not solid facts.

1) Determination/Patience: It takes a lot of determination and patience to watch wildlife. Very rarely have I arrived somewhere and got sighting of wildlife upon arrival. Usually you have to wait around a bit, scout further locations and return to the same spot time after time before you catch a glimpse of an animal. The harbour next to my house is a hotspot for dolphins and porpoises. It doesn't mean you just have to show up and they will be there. More often than not there are a lot of hours spend to catch a glimpse of an animal.

2)Local area knowledge: Even if you are tourist, the time it takes to scout and find the best locations, to view wildlife and the research you put into it give you a good lay of the land. Local wildlife watchers are familiar with the best times, seasons and places to view specific species. This is often a valuable skill that many outdoor jobs appreciate.

3)Keen eyes/eye for detail: Have you ever tried spotting an animal in their native environment? They usually aren't easy to spot. Wildlife watchers have often been self trained to spot the tiniest movement or a camouflaged animal. It's not an easy task and more often than not it will be something completely irrelevant but slowly and steadily we all get to a point where we can spot wildlife from a distance faster than inexperienced watchers.

4)Identification: This is perhaps the most important skill you can add to your CV. Most wildlife watchers can often narrow down the animal they are watching to at least the genus of subject. This is a pretty cool skill to have and it's usually highly sought after. Most places unfortunately won't just take your word for it so try and get as many courses or certificates about this as possible. However most places will accept the fact that you have been an avid wildlife watcher if you are able to prove it somehow.

5) Affinity with Nature: It may sound like something off a role-playing game but wildlife watchers are usually the first to report changes in habitats as well as notice details in animas and their social units. Some watchers follow the stories of particular wolf packs in Yellowstone, others run an unofficial survey of dolphins they spot at Monterey bay and so forth. All of this information and your knowledge means that you are more sensitive to nature and the environment and you can make for a good surveyor or a good ranger. Never underestimate the gut feeling you have regarding nature.