On the Hoh River with Ryan Reese

Earlier this year, we met up with Psychologist Ryan Reese on the Hoh River on the Olympic Peninsula. This was literally in the Hoh River. Ryan spends a week or so fishing for winter steelhead on the Hoh in late March every year. We were interviewing him there because he lives in Bend, OR, and is a professor at OSU in Bend.

Ecowellness- a pathway to mindfulness and wellness

We spoke with Brian about people’s sense of place and they’re connection to the natural world. He goes beyond that and uses connectedness to place and nature in his practice. Here’s an excerpt from our interview.

“In the sense of advocating nature as a healing point for your practice, versus drugs, versus pure counseling, versus what other methodologies would use? I would certainly consider myself a nature advocate in the sense that many folks don’t see themselves as being part of the broader natural landscape. You know, within the culture that we live in, at least within Western civilization, nature is a distinct and separate thing from who we are. That’s how it’s treated. And so when I am working with folks around this idea of eco wellness, and just asking them questions around what is your safe access to the natural world like? How do you define nature within your family? I am advocating for nature for these individuals to become more reconnected with who they are at their core, which is part of nature. And this association, with nature, does that”

Beyond the Salish Sea, a documentary in the making

This is the third year I have been working on creating this engaging and thought-provoking film. Exploring the Salish Sea, a sense of place, and how the two relate to each other to evoke environmental stewardship. Join me on this journey! Join me at @salishseadoc or sign up here.