“Why value wilderness” is a concept that has received much needed attention over the past serveral years. The value of wilderness places like the wild Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA) are often misunderstood or simply overlooked.
WILDERNESS PLACES ARE A NECESSITY
“There’s a real need in our crazy world to find harmony in nature”, says Jane Koschak [owner of River Point Outfitting Co]. “The primary reason people come here is to renew, rejuvenate and reconnect. Here, they can find a space for equilibrium, where they are empowered to connect with their inner selves and be contemplative. There’s time to think, to talk-time just to be. People often develop an emotional connection to this area.”
A 2014 article from the United Nations says that some 54 percent of the human population lives in urban areas [certainly more, by now], and the proportion is expected to increase to 66 percent by 2050. By 2045, the report indicates that more than six billion people will crowd cities. Obvious reasons why people flock to city living are more choices, more jobs, more culture, etc. However, there is some incongruity in living in a crowded concrete, green-poor type of environment that takes away from our primal need to be close to nature.
We need the green spaces, the trees, the forested paths, often for our health, and certainly for our quality of life. The value of wilderness places is of heightened interest these days when lives are bound up with technology and the constant rushing from one thing to another, with never any time to really decompress and just “be.” Many recent articles and books have been written regarding the magnificence of trees and forests and their inherent properties to increase the value of one’s life.
NATURAL, WILD PLACES
Natural, wild places are dwindling and that is why cities are putting in green spaces and pocket parks to help people find a place to get centered and relax within the concrete, blacktop areas they may find themselves.
The value of wilderness places like the BWCA is unparalleled and when within this iconic special place in northern Minnesota many people find that they decompress, gain new energies, focus better, sleep deeper, and generally feel better following a BWCA canoeing adventure. The health, emotional, and spiritual benefits of wilderness cannot be overstated. They are real, they are authentic, and they are genuine.
“If peace and quiet have been in short supply, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness may be the getaway your body and soul crave [with a canoe trip outfitted by River Point Outfitting Co.]. . .”
– Experience Life Magazine (Lifetime Fitness)
