Suzuki: A cure for nature deficit disorder? | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Published 10:35 am Saturday, February 20, 2016

To the editor:

Having just toured the Suzuki property and reappraised the two main land use proposals for this site, I enthusiastically urge the city of Bainbridge Island to turn this serene place into a park. Indeed, the informal trail systems indicate that it is already used as such.

In the past two years, the island has lost well over a thousand trees, and these vanishing mature wooded areas can’t be replaced in the lifetime of anyone alive. Numerous studies reveal that humans are healthier and happier when they have access to natural areas (hospital studies show that high blood pressure can be reduced simply by viewing trees through a window). In recent years, Nature Deficit Disorder has been defined as a weakened or lacking relationship to natural environments, creating emotional and physical issues. The cure is as basic as a weekly walk in the woods.

The modest Suzuki woodland offers surprising richness for a parcel so close to developed areas.

Near the small pond, towering firs and cedars rise above an open understory of sword ferns, salal, Oregon grape and huckleberries, with an astonishing near-absence of ivy. The pond itself is alive with wildlife: Over the past decade, one local resident has recorded visits from nearly 80 species of birds, as well as native squirrels, deer, raccoons, river otters, salamanders and frogs. With minimal path building, this property could provide all of us with refreshment and peaceful exercise all year round. The land has taken care of itself for some 65 years of mostly benign neglect and once the patches of invasive weeds are removed (I volunteer to help), it should require very little maintenance.

Both housing proposals would involve clear cutting the oldest trees while preserving a fringe of degraded land with spindly firs. The Suzuki Farm proposal suggests a “farm” plot on the compacted, nearly barren old roadway. Both proposals require reshaping the existing pond, destroying the habitat that now supports thousands of small lives.

Both proposals ask the city for generous discounts in exchange for offering space for child care centers and/or community centers that would require additional tax payer funding.

In my opinion, the highest and best use for this land is that it remain my land, and your land, available to our children and their children as well.

ANN LOVEJOY

Bainbridge Island