PHOTO PROVIDED Pictured is a backpacking group led by Beth Jones, bottom row far right, who is the director of Deep Green Journey in this photo by Jones. Deep Green Journey is a nature-based non-profit in Williamsport.

Deep Green Journey is a Williamsport-based non-profit offering immersive nature experiences like forest therapy walks and backpacking trips.

According to Deep Green Journey’s director Beth Jones there’s no good substitute for being immersed in nature.

“Nature is often something that zips by us while we’re driving or a show we see on TV,” Jones said. “Those aren’t necessarily bad, but they are not a good substitute for slowing down and really immersing ourselves in the stillness and wonder that nature offers.”

Jones says it is no secret that the pace of our world has increased dramatically over the last few decades, with so much to capture our attention. She invites us to use nature to “create space in our minds to feel, to dream or to wonder.”

The natural world provides that space and silence, and it can be a little scary for us to enter into that space. It may lead us to feel things we’ve avoided or let down our guard and feel vulnerable or humbled by something larger than ourselves.

She also thinks adults may also have trouble connecting with nature because they feel a need to be productive or to meet someone else’s expectations.

All of that may come up when we are in the natural world, and it feels easier to busy ourselves and avoid it when it may be the most natural thing for us to have these experiences to reset our minds and renew our spirits.

One of her favorite programs that Deep Green Journey offers is a beginner backpacking trip. The non-profit provides all the equipment and food so participants can connect and as Jones says, “experience sinking into the experience.”

There is an accomplishment there but also a deep peace that people take with them that is so beautiful, and I believe encourages them to pause often throughout their days to connect with nature that is now much closer to them in many ways.

It’s a shared experience with others and with the natural world and that connection remains, says Jones.

When Jones leads forest therapy walks, she invites participants to walk very slowly. She calls the pace “wonderfully slow.”

We do this specifically so that the mind can turn off the noises that are demanding our attention and allow our neurons to mirror the pace that is going on in the present moment.

She invites people to bring this slow, observant walking into their daily lives.

“Learn to notice as you move through your day,” said Jones.

This can be anything from pausing by the tree in your front yard to marveling at moss growing in the cracks of a downtown sidewalk. Just take the time to slow down and truly see what is in front of you at the present moment.

What does its life and resilience have to say to you?

To learn more about Deep Green Journey, you can visit the organization’s website at deepgreenjourney.org.