“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual satisfaction.”– E.O. Wilson
Hey everyone and welcome back! I hope everyone has enjoyed the last month of this beautiful weather we’ve been having here in Austin (besides the few cold front days) but hey its Texas we never know what we’re gonna get! 🙂 Originally this months blog was going to be solely focused around another zip code in Austin but this time an area with one of the lowest crime rates in the city. However, I want to take advantage of sharing my experience I had over Spring Break and the huge impact it had on my outlook of nature. In addition to sharing my Spring Break experience I will also discuss my observations I did in a city park in Austin with one of the lowest crime rates in the city.
So this year for Spring Break I decided to take a trip to Toronto, Canada! If you’re like anyone else I told that to, you’re probably wondering why in the world there? Well first off, I LOVE going to new places, I believe there is too much out there to go to a same place twice 🙂 Second, I have always been fascinated with Niagara Falls and knew one day that I would go there. Lastly, while my time in the Military I met quite a few Canadians who had nothing but great things to say about the Country, so I was a bit curious as to what all the hype could possibly be about. So Toronto it was! I traveled alone, booked a condo right in the heart of downtown, and spent my days exploring the city on the subways and buses. Within two days of being there I could tell how people could love this place so much! Everyone was nothing but friendly, the diversity of the city truly was amazing, nothing like I’ve ever seen before, and I felt safe throughout my trip, even on my midnight strolls to the local grocery store. Downtown was full of people walking everywhere throughout the day. Many people had dogs and every few blocks you would see a small green area for the dogs to play. OK OK so enough about Toronto lets get to the good stuff 🙂 Niagara Falls, Canada!
Niagara Falls
It truly was a sight to see and everything I imagined and more! The sounds of the water rushing down the falls and the feeling of mist hitting your face. It was like nothing I’ve felt before.
A few cool facts I found on Niagara Falls:
- The word “Niagara” is derived from the Iroquois Indian word “Onguiaahra” meaning “the strait”
- 3,160 tons of water flows over Niagara Falls every second
- Niagara Falls are capable of producing over 4 million kilowatts of electricity, which is shared by the United States and Canada
- Straddling the Canadian-United States International Border and both in the Province of Ontario and the State of New York, Niagara Falls attracts some 12 Million tourists to her majestic awesome beauty each year
- The first person to go over the Falls in a barrel and survive was a 63 year old female schoolteacher   Â
The picture above is one taken of me simply standing in awe of everything around me. The tranquility I felt made me never want to leave! I literally stood/sat out by the falls for hours just taking it all in. I never thought something so natural could have such an impact on me mentally. Here were these Falls, that no man has ever been able to completely control, something straight from mother nature herself, and giving me the mental peace that no doctor has been able to give. I wish everyone would be able to experience something like this in their lifetime.
So now that I’ve shared my life changing experience at Niagara Falls in Canada 🙂 lets bring it back to Austin Texas. Last blog I discussed my observations in the zip code 78702 in Austin and presented statistics on the local demographics and crimes by type. This month I will be sharing similar statistics, but in the 78730 zip code, which is one of Austin’s lowest crime rate areas in 2015.
Austin, Tx 78730
As you can see, this particular zip code is West of IH35 and Mopac. The observations I will be discussing here were done at Emma Long City Park, which in the picture is the shaded green area.
Just driving out to the park was an experience on its own. I myself have never been to this part of Austin, so was taking everything in for the first time. There were so many trees! And LOTS of big houses!
The particular day I went out there, was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. The temperature was around 70-75 degrees and the sun was out. The park is right on the lake, so families were out there and children were swimming. The park had a basketball court, bathrooms, and picnic tables. It really was beautiful to look across and see yourself surrounded by trees and to gawk at the gorgeous houses on the other side of the lake.
Since I came alone, I decided to just sit out on the dock with my feet in the water, observe everything around me, and note what I was observing. People were swimming, families were BBQing on their pits, kids were playing games in the grass such as soccer or badminton, or some people were simply relaxing in a chair by the water. Out of all the people I saw, I observed one Hispanic family, no blacks, and the rest were white. This was definitely a drastic difference from what I observed on the “other” side of Austin and noted in my last blog. Now lets take a look at a few graphs that represent the area demographics and crimes reported.
Crimes by Type 1993-2013
If you go back to last months blog you can see the major differences in population by race, household income levels, and the types of crimes reported. Just to give you a few examples by numbers according to Austin Police Dept. in 2015:
- There were 0 rapes, 1 aggravated assault, and 41 reported theft cases in the 78730 zip code. With 171 total combined recorded crime reports.Â
- There were 15 rapes, 97 aggravated assaults,and 1,745 reported theft cases in the 78702 zip code. With 5,770 total combined recorded crime reports.
WOW! What a difference in not only the number of reported crimes, but types of crimes as well. By looking at pictures I have provided you can tell the difference in the parks available to the community in each zip code. Given the statistics I have provided, you can now see the difference in the crimes taking place in each.
I am not stating that green space and parks are whats CAUSING the difference in crime rates and types, but what I am suggesting is that there has to be some sort of correlation between the two. Having felt the calmness, tranquility, and peace I felt at Niagara State Park, I am confident that having a place to go and feel those things has a major impact on our mental well being. And it shouldn’t be to anyone’s surprise that our mental state has an impact on our daily attitudes and outlook on the world around us.
I hope you all have enjoyed my experiences thus far, starting to take a closer look at green space and the parks around you, and considering the impact its having on your local community. Until next month!
Peace, Love, and Blessings!
Danielle
Work Cited
http://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Police/ZCode_Year_2015.pdf
http://www.niagarafallslive.com/Facts_about_Niagara_Falls.htm
http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com/Amazing-Facts.aspx
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Austin,+TX+78730/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x865b34152b1c7d6b:0x6ac42bf3e2622bb8?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjuqqHM9PfLAhUEx4MKHVsICagQ8gEIJjAA
http://www.medicaldaily.com/benefits-ecotherapy-being-nature-fights-depression-improves-mental-health-and-well-being-261075
http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/enhance-your-wellbeing/environment/nature-and-us/how-does-nature-impact-our-wellbeing