About Ecopsyched!

eco•psyched

Ecopsyched! is a nature-based storytelling project that celebrates our wild connections.
Ecopsyched!’s Lisa B leads storytelling outings and produces video and podcast episodes to kindle reconnections through storytelling.

WHO   |   WHY   |   DISCLAIMERS  |   PRIVACY STATEMENT   |   COPYRIGHT

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Who is Ecopsyched!?

Lisa_Barry_Headshot_Woods

Lisa B

Adventure Artist and Storyteller

Throughout my adult life, I have been searching for my place. I am an avid traveler and adventurer and find myself deeply affected by landscapes. I long to find the land and stories that claim me and to settle into them with a deep peace.

I've spent most of my career traveling far and wide for conferences as a live events graphic designer. I explore the places I visit, searching for their hidden stories and sharing them in videos and podcast episodes. I am also a fine artist, painting the stories of these quiet places (@lisabarryart). On occasion, I upcycle the "trashy treasures" I collect on the trail into unique pieces of art (visit the Ecopsyched! YouTube channel to see how).

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Lisa B has a B.A. in Visual Communications and an M.A. in Expressive Ecopsychology. When she's not leading outings, she's designing, painting, hiking, traveling, playing, and exploring all the nooks of her home base near Washington, D.C.
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Ecopsyched! Events Leader
Sierra Club Outings Leader
dtWFA Certified (disaster+travel+Wilderness First Aid)
CPR/AED Certified for All Ages

Why

It’s the smell of a forest after the rain. It’s the sound of lapping waves against the hull of a ship. It’s the call of a loon on the quiet waters of a northern lake. It’s the lingering heat on the desert floor under a night sky tinseled with stars. It’s the chill in the air on a mountain peak above the clouds. It’s the romance of the day’s last sunshine filtering through thick summer air, bugs dancing and glinting.

Our planet offers opportunities for wonder at every turn. Yet, many of us no longer witness the natural world around us and the mind-quieting peace and reverence it brings. Whether we were brought up in cities with limited access to nature or have redirected our attention to a busy work and home life, as a whole, western society is suffering from what Richard Louv coined ‘nature-deficit disorder’ in 2005 (Last Child in the Woods). Louv first recognized the impacts of nature-deficit on children and later revealed its adverse effects on adults. He alerts that an “expanding body of scientific evidence suggests that nature-deficit disorder contributes to a diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, conditions of obesity, and higher rates of emotional and physical illnesses.” Learn more about Richard Louv’s work here.

As a child, I imprinted on the woods of Maine, spending my days forging a big-wheel driveway around the trees near my fort and stacking shipping pallets for walls and benches. When I grew hungry, I climbed one of the near-by crab apple trees for a tart snack. On occasion, my sister and I would crawl through the tall field grass near our house, creating a complex maze of roads named Bluebird Lane and Huckleberry Way. When I was nine, we moved to Maryland, and I packed my love of the outdoors in my suitcase and took it to the rolling hills of Appalachia. Here, I spent much of my days with my friends and our dogs – hopping train tracks, exploring abandoned shacks, wading in streams, and cross-country skiing.

What did I gain from a childhood of getting lost in swampy forests after sunset? I cultivated problem-solving skills, I developed a love and empathy for the land and animals around me, and I grew to know myself. It would only be later in life that I questioned the latter, when things became more complicated and I reprioritized to fit conventions.

But not all is lost. Increasingly, park lands are emerging in cities. Organizations are offering opportunities for underserved urban youth to play in green spaces. And a local food-sourcing trend is encouraging at-home gardening and a reconnection to the soil. We are re-familiarizing with the very nature of which we’re part. Ecopsyched! aims to further our awareness of our connection to nature through storytelling.

And there is much we can do to heal our planet without neglecting our positive modern advances. The digital age is moving us further from printing on paper. Advances in solar power promise a more sustainable energy future. And smarter packaging and recycling give hope for cleaner lands and water sources.

We are learning. And as adults, we have the power and responsibility to instill appreciation for nature in our children so they do not set off into life with a nature-deficit. Read them a story under the stars, walk with them in the woods, play with them on the lawn and dig in the dirt. Have fun outside, for them and for you.

-Lisa B

Disclaimers

Lisa B is not trained in clinical psychology. Lisa B does not, nor does Ecopsyched!, advise as a medical professional. Information shared by Lisa B is rooted in her own graduate-level research and the extensive research and practices of professionals within the ecopsychology discipline and other environmental fields. Lisa B and Ecopsyched! advise anyone suffering with a psychological or medical condition to seek the help of a licensed medical professional.

Ecopsyched! travels the world to bring you stories about the human-nature relationship. To offset the carbon footprint of air travel, Lisa B makes every effort to contribute to, and make a positive impact on the local communities and ecosystems she visits. See episode details to learn more.

Ecopsyched! participates in affiliate programs. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Third party vendors may collect customer information for tracking and other purposes.

Privacy Statement

Ecopsyched! will never share or distribute user contact information with third parties. Ecopsyched! collects subscriber information for the purposes of sharing Ecopsyched! newsletters, podcasts and blog posts, and to evaluate participation with Ecopsyched! and its affiliates.

Copyright

Copyright for all Ecopsyched! content – text, audio, artwork, photography, videos, stories – is owned by Lisa Barry, by Ecopsyched! participants where designated in written and recorded contracts, and/or by independent sources as acknowledged in recordings and show notes. Ecopsyched! original artwork and reproductions are property of Lisa Barry. Ecopsyched! content is prohibited for public use without express written permission from Ecopsyched!.

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