Nature + Art = NextGen Stress Relief

By Jonathan Long, NextGen Council member

Hello all, my name is Jonathan Long.  I’m a member of Natural Lands’ NextGen Council.  For a day job, I’m a land use and property attorney in West Chester, Chester County, but I’ve always had a love of the outdoors and hiking after growing up in central Pennsylvania in the woods on the side of a mountain.

As professions go, law can be pretty stressful, so I lean into destressing activities, which for me are hiking and photography.  Hiking allows me to clear my head and photography provides a creative outlet.  Over the years, I have found that there are perhaps no better spots for enjoying hiking and photography together than Natural Lands’ preserves.  My home preserves–Stroud, ChesLen, and Bryn Coed–are my favorite spots, but I’m always looking for new spots.  The preserves’ combination of woods, grass lands, native flowers, and strategically placed scenic overlooks provides a plethora of motifs and subjects.

One of my absolute favorite things to do is to get up early, grab coffee, and head out to Stroud when the world, and the sun, are just waking up. There’s something so magical about catching shots of the morning mist still clinging to the hillsides, dew drops on cobwebs strung between grass stems, or bees and butterflies lazily enjoying the native flowers in the fields.

I hope you enjoy the pics and I hope to see you out at one of the preserves someday!