Voldemort

Yesterday I claimed that there’s a way — even in the chaos of NYC — to feel calm and connected to the environment, right from home.

Today I’m going to show you one trick that I use to feel that way.

Stepping back, the point that I’m trying to make is that you don’t have to get outside the city to “get into nature.”

And you don’t need to commute to a park.

Even though it’s harder to perceive, millions of natural relationships are woven throughout the built environment — and there are things we can do to make it much easier to see and feel them regularly.

One of the most powerful, underrated ways to do this is through names.

What we name something; whether we name it; and whether we speak the name (“You-know-who”) — all shape the daily perception we have of our surroundings.

For a moment think about your daily commute — whether it be to work, to the grocery store, whatever. Think about how much you walk by — trees, birds, rocks, garbage cans, wooden electrical poles, concrete — that’s completely nameless. Without a name — all of these things can sort of float by, unseen, untethered, disconnected.

And so, with that being the case, one of the easiest, most effective ways to actually feel connected is just to give things around you a name.

Most recently, I’ve named the wildflower patch growing in my tree bed The Goombas. You know em, you love em—

I know this is immature and cooky. I get it. And honestly I can’t believe I’ve become the person talking about this but—

Just try it. It works.

1. Identify one thing near your home — something you pass by daily (a tree bed, a shrub, a patch of dirt, even a square piece of concrete)

2. Give it a fun, memorable name. Look like a complete, utter buffoon and, at least once, say it out loud.

3. Watch how you start noticing it daily.

That’s it!

In addition to bringing folks together to rewild the city, one of the main functions of the Mulch Club is to use reframes like this — e.g. to make it much (mulch?) easier to feel connected to nature in your daily life (even if you’re busy!):

• A daily Mulch Club email with stories, updates, and content like this

• A tree bed near you to steward, personalized stake ($30), native seeds ($12), and 1:1 gardening support (my personal cell phone to call/text with questions)

• 12 in-person meetups (one each month)

• Digital community (Whatsapp, private Instagram) with like-minded New Yorkers on this journey to rewild the city

For now until Sunday night, registration as a Founding Member of Mulch Club is open here for $8 / month.

Tomorrow, I’m going to show you another easy way to start seeing the natural connections in NYC.

Till then!
Mayank