What if simply paying attention to birds could help us feel calmer, more present, and more connected to the world around us?

In this episode of Rooted, Susan talks with Holly C. Merker, professional birding guide, nature-based wellness practitioner, and co-author of Ornitherapy and The Power of Birdwatching.

Holly shares the practice of ornitherapy and mindful birding—an approach that shifts the focus from identifying and counting birds to slowing down, engaging our senses, and simply experiencing the birds around us. They explore the growing research connecting birdsong and birdwatching with human wellbeing, the power of sit spots, and how birds can draw us naturally into presence, curiosity, wonder, and awe.

Holly also shares how birds became an important source of presence and support during her own experience with cancer, and why she believes developing a relationship with the birds around us can ultimately inspire us to care more deeply for them and the places we share.

You don't need binoculars, a field guide, or even the ability to identify a single bird to begin. You simply need to notice.

Connect with Holly: Ornitherapy: https://ornitherapy.com Mindful Birding Network: https://www.themindfulbirdingnetwork.com

Connect with Susan: Website: https://www.rootedsoulliving.com/rooted-podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmbailey/

What do the dog days of summer have to do with a star? What does a coneflower have to do with echinacea? And what might a bald eagle flying over a busy city or a dragonfly resting in the grass reveal when we pause long enough to really look?

In this Walk with SMB episode, Susan follows a handful of questions sparked by things she's noticed and learned this summer. The familiar phrase "dog days of summer" turns out to carry an ancient connection to Sirius, the Dog Star. A coneflower and echinacea reveal themselves as different ways of knowing the same plant. An unexpected bald eagle challenges assumptions about where nature belongs. And a close encounter with a female darner dragonfly becomes an opportunity to marvel at something as seemingly ordinary—and astonishing—as a pair of wings.

Together, these observations lead to a larger question about curiosity, knowledge, and wonder. We often think explanation removes mystery: once we know how something works or what it's called, perhaps it becomes less remarkable. But what if the opposite is true?

Looking closely can reveal how much more there is to notice. Learning one thing can lead to another question. And sometimes understanding a little more about the living world doesn't diminish wonder at all—it deepens it.

During these dog days of summer, what are you curious about right now? What might become visible if you looked at something familiar a little more closely?

Resources Mentioned

Sirius (the Dog Star) and the origins of the "dog days of summer"

Echinacea / coneflowers

Darner dragonflies

Connect with ROOTED

https://www.rootedsoulliving.com/rooted-podcast

What if some of the capacities we long for aren't things we need to learn—but things we simply need to remember?

In this open-ended walking conversation, I join Ber-Henda Williams, a womanist cultural strategist, storyteller, and convener, to explore what nature can teach us about leadership, culture, intuition, awe, and the seasons of a human life.

Our conversation begins with formation—those quieter seasons when much is happening beneath the surface. From there, we wander through legacy, rites of passage, aging, the balance of the masculine and feminine, and what modern culture may have forgotten by losing touch with the natural milestones that once helped communities honor every stage of life.

Along the way, something unexpected emerged for me. As we talked about intuition, I realized that every living being already knows how to respond to the conditions around it. Trees know when to unfold. Bees know where to gather pollen. The living world continually senses, adapts, and responds.

If we are nature, perhaps intuition isn't something some people possess and others don't. Perhaps it's one of our oldest capacities—one we've become less practiced at hearing.

This conversation doesn't offer simple answers. Instead, it invites us to slow down long enough to notice the patterns that surround us, reconnect with awe, and consider what becomes possible when we remember that we, too, belong to the living world.

Sometimes the questions that stay with us are more valuable than the answers we hoped to find.

Resources Mentioned

• Hagitude by Sharon Blackie
• The NeverEnding Story (film)
• Priya Parker's work on gathering
• Tricia Hersey and The Nap Ministry

Connect with Ber-Henda Williams

Ber-Henda Williams is a womanist cultural strategist, storyteller, and convener whose work centers placemaking, storytelling, and communal care through Culture Shifters Unite.

Website: https://www.ber-hendawilliams.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/berhenda/

Connect with Rooted

Website: https://www.rootedsoulliving.com/rooted-podcast

Connect with Susan

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmbailey/

What if creativity isn't reserved for painters, musicians, or writers?

In this episode of ROOTED, I sit down with environmental artist and educator Elayna Toby Singer for a conversation about creativity, public art, nature, and the ways our surroundings shape how we experience the world.

Elayna creates immersive installations and community-centered art that invite people to slow down, notice, and connect more deeply with the places they inhabit. Together, we explore how nature influences the creative process, why beauty and wonder matter, and how art can foster belonging, curiosity, and relationship.

Whether you consider yourself creative or not, this conversation offers an invitation to see creativity less as a talent and more as a way of engaging with the world.

• How nature informs Elayna's creative practice

• Creativity as a way of paying attention

• The role of public art in creating connection and belonging

• Why slowing down helps us notice what has always been there

• How curiosity can become a creative practice

• What happens when we create experiences instead of simply creating things

Website: https://elaynatobyart.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/2083126150/

Website: www.rootedsoulliving.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmbailey/

Seeing images of the wildfires in Canada, I noticed fear rising. So instead of pushing the feeling away, I sat with it and found myself thinking about what years of observing the natural world have taught me about change.

Nature is extraordinarily resilient.

A landscape can be devastated and still hold the possibility of life. Forests change. Ecosystems adapt. Life finds a way to continue, although perhaps not in the same form that existed before.

And because we are nature, I began to wonder: Is the resilience I see in the living world also something I can remember in myself?

In this solo reflection, I explore what I mean when I talk about listening to nature, the difference between being smart and being wise, and the kind of hope that can emerge when we stay present with uncertainty rather than trying to immediately fix or escape it.

Grounded hope isn't reassurance that everything will be okay. It's something steadier. It allows us to hold the paradox that destruction and regeneration can both be true. That grief and possibility can exist together. That we can be afraid of what is happening while still trusting in the resilience of life.

When the landscape of your life changes, where do you look for hope?

Maybe the Earth doesn't promise us that everything will be okay. Maybe she offers us something more honest: a reminder that life has been navigating change for a very, very long time—and that we are part of that life.

Connect with Susan Morgan Bailey & Rooted

Website: www.rootedsoulliving.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmbailey/

We spend much of our lives looking down—at screens, sidewalks, and to-do lists. But what might change if we simply looked up?

In this episode of Rooted: A Podcast About Nature & Wellbeing, Susan welcomes psychologist and PhD researcher Braňo Kaleta from the Centre for Positive Health Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Braňo's research explores cloudspotting, stargazing, nature connectedness, and the psychology of awe. While the science of cloudspotting and stargazing is still emerging, our conversation explores what psychology is already teaching us about attention, perspective, and why moments of wonder may play an important role in our wellbeing.

Together, we explore how directing our attention toward the sky can invite curiosity, restore our focus, and help us reconnect with something larger than ourselves. We also discuss Attention Restoration Theory, the importance of nature connectedness, why winter skies deserve more appreciation, and simple ways anyone can begin cultivating more awe in everyday life.

• What psychologists mean by the emotion of awe—and why it matters for wellbeing

• Attention Restoration Theory and how paying attention to nature may help restore our capacity to focus

• Why cloudspotting and stargazing invite curiosity, perspective, and wonder

• Nature connectedness and why feeling part of nature matters for both personal and planetary wellbeing

• Practical ways to experience more awe in everyday life

• Why winter skies deserve more appreciation

One of Braňo's questions has stayed with Susan long after the conversation ended:

"What brings you awe?"

Perhaps that's a question worth carrying with you the next time you step outside.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/branislavkaleta/

Centre for Positive Health Sciences, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

🌿 Website: https://www.rootedsoulliving.com/rooted-podcast

🌿 Susan Morgan Bailey: www.rootedsoulliving.com

🌿 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmorganbailey/

If this conversation resonated with you, we'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with someone who could use a little more awe in their life.

Thank you for walking with us.

What role do parks play in the health of a community?

For many of us, parks are places to walk, play, or spend time outdoors. But what if they're also part of the infrastructure that helps communities become healthier, more connected, and more resilient?

In this episode of ROOTED, I sit down with Martin Sampson, CEO of the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association, to explore how parks and recreation contribute to wellbeing in ways that are often overlooked. We discuss why access to nature is more than a quality-of-life issue, the importance of investing upstream in prevention rather than waiting to respond to illness and crisis, and how parks create opportunities for connection, belonging, and resilience.

Martin also shares the vision behind Everyone Outdoors Together, a growing movement inviting people to step outside, connect with nature, and experience the simple act of being outdoors as a shared community experience.

Throughout our conversation, I found myself returning to a question that has shaped much of my own work: What conditions help people thrive? As we explored everything from public health and equitable access to advocacy and community design, it became clear that parks are not simply amenities—they are places where people gather, heal, connect, and remember that we are part of the living world.

Perhaps creating healthier communities begins long before someone walks into a doctor's office. Perhaps it begins by creating places where people can step outside together.

Resources Mentioned

Everyone Outdoors Together

Canadian Parks and Recreation Association

Park Prescriptions (PaRx)

Outdoor Play Canada

GenWell

CanActive Insights

Connect with Martin Sampson

Canadian Parks and Recreation Association: https://cpra.ca/

Everyone Outdoors Together: https://everyoneoutdoorstogether.ca/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-sampson-qwa-middlewood/

Connect with ROOTED

Visit ROOTED online for episode notes, reflections, and additional resources:

https://www.rootedsoulliving.com/rooted-podcast

Connect with Susan Morgan Bailey:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmbailey/

Resilience is one of the most common words in conversations about leadership, wellbeing, and life. We celebrate resilient people. We encourage one another to be more resilient. But what if we've unintentionally reduced resilience to simply "bouncing back"?

In this Walk with SMB episode, I share a question that's been following me as I prepare a workshop on mental reset and resilience: What story are we telling ourselves about resilience?

Drawing on my background in environmental science and organizational wellbeing, I explore what happens when we look at resilience through the lens of nature. Living systems don't avoid challenge—they adapt, recover, reorganize, and continue changing. What might we learn if we viewed our own resilience the same way?

Along the way, I introduce six conditions I'm beginning to notice that seem to support resilience and thriving: environment, relationships, rhythms, recovery, meaning, and mind. This isn't a finished framework—it's an exploration. Together, we'll consider how mental resets create space to notice our stories, respond rather than react, and become more aware of the conditions that help us adapt and thrive.

I'll leave you with two questions I'm still carrying:

What story are you telling yourself about resilience?

And perhaps an even more useful one...

What conditions help you thrive?

Website: https://susanmorganbailey.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmorganbailey/

ROOTED Podcast: https://www.rootedsoulliving.com/rooted-podcast

If this episode resonated with you, I'd love to hear what stayed with you. Share your reflections on LinkedIn or leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Your stories help shape future conversations.

What if nature isn't somewhere we go, but something we live within?

In this conversation, I sit down with Nevin Harper—counselor, professor, outdoor educator, and co-author of Nature-Based Therapy and Kids These Days—to explore how the environments we inhabit shape our wellbeing, relationships, and sense of belonging.

Growing up in northern Canada, Nevin experienced nature not as a destination, but as the backdrop of everyday life. Forests, wildlife, long winters, and wide-open landscapes were simply part of being human. It wasn't until he left home that he realized many people experience nature very differently.

Together, we explore nature-based counseling, the role of outdoor experiences in human development, why environments matter, and how nature can support connection, reflection, and healing. We also discuss Nevin's work with young people, the stories adults tell about "kids these days," and the powerful influence of the worlds we create for future generations.

Throughout the conversation, one idea continues to surface: our relationship with nature is deeply shaped by the environments we grow up in—and by the environments we choose to create.

If you've ever wondered what it means to live in relationship with nature rather than simply visit it, this conversation offers a thoughtful place to begin.

Website: https://www.nevinharper.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nevinharper

Website: https://www.rootedsoulliving.com/rooted-podcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmorganbailey

What happens when the path you carefully planned is no longer the path you're meant to follow?

In this episode of Rooted, Susan sits down with friend, leadership advisor, and AI educator Cheryl Thompson for a conversation about career reinvention, burnout, self-agency, and the stories that shape our lives.

Cheryl shares her journey from automotive manufacturing and engineering leadership to entrepreneurship, sound healing, and helping leaders navigate the emerging world of artificial intelligence. Along the way, she reflects on the lessons she learned as one of the few women in highly male-dominated environments, the challenge of asking for help, and the burnout that ultimately forced her to slow down and listen more closely to herself.

Together, Susan and Cheryl explore questions that many of us face:

• What story am I telling myself about who I need to be? • How do I know when it's time to change direction? • What happens when we stop proving ourselves and start paying attention to what energizes us? • How can nature help us reconnect to ourselves in an increasingly artificial world?

This conversation is an invitation to consider where you may have more agency than you realize, what old stories you might be carrying, and how slowing down can create space for something new to emerge.

Connect with Cheryl: Website: https://www.cherylthompsonadvisory.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylthompson/

Learn more about Susan and Rooted: https://www.susanmorganbailey.com

Resources Mentioned: • Coaches Training Institute (CTI) • Sound Healing and Sound Bath Practices • Artificial Intelligence for Leadership and Career Development