Krystiane Hamel

Certified: July 2021
Country: Montreal, Canada
Nature (Re)Connection in: French

For me nature is an intergenerational bond. It is the legacy of my maternal grandfather who planted all the trees among which I spent my childhood. It is the river that watched me grow up. This is where I learned so many things, by observing the plant and animal world. It is the foundation of my life, my values, my dreams, my creativity.
For 33 years, I worked as a specialist in orientation and mobility with people who are visually impaired. Learning to move around with visual loss requires developing the other senses as much as possible. What luck and joy I experienced! Who takes the time to listen, touch, feel…?
Today, I can use my life experience and all the scientific knowledge I learned in my training as an Ecoleader and Nature (Re)Connection guide. A trip to the forest is a privileged opportunity to awaken your senses and open up to all the physical, psychological and cognitive benefits that nature can bring us. It has so much to offer us! Why deprive yourself of it?

Some questions for Krystiane

As a child, for you, nature was… my playmate. Living in the countryside, far from neighbors, except for the summer period, I had no friends to play with. In addition, at the time, there was no internet and the television did not have all the programming of today. I climbed trees, I caught grasshoppers, frogs, turtles, crayfish… I spent long afternoons, leaning against a tree, watching the wind in the leaves, the birds….

Which sense instantly connects you to nature? My sense of sight. When I enter the forest, I am struck by the effect of the light on the bark of the trees and on the foliage, especially when it is windy. When I'm near water, the light and the ripple combined offer a flow of energy as if there was a dance. There are also those magical moments when the sun causes stars to be born in water.

What gives you comfort in nature? It comforts me to see the strength and vulnerability of nature. Winds, fire, floods can destroy what’s in their path but, over time, the vegetation comes back to life despite the devastation. For me, there are so many beautiful life lessons. The improbable that becomes possible fascinates me. These flowers that grow under the snow in early spring. This butterfly popping out of a snow-covered pile of leaves when I absentmindedly move it while walking. Nature presents me with a world of possibilities and this gives me hope and comfort.