Spending time in nature can provide benefits toward cognitive function, an overall improved mood and a decrease in stress, according to the American Psychological Association.
On the Pierce College campus, students have the S. Mark Taper Botanical Garden. This garden not only acts as a living classroom, but also as an escape from daily life. What started as an “outdoor botanical laboratory” for Pierce’s life science department has transformed into an oasis for those who need it.
A hummingbird gathers nectar from a flowering plant (emu bush) in the S. Mark Taper Botanical Garden at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 22, 2024. Photo by Sophie Lotterstein.
Hospitality management major Catleya Freeman reads poetry on a bench in the S. Mark Taper Botanical Garden at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 22, 2024. Photo by Sophie Lotterstein.
A monarch butterfly flies away from a Milkweed plant in the S. Mark Taper Botanical Garden at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 22, 2024. Photo by Sophie Lotterstein.
Wyatt Waters, an anthropology and Japanese major, studies on a bench in the S. Mark Taper Botanical Garden at Pierce College in Woodland Hills, Calif., on April 22, 2024. Photo by Sophie Lotterstein.
