Ponder While We Wander

Natasha Morisawa, Amber Martin
  • 5.0 (3)
  • MENTAL HEALTH

This is where we have explored and recorded topics that open our curiosity and find connection to outside spaces. We will also connect with others who inspire us and walk new paths literally and figuratively. Come listen! ponderwhilewewander.com

  1. FEB 3

    S2 E3: Nature Deficit Disorder

    Location: Halls Hill Labyrinth and Lookout, Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA  Record date: 10/19/25 Release date: 2/2/26   Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/   Based on the work of Richard Louv, Natasha Morisawa and Amber Martin take a walk on an outdoor labyrinth on Bainbridge Island, Washington to ponder the effects of less unstructured outdoor time on children and adults as well as ways to start to think about our time outside. They bring in some practical ways of addressing this imbalance and open the invitation to personally wander in the outdoors.  Explore more about Ponder While We Wander A soothing podcast for trying times. https://ponderwhilewewander.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.com/wander-well/   Episode Resources Links: https://biparksfoundation.org/halls-hill/ Books by Richard Louv https://www.childrenandnature.org/ https://www.1000hoursoutside.com/ https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_ways_nature_helps_children_learn https://www.nrpa.org/globalassets/research/mingkuo-summary.pdf https://www.heinzawards.org/pages/ming-kuo

    39 min

  2. JAN 16

    S2 E2: Have You Heard About Rat Park? What environment and connection have to do with addiction

    Location: Meerkerk Gardens, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA  Record date: 10/18/25 Release date: 1/15/25   Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/   From a curated, wooded garden on Whidbey Island, Washington, Natasha Morisawa and Amber Martin introduce the Rat Park study and its findings. They wander and ponder about the connection to humans and addiction as well as different ways of viewing mental health and addiction from not only an individual but a community lens as well. Join them in asking questions about what is working in our modern lives and what could be changed to prevent, reduce, and treat addiction. Along the way there are slugs, mushrooms, evergreens, and the cool, crisp, rainy afternoon of the Pacific Northwest.    Explore more about Ponder While We Wander A soothing podcast for trying times. https://ponderwhilewewander.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.com/wander-well/   Episode Resources Links: https://www.meerkerkgardens.org/ https://historicwhidbey.org/whidbey-island-history https://drgabormate.com/addiction/ Rat Park: How a rat paradise changed the narrative of addiction. https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/what-does-rat-park-teach-us-about-addiction https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/can_connection_cure_addiction

    40 min

  3. JAN 2

    S2 E1: How We Gather and Why it Matters

    Location: Curse and Holler Ranch, Chimicum, Washington  Record date: 10/16/25 Release date: 1/1/26   Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/   To be in relationships may be more crucial and difficult now than in previous generations. Based on stories of loneliness and the challenges of making friends in adulthood, Natasha and Amber start to unpack some of the ways this affects us as individuals and communities. They offer some practical ways of being with those challenges and invitations to connect with ourselves, other humans, and the world around us.     Explore more about Ponder While We Wander A soothing podcast for trying times. https://ponderwhilewewander.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.com/wander-well/ Episode Resources Links: https://www.chimacumcenter.org/place.html https://saveland.org/ http://bowlingalone.com/ https://joinordiefilm.com/ https://www.priyaparker.com/ https://eji.org/news/visual-history-loitering-laws/ https://ponderwhilewewander.com/wander-well/

    35 min

  4. 12/16/2025

    Ep 13: What's a good goodbye?

    Location: HJ Carroll Park, Chimacum, Washington, USA Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa Guest: Rev. Aaron Twitchell https://lovewellnj.com/ Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/   An episode in two parts. In part one, Amber and Natasha talk with Rev. Aaron Twitchell about good goodbyes in his experience with supporting, consulting with, and counseling individuals and families at the end of life. Then Natasha and Amber take the topic out into nature to a park with a stream and other than human nature. We explore if there is such a thing as a good goodbye and if there is, what can help support that. And we take a moment to allow interaction with nature to enhance our understanding and connection to goodbyes.   Explore more about Ponder While We Wander A soothing podcast for trying times. https://ponderwhilewewander.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/   Episode Resources Links: https://jeffersoncountywa.myrec.com/info/dept/details.aspx?DeptInfoID=566 https://lovewellnj.com/

    1h 22m

  5. 12/02/2025

    Ep 12: Present Not Perfect in Showing Up for the Polycrisis

    Location: Kah Tai Lagoon, Port Townsend, Washington, USA Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/   Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa talk and walk around the Kah Tai Lagoon with deer, herons, eagles, and other than human nature to discuss what the Polycrisis. They help us see through a lens of interconnectedness and discuss how to build a social, emotional, and spiritual first aid kit in managing the predicaments we find ourselves in.    Explore more about Ponder While We Wander A soothing podcast for trying times. https://ponderwhilewewander.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/   Episode Resources Links: https://cityofpt.us/parksrec/page/kah-tai-lagoon-nature-park https://polycrisis.org/lessons/what-does-the-term-polycrisis-mean/ https://commonslibrary.org/learn-from-joanna-macy/ https://www.admiraltyaudubon.org/kah-tai-nature-park-updates

    37 min

  6. 11/16/2025

    Ep 11: Grieving as a verb

    Location: Arroyo Seco, Pasadena, CA, USA Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/   Amber and Natasha explore the challenges and human connection to the universal experience of grief. They touch on the different types of grief, how we grieve, and why it is important to acknowledge it when it shows up. Our relationship with nature can provide ways of incorporating ritual and meaning-making into ways of holding and processing grief instead of disconnecting from it all together.    Explore more about Ponder While We Wander A soothing podcast for trying times. https://ponderwhilewewander.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/   Episode Resources Links: https://gabrielinotribe.org/ https://www.cityofpasadena.net/parks-and-rec/arroyo-seco/ https://www.ekrfoundation.org/5-stages-of-grief/change-curve/ https://grief.com/ https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-work-of-grief-and-love/ https://www.priyaparker.com/art-of-gathering-newsletter/grieve-together-now https://www.kintsugigrief.com/resources

    49 min

  7. 11/01/2025

    Ep 10: A cup of coffee can heal me

    Location: Captain Whidbey, Whidbey Island, Washington, USA Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/   Natasha and Amber travel to a magical place by ferry and, fueled by a couple cups of coffee, ponder the significance of coffee. They explore the ritual and magic of connecting over a warm beverage. Can a cup of coffee connect us to ourselves, loved ones, strangers, the whole world? Grab a beverage of your choice and join us.   Explore more about Ponder While We Wander A soothing podcast for trying times. https://ponderwhilewewander.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/   Episode Resources Links: https://www.captainwhidbey.com/ https://www.ebeysreserve.com/history-culture https://www.islandhistory.org/our-story https://michaelpollan.com/books/caffeine-how-coffee-and-tea-created-the-modern-world/   “Just the other day, I was in my neighborhood Starbucks, waiting for the post office to open. I was enjoying a chocolatey cafe mocha when it occurred to me that to drink a mocha is to gulp down the entire history of the New World. From the Spanish exportation of Aztec cacao, and the Dutch invention of the chemical process for making cocoa, on down to the capitalist empire of Hershey, PA, and the lifestyle marketing of Seattle's Starbucks, the modern mocha is a bittersweet concoction of imperialism, genocide, invention, and consumerism served with whipped cream on top.” ― Sarah Vowell https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Sarah-Vowell/1558688   “I hope there are days when your coffee tastes like magic, your playlist makes you dance, strangers make you smile, and the mighty sky touches your soul. I hope there are days when you fall in love with being alive”  – Brooke Hampton https://www.barefootfive.com/barefoot-me

    28 min

  8. 10/15/2025

    Ep 9: My Right Eye Keeps Twitching

    Location: Discovery Bay, Washington, USA Hosts: Amber Martin and Natasha Morisawa Edited: https://www.studiosymbiotic.com/   Come see how noticing our discomfort can invite us into deeper connection with nature as we ponder by the shore where birds, seals, and other than human nature join us.    Explore more about Ponder While We Wander A soothing podcast for trying times.   https://ponderwhilewewander.com/ https://ponderwhilewewander.substack.com/   Episode Resources Links: https://silvotherapy.co.uk/about-forest-healing http://www.tribalmuseum.jamestowntribe.org/

    26 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

This is where we have explored and recorded topics that open our curiosity and find connection to outside spaces. We will also connect with others who inspire us and walk new paths literally and figuratively. Come listen! ponderwhilewewander.com

Information

  • Creator
    Natasha Morisawa, Amber Martin
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Ponder While We Wander