Leigh Woody first became intrigued by wood carving when she decided to build her friend Vesper a house. She had no prior experience.

But as someone with an artistic knack and all-around crafty persona, she figured it wouldn’t be too difficult. A week later, Vesper, a squirrel, moved gleefully into her freshly carved cedar abode, complete with an Ent-like leafy figure carved on the inside.

That was six years ago. During the...

Our chests expanded with each inhalation as Jade Szczepanski reminded us to take note of the space around our hearts. When the breathing exercise ended, I blinked my eyes open to see our group of seven framed by a heavy gray sky and patchwork of rectangular mixed-use buildings.

We were gathered for the ninth iteration of “Here, Outside,” a walk that takes place each week in Portland, Oregon, that combines mindfulness, urbanism and...