Blog
Nature well being Walk
Sunday 10th March 2024
Anne Watson
I'm co-chair of my organisation's staff Climate Action Group, and was excited to link up recently with our Wellbeing Network to lead a special lunchtime 'connect with nature' lunchtime walk.
The aim of the walk was twofold. Firstly, it's really important to get up and away from our desks, and go outside for a breath of air, instead of always eating our sandwiches in front of our screens. And secondly, we wanted to encourage people to slow down and notice nature when we are outside (yes - even in the inner city!). What's does this have to do with the climate crisis? Well, I truly believe that if we get to know and love the natural world, then we're more likely to care when it's under threat - and so will do more to protect it. A condition of modern life, and part of the reason we're in a time of climate breakdown, is our disconnection from nature. But we know that being in the natural world lowers stress levels, is good for our mental and physical health, helps us heal faster, and increases our performance and creativity. So if we can start to make those connections with the nature on our doorstep, it will benefit us, and benefit it.
As we set off on our walk it started to drizzle - hooray! Walking in the rain is great for our health. It washes away pollution and germs. It creates negative air ions which can improve respiratory health and immunity. It's been shown to help us concentrate on the here and now, reducing anxiety levels. And that smell you notice when it rains after a dry spell? It's actually got a name - petrichor! It's the smell of all the plant minerals trapped in the soil being released by the rain hitting the earth and bursting it open. And breathing that in is like a course of aromatherapy!
Our walk took us past beautiful little hero plants (I refuse to call them weeds) peeking out from cracks in paving stones and brickwork. Ivy-leaved toadflax, sow-thistle, shaggy soldier (don't you love English plant names!). We found flowering ivy, alive with pollinators. We admired bumblebee refuelling stations - little oases of flowering plants, providing crucial feeding points for bees in an urban landscape. We scrunched dried hops under our fingers and breathed in their herby, beery, grassy smell.
So, take some time to get outside, and slow down and see what little bits of nature are growing up through the cracks of your neighbourhood pavements. It doesn't matter if you don't know their names - just notice them, enjoy the fact that they're there, and feel that connection to another living thing.