Many people have experienced more nature in the past year than they ever have before, after our horizons narrowed in March 2020. More time spent in local parks, fields and woodlands, more mud pies made, more seeds sown, pots planted and vegetables harvested. And many of those people will have found for themselves how nature can restore us, a literal breathing space when the everyday stresses of pandemic life threaten to overwhelm us. Human beings have an innate affinity and positive association with the natural world and until the 19th Century brought industrialisation and cities, the lives of most people in the UK were governed by their environment, the availability of natural resources and the cycle of the seasons. We are now learning that subsequent loss of contact and connection with nature is compromising our wellbeing and particularly our ability to manage stress, a significant contributing factor to the onset of both depression and anxiety.
As wider life resumes, we can return to offices, shop for non-essentials, drink coffee indoors instead of takeaway in the park and mix with other households. I hope that families will remember and retain the ‘good bits’ of lockdown and this includes contact with nature. As spring finally banishes the last frost – don’t get a gardener started talking about the weather! – now is the time to sow a few seeds for summer flowers, nearly instant salad or runner beans. If garden space is at a premium then these are just as successful in pots on a patio and it is not cheating to buy half a dozen young plants if you are not too confident about sowing seeds. It really does not matter what you plant or grow. What matters is getting close to the natural world and re-establishing the feeling that we are part of nature. And what nature activity is closer to home and more accessible for young and old alike than gardening?
There are so many ways that we can benefit. it only takes 10 minutes of time outside gently noticing the world around us, the greenery, bird song, the warmth of the sun or a breath of wind to reduce levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, and restore our ability to concentrate. For children, where sitting still for any length of time may be a challenge and mindfulness a step too far at first, try a quiet activity that engages additional senses; crumbling the lumps out of compost before sowing or planting is one of my favourites.
We are now starting to understand that people need more than a walk in a green space for long term benefits. Active engagement with nature makes us feel that we belong to the world and our environment, another fundamental requirement for mental wellbeing, and also makes us more likely to care for and look after that world. No time to lose on engaging more people to care for the only planet that we have.
And finally, we can choose and use gardening activities to achieve other wellbeing goals. It is widely accepted that good mental health is built on a sense of both giving and receiving from a community, learning, achievement and physical activity as well as having a means to ‘empty our stress bucket’. Gardening can be used for all of these – what greater sense of achievement than learning to grow tomatoes and sharing the harvest with your family? And on the way taking quiet time to water and pinch out and watch the bees pollinating.
Anyone who lists gardening or hillwalking as a hobby can tell you that ‘green is good’. What is a newer message is that ‘green is good for everyone’ and we need to find ways to engage with nature as part of everyday life. Give it a go, find a green family activity that you like and support your mental health whilst you enjoy yourself!
P.S. I do hope that you give gardening a try this summer 😊
Happy Gardening from Alison at Gardening by Design.
Gardening advisor | Social and Therapeutic Horticulture practitioner & consultant
Trainer |Speaker | Garden Media Guild member
www.gardeningbydesign.co.uk 01892 511719, 07803 045327
