A Virtual Walk

Who wouldn’t seize an opportunity to spend half an hour enjoying a walk in the woods or by the sea – by virtual reality? If you were detained on a mental health ward, it would only be all the more welcome. As demand continues to soar for mental health care, more and more patients alsoContinue reading “A Virtual Walk”

Under The Stars

Do you know the names and order of the planets in our solar system? Do you follow NASA’s every move? Are you excited when space science succeeds, as when asteroid dust was brought to Earth recently? This is World Space Week, so I’m thinking how experiencing outer space could help lift mood and boost wellbeingContinue reading “Under The Stars”

Well Spring

The other day I heard someone say how boredom can become a real issue when struggling with mental health issues, and how being interested by nature and seeking out new species can be a help. It made absolute sense I thought. If mental health issues oblige you to take time out, to step back fromContinue reading “Well Spring”

Concrete Cows

A few years ago I heard about Providence Youth Club in Battersea, London, welcoming a group of farm animals from The Shallowford Trust’s Dartmoor farm to a local city carpark for a week. Londoners could come to see the calves, lambs and pigs in the straw in pens just across the street from shops andContinue reading “Concrete Cows”

Earthbound?

In a basket where I keep cards and letters, I recently found a greetings card sent in 2009, with a very striking image. It’s entitled “Trees Amid The Waters Near Taponas, Rhone, France” and it is an aerial photograph taken by Yann Arthus Bertrand during the floods of March 2001. Seeing this image made meContinue reading “Earthbound?”

Art Meets Nature

Have you heard of the Singing, Ringing Tree? It is an outdoor sculpture on the Wayside Art Trail, on moorland high over Burnley in Lancashire. Hearing about it recently for the first time, the Tree really captured my imagination. What a unique way to draw together art, nature and music in one structure. The steelContinue reading “Art Meets Nature”

Stable Sense

I see two horses several times a week on my walks as I climb the hill next to their field. While I have never ridden or spent time with horses, as I’ve always lived in rural areas they’ve been familiar sights, part of the background of my life. And I particularly like donkeys. Many peopleContinue reading “Stable Sense”

Climbing On Camera

Imagine mountain climbing and photographing your way around the world and you have some idea how US climber Jimmy Chin has spent the last twenty or more years. I first heard of Jimmy Chin last year when he published There and Back, a photographic book which also shares his life story. Photographs and documentary filmsContinue reading “Climbing On Camera”

Under The Microscope

Maybe you too have seen the dazzling images just released from the James Webb Space Telescope, and wanted to discover more? When connecting with nature is recognised as a powerful way of boosting wellbeing, then experiencing and learning more about science could also do just that. It’s a way of deepening nature connection, but it’sContinue reading “Under The Microscope”

Music Of The Night

Do music and nature seem worlds apart to you? As I think more about how art, music and nature can all draw together to enhance wellbeing, I’ve seen how music and nature in particular can be interwoven on different levels. Song titles might reference nature: think Nat King Cole’s Ramblin’ Rose or I Talk ToContinue reading “Music Of The Night”