Are you a “night owl” or an “early bird”, “up with the lark”? It’s interesting how these expressions came into the language, relating our body clocks to nature, to day and night, light and dark. It’s no wonder that International Dawn Chorus Day falls at the beginning of May: as dawn gets earlier and earlierContinue reading “Up With The Lark”
Tag Archives: Nature
Look, Listen And Learn?
Watching and hearing birds has to be one of the most calming ways to experience nature. So many of us respond to birdsong or to seeing birds fly. And there are all different ways to enjoy this: birdwatching, birding or twitching. Which might most improve wellbeing? Birdwatching is the most common. It’s one of theContinue reading “Look, Listen And Learn?”
Rewild Ourselves?
Can rewilding boost mental health and wellbeing? Might it enable connecting with nature at a different level and so reinforce the already proven benefits of nature? Can rewilding revive and restore not only the natural world but also ourselves? I thought World Rewilding Day, which falls this week, was an opportunity to ask these questions,Continue reading “Rewild Ourselves?”
Spring Fever
Where I live, the last week has shown nature’s different extremes. First we saw its wilder side as three storms hit in under a week. With high winds, then heavy rain and dark skies, it seemed winter was still at its worst. Now I sit here writing this in sunshine, with a cloudless sky throughContinue reading “Spring Fever”
Indoors And Out
All the time I hear of great ways care home staff engage residents with nature and the outdoors. One was a song trail around a care home garden, with song titles chalked on the ground at various points to encourage people to spend time outside following the trail. Many homes have bird tables or windowContinue reading “Indoors And Out”
Going Wild
People all turn to nature in different ways and will respond differently. But one common thread running through nature’s impact on wellbeing is the otherness of nature – how it becomes an opportunity to stand back from our own experiences, thoughts and needs, and to see differently. My last nature-themed blog post focused on aContinue reading “Going Wild”
Freedom Far Away
As winter sets in, it’s easy to feel less connected to nature – as going outside is cold and sometimes impractical, and even if you do venture out the countryside looks bare and lifeless. Turning instead to books about nature or about travelling in the great outdoors is a great way to immerse yourself inContinue reading “Freedom Far Away”
Living Memory
Why might trees have a particular part to play in remembrance? How and why do they help us commemorate? With Remembrance Day here once again, a striking example of trees used to commemorate war came to my mind. A while ago I heard about trees planted as a memorial to the World War One BattleContinue reading “Living Memory”
Opening Up Nature
The other day I came across a magazine feature about beetle research, inviting citizen scientists to record the beetles they see. Insect sightings and citizen science might seem unlikely themes for a wellbeing blog. But it struck me that taking part in research like this is another, different way of connecting with nature, with allContinue reading “Opening Up Nature”
Immerse Yourself
With International Forest Bathing Day falling on 12 September, I thought I would explore this intriguing idea, which for many people has become a way to improve wellbeing. The expression “forest bathing” is memorable and striking, but could also be confusing. Not only is there no need to get wet, but you don’t even haveContinue reading “Immerse Yourself”
Medley 