Most people would recognise the huge benefits from getting out into green spaces over the past year, especially during the peak lockdowns, but surprisingly few of us have actually taken part in any nature activities.
New data from the People & Nature Survey for England has revealed that while 90 per cent of adults agree that natural spaces improve mental health, only 8 per cent have participated in organised wildlife activities since coronavirus restrictions began.
Compared to a pre-pandemic baseline, visits to parks during July and August 2020 increased by 51 per cent in east Herts, and now experts are encouraging people to find other opportunities to get in touch with the natural world all around them.
Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust people and wildlife officer Dave Willis said: “We can all think of natural moments which relax and inspire us. For many people, the months of lockdown have led to a realisation that the natural world makes us feel better.
"Evidence has shown that brain wave patterns, blood pressure and levels of the stress hormone cortisol can all reduce when we interact with nature. Spending time with nature is so powerful that simply looking at images of plants and animals can achieve the same result."
Sarah M Grace, a psychotherapist and counsellor based in Welwyn Garden City, said: “How marvellous is the world of nature; butterflies, birds, bugs and wild flowers all around us. Walking in it, engaging with it, even taking care of it helps to ground us. These activities can help us release endorphins and burn up hormones. All this helps us to be more in tune with ourselves.
"We are simple beings yet our needs can become complex, because as things go wrong and we adapt, we create a new view of the world. Allowing ourselves to feel, rather than fill our time, is most important. Meditation, especially out in nature, is a good way to find this space. It is good for our bodies and minds and brings them into alignment.
"Untangling our fears and identifying anxiety is helpful. Stress is part of this: good stress drives us, but too much overwhelming, negative stress is harmful to our mind and bodies. Finding space in nature to reconnect with it and ourselves has been a beautiful find through such tough times.”
Martin Ketcher, British Trust for Ornithology representative for Hertfordshire and a member of Herts Bird Club, said: “One thing that anyone can do is to look in more detail at the everyday things in the natural world, maybe the colour and structure of even the most common flowers or some of the insects that will be visiting flowers.
"By looking more carefully and deeply, the true beauty of some of the tiny things in the natural world become more apparent and this might lead to people starting to identify what they are looking at. For those who can already identify birds, mammals, butterflies and other insects, almost anything from the natural world, the local record centre is always interested in receiving records.
"This may give a purpose to looking at the natural world as well as contributing to our knowledge of the abundance and distribution of species which in turn may help inform decisions to help their conservation. Obviously it is useful to build some idea of what to record.
"Simply sending in records of buttercups would be of limited value but by looking more closely at buttercups people hopefully would learn to distinguish between the various types of buttercup.”
Wildlife expert Sean McMenemy, director of Herts-based Ark Wildlife, added: "Slowing to the pace of nature and its natural rhythms is greatly beneficial and contrasts starkly with our fast paced digital existences with all its distractions. Time spent in nature is never wasted.
"An activity like birdwatching could even inspire a new found interest in wildlife. Whether this entails stepping outside to watch the birds, or observing them through a window, the act of appreciating surrounding wildlife is both a learning opportunity and a chance to have fun, and step away from your usual daily tasks.”
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