Nature for Mental Health

This article has been adapted from an article written by James Farrell 8/5/21

The theme of Mental Health Awareness Week this year is nature. The benefits of nature for mental wellbeing are well established, and promotion by the Mental Health Foundation rightly focuses on these. But this only tells part of the story. Nature connection is about more than good mental health and wellbeing.

If you want increased life satisfaction and happiness as well as good physical and mental health, it’s not enough to just be outside for a nice walk in the fresh air. Research shows there are 5 key actions you can take which build nature connection (see our diagram below). You need to find your way of noticing nature more – by observing its beauty, thinking about how it makes you feel, what it means to you, and what you could do for wildlife and nature.

Sounds good? It gets better. Wonderful as it is for nature to benefit us humans, science also shows that people who are nature connected are up to twice as likely to take action that benefits the environment. We give back to the natural world we are part of. We care for the things we love.