The Green Fix on why we all need to get outside more
On access to nature, or, a sneaky lifehack to improve human and planetary health
I’m on day 4 of self-isolation as I write this.
But you know, as soon as I knew I had to isolate I thought at least it will be in a house with a big garden.
We know that being outside is good for us.
And we crave having access to outdoors, even if we keep ourselves strapped to our screens on makeshift desks and try to keep the restlessness at bay with another Netflix binge.
I don’t want to sentimentalise nature. We don’t need to go bounding through the meadows. But the fact is that we need nature in order to stay alive. When we are near green spaces we breathe better, feel better, and even live longer.
And quite frankly, I feel like a hypocrite being an environmentalist from behind a laptop screen.
We need nature more than it needs us. When nature is sick, we are sick. When the forest burns, we choke.
So for the good of our health and that of future generations, let’s build a society that structures its laws, culture and business practices around the protection and restoration of nature.
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What’s Going On?
Events and protest took place around the world for International Women’s Day.
Relevant: Why are women more impacted by the effects of the climate crisis?Equivalent of COVID-19 emissions drop needed every 2 years to stay to safe limits of global heating.
Related: How far did CO2 emissions drop during lockdown?Nobody is talking about ‘global warming’ anymore, report finds.
Useful: Why does it matter how we talk about the climate crisis?China’s plant-based industry is growing, finds a new report by Good Food Institute.
Relevant: A short history of veganism around the world.European Parliament backs law to hold businesses accountable for their impact on human rights and the environment.
Relevant: How are corporations driving climate change?
Focus On… why we need access to nature
For someone that works in environmental sustainability, I don’t spend much time in nature.
Partly because I think I don’t have time. I always seem to be on a screen doing urgent stuff.
And because I, like many recent graduates, moved to a city for work, where accessing nature means a 20-minute walk just to get to the nearest park, and paying for a home with a garden is a luxury.
Why aren’t we spending time in nature?
It’s not only us, I know. We’re just the product of a Western culture that’s been speeding up for decades. Working longer for fewer rewards, resting less and squeezing ourselves into tiny flats in sprawling cities.
Who has time for a walk in the park when you’re busy trying to work your way out of a broken economic system?
We’re on a one-way street to burnout. But that’s for another newsletter.
The always-on always-connected culture means the things that most contribute to our wellbeing: time for friends, family, hobbies, getting outside or literally just sleeping - have to fit around the periphery.
As well as making us ill, being underpaid, overworked and stuck in urban jungles limits the access we have to nature. It has become a privilege to live near one of the ever-shrinking green spaces - and even if we can, we don’t have time to reap the benefits.
Having safe accessible green spaces is an equality issue: people from black and minority backgrounds or low incomes are even less likely to have a green space within 5 minutes of their home.
What is it important to spend time in nature?
Personal and planetary health are connected. The less nature and green spaces we have, the more stressed-out and disconnected from the natural world we become.
In a highly scientific survey I did on my Instagram Stories, 98% of respondents said that nature has a positive impact on their mental health. When explaining why, a common theme was obvious:
Being in nature relaxes us, reduces stress, and even reduces our risk of heart disease.
We already know spending time in nature is good for us and good for the planet. We’re just stuck in an economic system and a culture that doesn’t let us put it first - it’s hard to find the resources to protect the planet at the end of a 10-hour work day.
How do we fix this?
We need to reprioritise to put nature and wellbeing at the heart of our lives.
A burnt-out, disconnected generation can’t change the world. A society that is expected to work 40+ hours a week just to get by doesn’t have the time or energy to look after the planet, take part in politics or help the community - we can’t even look after ourselves.
Sustainability isn’t just about the environment. It’s about creating a whole way of life that can be maintained indefinitely.
No matter how many times we clap ourselves on the back for spending the entire day huddled behind a screen because we were ‘super productive’ (which, coincidentally, I am exemplifying right now), we can’t keep that up.
But it’s not just on us to change. No number of pretty words about nature will make it easier or more affordable for me to move to a green area or change the economic system.
We need policies to guarantee people equal access to nature, and that access must be abundant. We need to build nature-rich cities through conservation, rewilding and environment-centred design.
And we need a drastic shift in our working culture to one that doesn’t trap people into working overtime and a relentless 24/7 productivity cycle, but allows us to spend more time cultivating our health and that of our community and environment.
We need to let nature in: into our politics, our buildings, our cities and our lives. We need to rewild to survive.
So Now What Do I Do?
LEARN MORE
Read: How does nature benefit our mental health?
Read: How do we bring wildlife back into our cities?
Pre-register for a community wellbeing workshop at the SDG Festival of Climate Action on the 25th-26th March.
TRY SOMETHING NEW
Try some of these 20 ways to bring nature into your home.
Start a local community garden (or join an existing one!)
Test out the slow living lifestyle.
CHANGE THE SYSTEM
Sign this petition by the #RestoreNature campaign for a strong EU law to make nature restoration a legally-binding target.
Contact your local councillors to demand better access and conservation of local green spaces - you could send this WHO action guide for policymakers.
Join the upcoming Global Climate Strike on the 19th March!
If you have a topic you want the Green Fix to cover, fill out this feedback form & tell us your idea!
Stay in the loop
I share updates on the Green Fix, polls and additional resources on Instagram @coffee_and_casstaways. You can also say hi on Twitter.
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