Why Connect with Nature

Regular contact with nature has many obvious benefits. It is linked with increased exercise which has positive impacts on levels of general fitness. Other benefits include increased exposure to Vitamin D, vital for good bone and immune health – and it is also linked with improvements in children’s eyesight as they exercise their eye muscles to look into the distance after long periods looking at screens and being indoors.

But there is a different type of positive impact available to us when we move from simple contact with nature to a deeper connection. We have contact with nature when we walk through the park or picnic under a tree – we might be enjoying the scenery or appreciating the brightly coloured flowers but we’re not really taking time to savour the experience – so we’re missing out on the full benefits.

Connection with nature means tuning into the senses (sight, smell, touch, sound and taste) noticing beauty, opening up to our emotional responses, finding meaning and cultivating a sense of compassion. Researchers at University of Derby devised the Nature Connection Index (NCI) to measure levels of connection with nature and studies showed that people with a high connection are 1.7 times more likely to report their lives as being purposeful, meaningful and worthwhile.

Further studies show that Nature Connections leads to other improvements in health and wellbeing, including improved sleep, reduced stress and a great sense of vitality, meaning and purpose.

How we can help

Other Ways to Walk cards, and journal are designed and created by Rachel, drawing on years of experience of facilitating activities in the outdoors - so they really work. They are different to the generic advice that proliferates social media, because they are rooted in evidence, then brought to life in a unique way with an artists view on the world.

If you want to discover a deeper connection with nature and gain a sense of vitality and purpose then join me for a Nature Fix and learn more about the research, the techniques and the science behind it all. You’ll find the whole back catalogue of journals, guides, videos and sound recordings to dip into at your leisure.

There’s no commitment to join a regular zoom meeting or keep up with a course – just lots of beautiful resources and invitations to connect with nature in simple easy ways, and tips for each month to keep you on track. Before you know it you’ll be connecting with nature every time you leave the house – there’s always a corner of sky, a twinkle of dew or a fluttering leaf, even in the most urban area – you just need to know how to look.