Finding Nature

Back in March 2015, after a ‘Towards a Daily Dose of Nature’ event during a Nature & Wellbeing Summit in Bristol, I introduced the concept of nature as a ‘dose of nature’ through a graphic depicting ‘nature pills’. This was an exercise to encapsulate the vast benefits of nature on health and wellbeing in a format familiar to many – the drug packet. The idea was compelling; nature, with all its health benefits and positive ‘side effects’, seemed like it should be flying off the shelves. The image went a little viral, but I soon decided to stop using it. Why? Because nature is not a commodity to be consumed at our convenience; it’s not merely an adjunct to our wellbeing but rather a foundation upon which our wellbeing rests.

Copyright Miles Richardson 2015

Nature’s Role in Wellbeing: More Than Just a Dose

The notion of a ‘dose of nature’ frames nature much like any other consumable resource – something to be taken in measured amounts for human benefit. However, this perspective can diminish the profound, intrinsic connection we have with the natural world. Nature isn’t just beneficial for health in isolated “doses”; it’s fundamental to our existence and wellbeing. Nature connection isn’t a part-time relationship.

Connection to nature isn’t just about the frequency of visits or the time spent; it’s about fostering a deep, ongoing relationship. Nature manages our emotions, teaches resilience, and offers a space for reflection and recovery from life’s stresses. For instance, the compassion that comes from virtually embodying nature or the emotional regulation facilitated by being with nature speaks to a connection that transcends the transactional nature of a “dose”.

Reframing Nature’s Role in Healthcare

The biopsychosocial model, as proposed by Engel in 1977, was revolutionary in acknowledging the role of psychological and social factors alongside biological ones in health. However, it’s time to expand this model further so that it reflects the integral role nature plays in our health. Such a one health model suggests that our wellbeing is not just influenced by biology and psychology but is deeply intertwined with our connection to the natural world.

Healthcare models, particularly the biomedical approach, often treat health as merely the absence of disease, focusing on treatment rather than prevention or wellness. But integrating nature into health isn’t just about simply prescribing it like a medication; it’s about normalising nature in our daily lives – but perhaps nature prescriptions can be part of that. If so, it’s important to create a situation where nature is a core component of health education, policy, practice and daily living. This means to including nature’s role in medical training, promoting urban planning that prioritises green environments, and encouraging lifestyles where nature is not an escape but an integral part of our days.

This connection with nature isn’t just for personal wellbeing, it is also essential for sustainable living, where human and environmental health are seen as interdependent. We must move away from the idea of nature as a resource for wellbeing to understanding it as a basic need, akin to nutrition or social connections.

Writing this blog has left me feeling somewhat torn, we must tell the story of nature’s profound impact on our lives in ways that grab attention, while ensuring nature isn’t seen as just another option. It is our origin, our wellbeing, and our future. Rather than reduce it to a pill, better to elevate it to a pillar of health and life.

The Tune into Nature Music Prize aims to celebrate nature and we’ve been listening to entries since early January. The winners have now been announced and they and shortlist the have been featured on BBC Radio and in The Guardian. You can listen to the show on catch-up or try the playlist.

We regularly hear about the climate and biodiversity crises, but fostering hope and forging a new bond with nature is part of the solution. The entrants of the Tune into Nature Music Prize exemplify this, offering music that not only celebrates but also inspires hope through our connection with the natural world.

The competition welcomed entries from musicians and singer/songwriters aged 18-30 whose original work demonstrates a true collaboration with nature including sounds of the natural world. Two entrants, of very different styles, wowed the judges so much that they awarded the prize jointly.

Two entrants, of very different styles, wowed the judges so much that they awarded the prize jointly.

The first winning track, Dawn by Josephine Illingworth, 23, offered total engagement in the sound world of the mountain.

Josephine said “Dawn, Aurora is a piece made from sounds I collected over several weeks of sleeping alone in mountain huts across the Dolomites. Its lyrics are taken from entries left in the guestbooks of these huts by past visitors. It is a tapestry of the memories and experiences taking place across the mountains, and a call for us to see life and movement in things we may think are silent. I am so honoured to be chosen for the Tune Into Nature prize, and I hope that you can listen to the song, and that perhaps it touches you in some way”

The second winning track, Nightingale by Wildforms, aka Dan Cippico, turned mesmeric bird song into a brilliant drum n bass track.

Dan said “I’m excited that the interplay of nature and music is being celebrated by a prize such as this, and I’m so grateful for the opportunity it’s provided for my music – especially to be heard by such an established panel. My track is based upon a Nightingale that I recorded singing in the UK last Spring. It was my first time hearing the bird, and I was instantly inspired by its song, which to me, evoked the Jungle and Drum & Bass music genres that were a major influence on my musical upbringing.”

 Nine other artists were shortlisted for the Prize, including a range of genres from Hip Hop, Rock and Pop to Jazz, Folk and Classical, showing the universal appeal and relevance of nature as a source of inspiration and connection. Here’s a playlist of their and the winners’ tracks.

The BBC has supported the shortlisting and judging process with expertise from their music teams and presenters.  The final tracks were previewed across BBC Radio networks, including Radio 1, 6 Music and Radio 3, which has devoted a special edition of Unclassified to featuring the winners and shortlisted artists, with further airplay planned on Radio 2 and BBC Introducing shows.

Elizabeth Alker, presenter of Radio 3’s new music show Unclassified, said: “Unclassified is a show for artists who work across genres so I’ve really enjoyed being a judge for this prize which welcomes acts from a range of different disciplines. The future of the planet affects us all and it’s been a privilege to hear talented young composers make work which celebrates and advocates for the natural world. Our special ‘Tune Into Nature’ episode of Unclassified is a showcase of all the shortlisted acts and each one deserves to be heard on BBC Radio 3”.

Alongside backing from the University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group, the competition is backed by a collaboration of recognised environmental-loving organisations including Yorkshire Sculpture Park, The Conservation Foundation, EarthPercent and Sounds Right.

As part of the ‘Connected Treescapes‘ project we’ve been exploring the benefits of trees, their governance and how people value them. All to inform the design of future treescapes. The detailed research papers that focus on how trees support wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour are a little way off, but meanwhile we’ve summarised some of the essential findings in the graphic below.

You can see there’s a circle of connection…

• Access
• Engage
• Celebrate

…with each informing the next. Access brings opportunity to engage and build the deeper connection needed to get the maximum benefits for wellbeing and pro-nature behaviours. Sharing the stories leads to Celebration for yet deeper connection, but also to inspire others to Access and Engage.

There are some tips at each stage for getting the most benefits, on governance and for fostering the values and beliefs that bring a sense of place and community.

Design for inclusive access

Create accessible habitats for connection through creative design of trails and sit spots, spaces to get away, and spaces to be with others. Grow trees in and near where people live. Partner with community organisations to create opportunities for everyone to visit, notice, and enjoy nature.

Offer opportunities for engagement that nurture care and connection

Creative use of the pathways to nature connection to prompt rich sensory and emotional engagement with the beauty and wonder of nature. Explore personal, and cultural meanings of nature in past, present and future. Foster compassion through conservation and citizen science activities.

Celebrate stories, cycles, and connections

Share stories of community access and engagement and celebrate the growth and change of people’s relationships with nature. Events, communications, art and conservation successes can inspire others to access and engage.

In conclusion, the ‘Connected Treescapes’ project underscores the vital role trees play in our lives, not just as environmental assets but as integral components of our wellbeing and community identity. By focusing on access, engagement, and celebration, we create a virtuous cycle that not only enhances personal connections to nature but also fosters a collective commitment to environmental stewardship. Together, through thoughtful governance and community involvement, we can nurture a deeper appreciation and active participation in the life cycles and stories of our trees, building a greener, more connected future.

Thank you to Katapult for doing an excellent job of turning my concept sketch into reality.

By Dr Carly Butler

Following our previous handbooks, which offer an introduction to connecting people with nature, and helping organisations connect with nature, we are delighted to launch our newest handbook – the Nature Connected Communities Handbook, a guide for inviting communities to notice, engage and relate with the more-than-human world, for closer community-nature relationships.

There is growing activity and interest in nature-based community initiatives around the United Kingdom, which help people connect with each other, their local areas, and with the natural world. Such initiatives take many forms, and can include community events, rewilding a patch of grass in a suburban street, or developing a community garden, through to creating a greener city, and everything in between. As well as benefitting individual and community wellbeing and resilience, such initiatives can improve nature’s wellbeing and resilience by boosting biodiversity and creating more space for more nature. Crucially, these initiatives can also help strengthen people’s relationships with the rest of nature, improving nature connectedness which is associated with even greater benefits for personal, social and environmental wellbeing.

The handbook includes some practical guidance and inspiration with tips and case studies from those who are designing and delivering excellent green community initiatives and generously shared their expertise and experiences with us. We also link to some brilliant online resources and networks that offer support for help nature-based community projects. With improving human-nature relationships being at the heart of what we do in the Nature Connectedness Research Group at University of Derby, our particular focus for the handbook was on how such projects can spread and deepen community nature connectedness, by helping communities grow emotional and meaningful relationships with the rest of nature.

Research demonstrates how important an individual’s sense of nature connectedness is for their own wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviour. A focus on growing nature connectedness at a community level has benefits that go beyond the individual, supporting community wellbeing and larger scale pro-nature values and actions. When communities share a sense of feeling a part of the rest of nature, we edge closer to the social tipping points for transformational change in human-nature relationships.

As Aldo Leopold noted over 75 years ago, humans are part of a wider community of life, including non-human beings. A deeply nature connected community is one that recognises humans and more-than-humans are all citizens of shared common spaces, in which people and nature flourish together. Such communities are based on relationships and a sense of kinship between people and the rest of nature, with practices of love, care and respect between all lives at its core. The human members of nature connected communities:

* Understand that we are part of nature, not separate from it.

* Grow deeper emotional connections with animals, plants, and other living things.

* Engage with the natural world in ways that help all forms of life.

* See animals, plants, and the environment as members of our shared community.

* Work to improve the wellbeing of both people and nature together.

The Nature Connected Communities Handbook explores how green community initiatives can nurture relationships between humans and the rest of nature that support the recognition and celebration of the interconnectedness of humans and the rest of nature within communities. We were guided by the number one message from those organisations involved in initiatives on the ground: listen to communities. A successful community project has to reflect the needs and interests of communities themselves. As such, we offer the guidance as a basis for exploration and inspiration, for those communities interested in supporting emotionally meaningful relationships between humans and the rest of nature. The offerings will hopefully inspire reflection, discussions and playful questioning into the spaces between human and non-human community members.

Community as River

We draw on a metaphor of a community as river, that flows together as one. Springs are the source of nature-connected communities, the principles from which an initiative begins. Currents are how they move, the things that enable easy flow around obstacles and blockages within an initiative. Streams carry human and more-than-human community members together into closer relationship – these represent the modes of human-nature interaction that a community initiative can nurture. The three streams are Notice, Engage and Relate which flow progressively towards a recognition of communities as made up of both human and more-than-human citizens.

Springs: Principles of nature-connected communities that recognise the commonality of humans and the rest of nature.

Currents: Practical tips for connecting communities with nature and supporting movement and flow within projects and hubs, based on the experience and knowledge of those on-the-ground, delivering successful green community initiatives.

Streams: Design for a nature connected community by creating opportunities for people to notice nature, engage with nature using the pathways to nature connectedness, and relate with non-human community members.

Resources

The handbook comes with a collection of resources:

1. A workshop guide with some suggestions for exploring the ideas in the handbook with community groups
2. Urban Safari – a printable nature-noticing activity that can be used in any environment at any time of year focused on sensory, emotional and meaningful engagement with nature
3. Nature Connection Seeds – a printable deck of cards that can be used flexibly to design and develop nature connection projects and activities, with some suggestions for use
4. External resource hubs and networks – signposts to support and practical guidance for delivering green community projects.

Case Studies

As well as inviting those leading inspirational green community projects to share their top tips for creating nature-connected communities (the Currents), we gathered some case studies to showcase their innovative and successful initiatives. The case studies illustrate the power of gardens, woodlands, art, nature connection activities and green hubs to connect communities with nature, and emphasise the importance of listening to communities, co-design, inclusion, systems-based approaches, and bringing life into nature-depleted spaces.

Share your examples!

With nature-based community initiatives continuing to spread and grow, we want to collect examples of projects and community-based events and activities that help support nature connectedness so they can be shared to inspire others. Let us know of creative, fun, and powerful ways of encouraging communities to notice and celebrate the nature around them, to engage with the pathways to nature connectedness for sensory, emotional, aesthetic, meaningful and compassionate moments with nature, and to consider the perspectives and rights of the more-than-human. Whether it is an example you’ve seen elsewhere or something you’ve delivered yourself, please visit our webpage and add to the public database: https://www.natureconnectedness.net/nature-connected-communities

Thanks

Our thanks go out to the fabulous Open and Honest for design and Catherine Chialton for illustration, who have – once again – made the handbook look beautiful. Thanks also to those who attended our Nature Connected Communities workshop in May 2024 and contributed to the tips collated here, particularly those who shared their projects and initiatives. Thanks to Lara Pike for help with the workshop, and a huge thank you to Wates Family Enterprise Trust who funded and supported this work.

Too often, we are oblivious to interconnectedness and our relationship with nature. Over the last three years, me and over 100 leading experts from over 40 countries have been working on changes needed to halt biodiversity collapse. It was a massive undertaking, and the week before Christmas, 147 governments approved this report, and a second, by the UN founded Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The report covered the Transformational Change needed to tackle the root causes of the biodiversity crisis. The second report focussed on the ‘nexus’ between the multiple global crises we face.

The IPBES Nexus Report, was widely covered by major news outlets such as the New York Times and the BBC, but the Transformative Change Report received little similar attention. Looking at major news outlets I only found coverage in Le Monde and a little later, a column by William Hague for The Times (more on that in the box below). Broadly, the Nexus report shows that the global crises are interconnected. Secondly, the Transformative Change Report shows that the root cause, our unsustainable focus on the domination and consumption of nature, requires a fundamental shift in how people view and connect with the natural world. It is an essential story of our time.

The Unseen Crises of Human-Nature Connection

The current mainstream narratives for saving the planet include recycling and reducing emissions, for example by not flying, or stories of expensive schemes to capture carbon. But these IPBES reports tell us we mostly need to change how we think and feel.

When looking for solutions we tend to let more tangible single issues dominate. Climate change, with its increasingly dramatic impact and technical solutions receives over eight times more press than biodiversity loss. Yet, the Nexus report highlights the need to tackle the five interlinked global crises in biodiversity, water, food, health and climate change in unison. The key messages of the report captured how biodiversity is essential for food and water supplies, our health, and stability of the climate – yet the rapid loss of biodiversity continues, with wildlife populations plummeting by 73% since 1970. The Nexus report highlights how society’s fragmented approach exacerbates the problem. Continuing with compartmentalized, “siloed” responses and focussing on one element above another, will lead to greater negative outcomes and financial costs.

The Transformative Change Report offers a different, yet equally critical perspective. To deal with the biodiversity crisis, it calls for fundamental shifts in how people view and interact with the natural world. Challenging the pervasive, unsustainable relationship of domination and consumption of nature ingrained in society and institutions. This aligns with the views often held by Indigenous Peoples, advocating for practices that respect and are in harmony with nature. Relational worldviews that lie submerged beneath centuries of modernity. A situation that will persist if it goes unreported.

Both reports share a common theme: interconnectedness. The lack of coverage of the Transformative Change Report underscores the key messages of both reports, the need to appreciate interconnectedness and shift dominant societal views to recognise and prioritise human-nature connection because it can unite both human and nature’s wellbeing. The current unsustainable relationship with nature is so deeply embedded it is unseen by many and unchangeable by a few.

Even if the timing of the reports was not ideal, the oversight of this report reflects a lack of consciousness of our failing relationship with the rest of the natural world. It is also a missed opportunity to inform, to play a role in creating a positive vision of a flourishing future with nature. The report found that visions are fundamentally important to inspire transformative change and that there is a role for every person and organisation to create change.

However, rather than interconnectedness, our collective focus, both in policy and public discourse, has been predominantly on managing symptoms — restoring habitats, mitigating pollution and, overwhelmingly, reducing carbon emissions. The latter often a negative story of a life without things we are accustomed too. Yet, such actions are merely bandages on the deeper wound of our relationship with nature. This relationship, rooted in viewing nature as a resource for human use rather than a partner in our existence, perpetuates the very problems we seek to solve.

Even when there are calls to reconnect with nature, they often frame nature as a resource for human well-being, perpetuating a human-first mindset. True relational thinking doesn’t focus on a dose of nature being a ‘pill to pop’ for our wellbeing. It sees nature as interconnected with human life and fostering this interconnectedness unites the wellbeing of people and planet – and can even improve relationships between people.

Policy tends to focus on tangible features, reducing nature to terms like “green infrastructure,” taking the subjective decisions to focus on ‘objective’ physical and measurable aspects and thereby failing to inspire visions of human-nature connectedness. Even when included, the less tangible concept of nature connectedness is often overlooked. For instance, the UK Government’s Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity, considered and noted the importance of nature connectedness, but this was lost in policy summaries. Yet policy recognises that relationships do exist – marriage makes them tangible in law.

Understandably, the news focuses on reporting the (increasing) symptoms also. The lack of coverage of the Transformative Change Report is a stark reminder of the widely neglected crises of our disconnection from the rest of nature. A sustainable future is not just about saving habitats or reducing carbon footprints; it’s about rethinking our relationship with the natural world at a fundamental level. The second IPBES report shows that we must delve deeper into these narratives and make them more visible, presenting visions of integrating nature connection across the public realm and encourage more people to play a role in making them a reality.

Thanks to Dr Carly Butler for comments on a draft of this blog.