OLCreate: PUB_9149_1.0: Stage 2: Get to know Nature along Green Routes

Stage 2: Get to know Nature along Green Routes

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The multiple conical heads of a Teasel Plant are backlit by sunlight highlighting the myriad of spikes on each head.

By the end of Stage 2, you will have:

Learnt more about the benefits of nature connection for wellbeing.
Developed skills in nature mindfulness.
Tried 3 different ways of increasing nature connection.

Introduction

If you completed the Stage 1 section: Meet Nature along Green Routes, you will already have met lots of nature in York's green spaces. This stage is about getting to know it a little better, by spending time connecting with nature. Psychological connection with nature is different from physical contact with nature. It is about our interaction with nature, and the quality of that connection, rather than simply the time spent being in nature.

We will start by looking at why this is important. You will find out about the research evidence around the impact of nature connection on wellbeing.

Then we will explore some of the ways that can increase nature connection. Nature connection is something that we can work on and grow. We are much more likely to do that if we enjoy what we are doing. We are all different and like different things, so in this stage we will introduce, and have a go at, a variety of different activities that have been shown to increase nature connection. These are nature mindfulness, nature photography, arts and craft, celebrating nature and deeper knowledge of nature.

The Benefits of Nature Connection

Our mental wellbeing is described as a combination of feeling good, as well as having meaning in our lives, good relationships and accomplishments. It is really important, not just because we feel good, but also because research shows that there is an association between higher levels of wellbeing and living longer.

You may have already noticed that being outside, or noticing nature, can help improve how you feel. Getting closer to nature, and noticing more, are all part of connecting with nature. Our relationship with nature includes how we think and feel about nature, as well as how we experience it. When we have a close relationship with nature we care for it and seek it out, and nature in turn supports our wellbeing.

There is lots of research about how nature is good for us and makes us feel better. To dip into some of that research, and the impact that nature has, try reading our soundbites document 'How Nature Helps.'

Pausing for Nature

Sometimes we are so busy that we have to stop in order to let nature in. Sometimes we might not be physically busy, but our brains are still busy underneath it all. Sometimes this means that we miss a lot of the amazing and beautiful things in nature around us. A good way to demonstrate this, and to improve your nature connection, is to have a Nature Pause. This simply means to stop and take a moment to appreciate the world around you, wherever you are.

Mindfulness is where you purposefully pay attention to the present moment. It involves observing your thoughts, feelings, sensations, and the world around you as they happen, rather than getting lost in thoughts about the past or future. The Nature Pause is a mini mindfulness session noticing nature. People often report feeling a sense of calm and their shoulders lowering after just a few minutes. You might feel a little odd to start with, particularly if it's not something you have done before, but stick with it and see how you feel afterwards. If it is something that works for you, then try and build the practice into your daily life.

When you are next out on a walk or cycle on 'Your Green Route,' look for somewhere that you can stop for a few minutes. This might be a bench or under a tree. If it is difficult to get out and about you can do this by simply looking out of the window or at your front door. You can also do this virtually, try listening to this recording of the sounds of Rowntree Park, or there are many virtual walks online.

TRANSCRIPT_START:.:Rowntrees Park Birdsong

Various birdsong

TRANSCRIPT_END

It can be useful to guide yourself through a pause, doing each of the following points in turn:

Ground yourself - put your feet firmly on the ground, or sit comfortably.
Allow yourself to stop thinking about anything other than the present moment.
Take some slow deep breaths in and out, through your nose if you’re able to.
Slowly take notice of the nature around you.
Think about each of your senses in turn. What can you hear, see, smell, taste and feel?
Finish by thinking about how you feel about the nature that you have noticed. Do you feel sad, happy, calm, awed, inspired?

There are lots of things you might notice as you move through your senses. Think about colours, patterns, shapes, notice what is moving and what is still. Look down by your feet and up into the sky. If you close your eyes, sounds are often the first things that you notice. If there are lots of human noises around you, take a moment to note them, and then listen deeper into what's beyond them. Their might be birdsong, or insects, rain drops, leaf fall or the murmur of the breeze. Think about what you can smell; this might be the rain, damp earth or flowers and plants. Taste and scent are closely related. Try opening you mouth, to see if you can taste anything in the air? Think about what you can feel on your skin; this might be movement like a breeze, or coolness and warmth from shadows and sunshine.

If you are able to, build up a practice of pausing in the same place on 'Your Green Route'. Take time to notice how it changes with the seasons, what has gone, what is new?

Nature Pauses are something that we have built into our activities at York Bike Belles. On our weekly group Nature Walks and Rides we stop and pause for a while. Have a listen to a guided nature pause.Audio player: wood-nature-pause-example.mp3

TRANSCRIPT_START:.:Rowntree Park Woods Nature Pause transcript.

Rowntree Park Woods are a really peaceful part of the Park and an ideal spot for a nature pause. A nature pause is when you pause for a few minutes and mindfully take notice of nature around you. It's been proven to improve your health and well-being.

Let's try it now. Sit on a bench or log in the woods, and take a few deep breaths.

Breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth.

What can you see, hear or smell, and how do you feel in this moment?

And here’s our walking group again after enjoying a nature pause:

“So just gathering everybody back together, and in that moment of inner silence that we had, what was it that, what was it that people started to notice?”

“Birdsong”

“And what, does anybody know what kinds of birds that we could hear?”

“Wood pigeon, and I thought it was a Chiff Chaff, but I wasn’t 100% certain. It was chattering away, there was 2 of them over….”

“Over on that side?”

“Over on this side, smaller birds by the sound of it”

“I heard robin, and the wren and the magpie”

“Yes”

“What was the real, there was a real noisy one over there?”

“That was the magpie”

“Was that the magpie, it was like a chittery sort of a ….”

“Yes. All I could hear is that one, you know the one that you can still hear now,(chittering noise) which is the wren. Anybody notice anything else?”

“Its quite nice to hear the children playing, I know that that is a manmade sound, but compared to when we come and everybody's at school and they are not here its, it is nice to have a little bit of a background noise and know that the park is being well used.”

TRANSCRIPT_END

Many of our volunteers and participants have been surprised by the benefits of something so simple, and built it into their daily lives. You can read about one of our participants, Fran, in this story Fran's experience and how she is using ‘pauses’ to connect with the world around her.

Other ways to pause in nature are to set aside some time to go cloud gazing, star gazing or the Japanese practice of forest bathing. If you are short on time, there is good evidence that just noticing 3 good things in nature regularly, improves wellbeing and makes you feel happier, more satisfied with life and that life is worthwhile.

Nature Photography

Taking photos of the nature you see around you can be another way to be mindful in nature. Nature photography can encompass large vistas and landscapes. It can be birds, plants and other creatures, or small details of them in close up. You can use the camera on your phone or any other camera type. It does not take lots of experience in photography to have fun and connect with nature through photography, but there are ways to make your photographs more visually appealing.

One of the ways to do this is to use gridlines to divide what you can see into thirds. If you have a camera phone go to settings, select camera then grid, and toggle this on. The gridlines will appear on your screen when you're in camera mode. Read about how to use thirds to make a difference to your photos in our Guide to Nature Photography, along with lots of other tips on how to take great nature photographs.

Print them out, hang them on the wall, or have them as the wallpaper on your phone. You could add your photographs to your nature journal, or create a digital album. Do you know someone else who likes nature and perhaps might like to see your photographs? What is great about the modern world is how easy it is to share photographs you like with the people around you who might like them too.

Nature Art and Creativity

Connecting with nature can be a way to be more creative and playful. From creating art with natural items such as leaves, cones, sticks and petals, to having a nature scavenger hunt, or spotting the alphabet in nature, there are many ways to be creative in nature. If you decided to start a nature journal in the first stage, then this can be a good place to add natural items, sketches, words or poems.

Or, if you feel less confident in your creativity, it can be about appreciating nature in art created by others. From the birch forests of Gustav Klimt, to the flowers of Georgia O'Keeffe, or the birds of local artist Mark Hearld. If you prefer words there are lots of anthologies of nature poems, or beautiful books like The Lost Words.

We have suggestions and ideas for nature activities for you to try in our Nature Activities Handout.

Celebrations

Another way to connect with nature is to celebrate 'events' in nature. You could follow existing nature based traditions in your culture, borrow some from another culture, or create your own new ones. You might like to celebrate the first day of Spring or the solstices. You could celebrate the first snowdrops, crocuses or daffodils that you see. You could choose a Japanese tradition and have a picnic under a flowering cherry blossom. Some journeys really should be cause for celebration, like the incredible arrival of migratory butterflies such as the Red Admiral and Painted Lady all the way from Africa. You might choose to celebrate the turning colours of the leaves in Autumn, or have a conker competition. And at the end of the year you could celebrate Winter by bringing some evergreens into your house, or by watching the Leonid meteor shower in November.

Check out our Nature Wellbeing Calendars which contain lots of ideas on the different events that you could choose over the year. To celebrate something doesn't have to mean throwing a party, it can be a very personal celebration of something that means a lot to you, something to look out for and look forward to each year. If you choose to celebrate a first sighting, do remember to write down the date you saw it. Then you will know when to look for it next year, but also over the years you might see a trend in how our environment is changing.

Knowledge

Some people feel more connected to nature by knowing more about it, beyond being able to identify a species. This might be about where and when you can expect to find some of the species that you have learnt to identify. It might be about where they came from, and how they survive. It might be about the folklore and stories surrounding a species, or how it got it's name. Species with lots of stories include Holly, Elder, Ash, Dandelion, Crocus and Lesser Celandine. There is a wealth of information on the internet about all sorts of species, such as this Folklore and Mythology article from The Woodland Trust.

Activities

Activity 1: Your Green Route - Nature Pause

On 'Your Green Route' find a spot to pause, and notice. Have a go at guiding yourself through a mindfulness pause, paying attention to all of your senses and your feelings. Write down what you noticed in your journal or note pad. If you are not able to get out and about, try it at a window or virtually. Or notice 3 good things in nature every day and write these down.

Activity 2: Get Creative

Have a look at the worksheets in the photography and art sections above. Have a think about what you would like to do. Your challenge for this activity is to create something on the word 'nature'. This could be a poem, a drawing, or a collection of other people's nature based creative work that you like. It could be photographs of patterns that you find in nature that form the letters of the word, or you could make the letters from things that you find such as twigs, stones and leaves. Or it could be that you use these things to create an artwork, like a mandala, or a mobile.

Activity 3: Celebrate

Have a think about what makes you happy in nature. Thinking about this, or the suggestions under 'Celebrations', is there a tradition connected to something that you like, or could you create one? Think about how you will celebrate it. Do you want to do this on your own or with others? Read up about your chosen tradition, celebration or event. Why does it happen? Write down on your calendar when you are going to celebrate, if it is a set date or time of the year. Plan your celebration.

Activity 4: Your Green Route - knowledge

Choose one of the things that you have learnt to identify on 'Your Green Route'. Look up about how it lives, where it comes from, how it got it's name, has it been used by humans to make something? Are there any stories or folklore about it? Add it to your map, journal or notebook. Even better, teach someone else what you have learnt.