Column: Natural world improves health and well-being
By David Suzuki
A major initiative in the U.K. has confirmed what many studies have found: spending time in nature is good for you!
The government-supported project helped more than 8,000 people in England connect with nature through outdoor walks, community gardening, tree planting and wild swimming. According to the Guardian, “The results showed that after taking part in the schemes, people’s feelings of happiness and of life being worthwhile jumped to near national averages, while levels of anxiety fell significantly.”
The “Green Social Prescribing Project,” cited as the largest of its kind, worked with people in need as identified by doctors and mental health and social workers. Participants reported significantly increased happiness, life satisfaction and feelings that life is worthwhile, and decreased anxiety. Results also determined that “green prescriptions” were cost-effective compared to other forms of treatment.
While this project was for people identified as having mental health needs, numerous studies show that spending time in nature is good for everyone’s mental and physical wellbeing. Being in nature can lower anxiety and improve mood, cognition and memory.
The world would be in better shape if more people — especially politicians and corporate executives — showed interest in and curiosity about the natural world. It’s not just that they’d be happier and sharper, they’d also have a chance to learn about what really matters.
Our economic and governance systems are based on a stunningly narrow perception of the world, putting people and profits at the centre of existence and ignoring much of what makes good health and life possible.
It’s wonderful just to experience the joy of being in nature — to walk in a forest, swim in a river or watch the sun set over the ocean. But once you delve into nature’s marvels, you see how interconnected everything is. From the complexity of a fruit fly’s eyes to the enormity of the carbon cycle, we can “see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower,” as poet William Blake wrote.
Unfortunately, many of those we elect to govern our affairs seem incapable of understanding anything beyond their preoccupations. They believe they must “grow” the economy to keep getting elected every few years, so they favour those who plunder the ocean, frack landscapes and dig up and burn fuels that are propelling us to climate chaos. They give no thought to time beyond the next campaign cycle or space beyond that which can be exploited for financial gain, no regard for the cascading effects of our actions throughout the biosphere.
Look at electoral campaigns. Talk rarely goes beyond superficial statements about jobs, the economy and other human pursuits. Limited environmental policy platforms mostly focus on economic concerns. The leading political issue in Canada’s impending election campaign is the carbon levy, an effective government tool to reduce emissions!
The closest some candidates get to nature is riding a golf cart around a manufactured course. Many politicians, especially, appear to be shallow, unhappy people who harbour the false notion that power and money will bring them contentment. Some genuinely care about their country and constituents, but they’re hampered by an outdated system and are unwilling to consider better ways.
If some of these politicians and corporate heads were to take the time to immerse themselves in nature or learn about its many wonders — about the astonishing complexity of life and natural systems — they’d be less willing to harm the biosphere on which we all depend. They’d also be happier.
It’s sad, though, that not only do they fail to let the beauty and intricacy of this world and its biosphere inspire them, they also ignore increasingly severe scientific warnings about the consequences of their policies and actions. One terrifying example: A new study finds that four pillars of climatic stability, essential for human survival, are on the verge of collapse: the West Antarctic ice sheet, Greenland ice sheet, Amazon rainforest and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, which regulates climate, precipitation and nutrient flows through the Atlantic Ocean, the countries surrounding it and beyond.
The study notes that if one pillar falls, the rest will follow, because they’re all inextricably interconnected.
This world is beautiful and phenomenal. We need a bigger, all-encompassing understanding of it to guide us as we enter increasingly dangerous territory.
David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with David Suzuki Foundation Senior Writer and Editor Ian Hanington.
Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.
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