{"id":33306,"date":"2021-05-07T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-07T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/library\/?p=33306"},"modified":"2024-08-13T14:28:01","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T13:28:01","slug":"mental-health-awareness-week-connect-with-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/library\/mental-health-awareness-week-connect-with-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health Awareness Week – Connect With Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cNature is our great untapped resource for a mentally healthy future\u201d <\/p>\n\u2013 Mental Health Foundation<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Has the link between nature and mental health ever been more evident? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After over a year where many of us have been tied to our homes, a real hunger to explore nature has evolved across the country. As indoor attractions remained closed, nature reserves became visitor hotspots. Websites which offered wildlife webcams had huge influxes of visitors. Natural England\u2019s new People and Nature Survey<\/a> (April-June 2020) revealed that almost nine in ten of surveyed adults reported being in nature made them ‘very happy<\/em>‘. Four in ten adults are spending more time in nature now than before the coronavirus pandemic. Health and wellbeing were among the main reasons given for getting outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

To find out more, visit the Mental Health Foundation website<\/a> and spend a little time this week connecting with nature. It’s a topic close to our hearts. We touched on it last year with our blog about the beneficial effects of listening to birdsong<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gardening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cThe glory of gardening: hands in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body, but the soul\u201d<\/p>\nAlfred Austin<\/strong> (Poet Laureate)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

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Jack (4) and Samantha (9) potting up a plant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Before the pandemic I had never grown a vegetable. We\u2019d grown strawberries and raspberries for many years… But we\u2019d never attempted to grow anything you wouldn\u2019t serve with cream. The pandemic presented us plenty of time to spend with our two young children and we spent a lot of time planting, weeding and watering the vegetable patch. We had sweetcorn, runner beans, courgettes, radishes, tomatoes and herbs, all growing in pots and beds. It became an enjoyable and rewarding past time for the whole family. There was definitely some trial and error and it helped looking things up in a good book or online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Books and e-books<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re interested in developing your gardening skills, there are a range books and e-books available from the library:<\/p>\n\n\n\n