RECENT TALK ON NATURE AND WELLBEING

I recently gave a talk on ‘The Impact of Nature on Health and Wellbeing’ to a group of architects and designers. Studies have shown that we (human beings) are significantly happier in green or natural habitats. Not only does nature have a beneficial affect on our mood, it also helps to decrease stress, blood pressure and heart rate, having a calming effect that can last long after we leave the natural environment we have been exploring. My aim was to hopefully inspire a few people into leaving their desks in their lunch hour and taking a walk in a local park, with a view to improving their work-life balance (and hopefully their mental and physical health as well). We also discussed ways of incorporating these findings into their design work for clients, using the five senses as a way of thinking about the built environment.

I hope I have made at least a few people think about our interactions with nature differently and with a positive effect. I’m happy to give the talk again to anyone who might be interested!

Further reading: The Nature Fix by Florence Williams is an excellent starting point.

Note: the image is of the Barbican Conservatory - an excellent way to get some urban green on a grey February day! Open to the public most Sundays.