Five top tips for connecting with nature  

Spending time connecting with nature can improve our health and wellbeing. From lifting our mood to supporting our physical health, there are so many benefits, plus it’s free! It doesn’t take much to start your journey, whether you are going outside or bringing the outdoors in. Here are our five top tips for connecting with nature each day:

1. My favourite way to connect with nature is by listening, I find it an immersive way to explore the natural world. Go outside, take a few minutes to stop and listen to what you can hear around you. Notice all the different sounds that you can hear. How many are there? Take your time, listen to the quality of each sound. Tune into the furthest sound you can hear, and then the closest, the loudest sound and the quietest.  If you can hear birds, see how many different species you can hear. If you can’t go outside, try listening from your open window. You can also bring nature inside by playing nature sounds or music online (some examples are Relaxing Meadow with Ambient Nature Sounds, Wildflowers, and Mountain View or The Living Mountain Album)

2. Notice the weather – I love to talk about the weather. It is always changing and can affect our experiences on a daily basis. Whether it’s rain or shine, being out and embracing the weather makes me feel awake and alive. The warmth of the sun or the chill of the wind against my skin, looking up at the sky and watching the cloud formations, or listening and watching to how the plants are affected are all great ways to stimulate the senses. If I can’t make it outside that day, I can watch the weather from the window, cloud spot or listen to how the rain falls from inside.

3. Be curious about nature – when I’m outside, I often like to stop and focus on the things that spark my interest. This can be one of the plants, trees, or birds. When you are out and notice something interesting, think about why it might behave the way that it does. Why does a tree branch grow at a 90-degree angle? How are the birds communicating with each other? If you are curious about learning the species of a plant, you can use apps such as Seek, Merlin, or Plant ID to identify it. You can also do this by focusing on the things that interest you, out of the window, a bird feeder or in digital images of nature. Whatever sparks your curiosity, there are thousands of ways to learn from and be interested in nature.

4. Schedule it in – I know that spending time connecting with nature is important for our health, but I often prioritise other things in my schedule instead. I’ve started putting time in the calendar for going out or connecting to nature, which gives me permission to stop what I am doing to take time out. To do this, find a regular time that suits you, perhaps first thing, or on a tea break to just sit and observe. Start small – it doesn’t have to be for long. Keeping to a regular schedule will build the habit over time.

5. I like to keep a nature diary, noting down the different things that I see, hear and experience in nature throughout the different seasons of the year. Sometimes I note down how I feel in response to things that have experienced in the natural world. A nature diary doesn’t have to be written or typed; you can make a visual diary, taking photos or sketching or perhaps make voice notes or sound recordings. The diary can be just for yourself, or you might like to share images or descriptions with friends. I find it interesting to look back and notice the variety throughout the year, and the year-on-year variation. For example, the date that I hear the first Cuckoo call each Spring. You can get your own copy of the Think Health Think Nature Almanac by visiting your local library.

There are so many ways you can connect with nature, both inside and outside your home. Take some time to pause, breathe and benefit from connecting with the outdoors, and feel free to adapt any of these tips to make them your own.

Gavin and Lucy are Green Health Link Workers on the Nature prescriptions project. If you are registered with a GP in Badenoch and Strathspey and would like more tailored support on connecting with nature day-to-day, you can refer yourself to Nature prescriptions by speaking to your GP or visiting the medical practice website.

Improving health and wellbeing is part of the #Cairngorms2030 programme, made possible by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players.