Finding Nature in the City: A Guide for Busy Mums

finding nature in the city

Feeling a need for nature?

As a busy mum, finding time to enjoy nature can seem impossible. Between juggling children, home and work, finding time to connect with yourself, let alone taking time to connect with nature can be decidedly challenging. This challenge can seem even greater if you live in the concrete jungle of a city.

However, it is important to make some time to get out and enjoy the natural world both for yourself and for your family and with a little effort, it is possible to connect with nature - even if you live in the city.

In this guide we will explore some of the reasons why it is so important to spend time in nature and think about some practical ways to find and connect with nature in urban areas.

Before we dive in though, let's think about some of the reasons why it is so important to find the time to find and enjoy and connect with nature. 

The importance of finding nature in the city

The main reasons that spending time in nature is so important are the tremendous physical, mental and emotional benefits that come from being in the natural world.

In fact, research has shown that physiologically, our minds and bodies need nature just as much as we need food, water and air.

You see, spending as little as two hours a week in the natural world can help to reduce your heart rate and blood pressure, reduce your stress hormones and increase your relaxation hormones.

It can help you calm down and unwind, lift your mood, improve your sleep, make you feel happy, boost your focus and concentration, improve your creativity and reduce feelings of depression, stress and anxiety.

That is a lot of benefits! But it does not stop there. Because, while just being in nature can help you, actually noticing, tuning in to and connecting with nature, enhances these benefits even more.

You see, when it comes to benefiting from nature, moments matter more than minutes alone.

You can be surrounded by nature but if you do not take the time to notice, appreciate and enjoy it, you may as well be in the middle of a bustling shopping centre without a single blade of grass or ray of sunshine in sight.

Where to find nature in the city

So, how can we find nature in the city? Well, finding natural spaces and nature in the city can be challenging, but it is certainly not impossible. It just requires a little time and resourcefulness to find.

Here are a few examples:

  • Parks and botanical gardens
  • City farms and community gardens
  • Wildlife and nature-based charities
  • Nature reserves and national parks
  • Neighbourhood gardens
  • Doorstep plant pots and bird feeders

A good place to start is by visiting the tourist information website for your town or city and looking at the ‘things to do in outdoors section’. They may even list special effects and activities available throughout the year.

Another way is to search for parks and public gardens, community gardens, city farms, private estates and private gardens that are open to the public, arboretums and botanical gardens.

You can also look for wildlife and nature-based charities such as the Wildlife Trust or RSPB, which will often have events and activities which can help put you in touch with local groups and nature spaces.

Also, look for your closest wildlife reserves or nature reserves, or natural or national parks. Here in the UK and Ireland, you can also search for Forestry Commission visitor centres, Coillte Ireland or Natural Heritage Wales.

Closer to home, take a walk around your local neighbourhood. Especially if you live near houses with gardens, you can often spot a nice variety of trees, flowers, butterflies, bees and songbirds.

If you live in an area without gardens, it is easy to create your own little nature nook on a balcony or doorstep, with a couple of plant pots and bird feeders.

How to connect with nature in the city

Just like in the countryside, once you have found a nice nature spot, there are all sorts of ways to connect with nature in the city.

Some great ideas include:

  • Nature walks
  • Mindful moments
  • Nature sit spots
  • Nature scavenger hunts
  • Nature journaling

You can even get your kids involved too and make it a fun family outing. Have the kids point out any trees, flowers, birds, bees, butterflies, or any other wildlife they see as you walk around and try to identify what you find.

Write notes or reflections about your nature time once you return, thinking about what you most enjoyed and why. You can even write poems about something beautiful, or sketch, paint or draw the wonderful things you see.

Remember - spending time in nature does not need to be complicated or hard. Even a few minutes enjoying a beautiful flower or lovely green tree can lift your mood, boost your spirits and bring smiles to a tired face.

Summary

In this article, we have looked at why it is important to take time out to enjoy nature, even as a busy mum when even self care can be challenging. We also looked at some of the best places to find nature spots and natural spaces in the city. Finally, we looked at some great activities to help you begin your nature connection journey.

Remember - take the time to explore green spaces and get to know the trees, plants and wildlife living an growing around you. By doing so, you will not only improve your own physical and mental health, but also fill your spirit with the wonder and beauty of the natural world.

If you enjoyed this tutorial and would love more ideas and inspiration for learning about and connecting to nature with your family, feel free to subscribe below and be the first to know about new articles and resources.

See you soon and happy nature walking,

Leila x

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Breathing the Magic of Nature - A Tool for Stress Relief

breathing the magic of nature - nature as a tool for stress relief

Nature as a tool for stress relief

Stress is a common experience for too many people in today's world - whether at home or at work. We all face negative, high-tension, stress-filled situations.

However, prolonged stress can have a negative effect on our mental and physical health - and this is where nature comes in.

You see, spending time in nature has been shown to have numerous benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving mood and boosting creativity.

In this blog post, we will explore how nature can be used as a tool to help with stress relief and mental health.

The benefits of nature for stress relief

Numerous studies across the world have now shown the benefits of spending time in nature when it comes to managing stress and improving your mental health.

For example, being in nature can lead to:

  • Lower stress and anxiety
  • Happier mood
  • Increased creativity
  • Mindfulness

So, let's see how this happens.

Why nature is useful for stress and anxiety

Both qualitative and quantitative studies have now proven that spending time in nature can directly help our bodies to relax and de-stress by promoting lower cortisol levels and increasing secretion of parasympathetic hormone.

Cortisol is the hormone responsible for the fight or flight response by helping our bodies to tense up ready for action. While parasympathetic hormone helps in switching off the sympathetic drive so we can rest and relax again.

Together, these two actions lead to reduce our feelings of anxiety and put us in a more relaxed frame of mind.

How nature makes you happy

Just as spending time in nature can reduce our feelings of stress and anxiety, it can also have a directly calming effect on our brain and improve our mood. This effect happens in two ways.

First, being in natural environments stimulates the release of endorphins, or  special chemicals, such as serotonin and melatonin that help us relax and make us feel good.

In addition, the body itself also releases these feel-good hormones in response to the excitement and joy we feel in the presence of a beautiful environment or when engaging in outdoor activities.

The beauty of nature for creativity

On top of the directly calming effects that being in nature has on our minds and bodies, being in nature can also helps us by enhancing our powers of creativity.

Because, we soon as we begin to relax and slow down, we also give our brains permission to relax and wander. This allows us to think about solutions to problems that may be bothering us, or consider new perspectives and ideas.

This helps us in an indirect way by letting us see ways out of our stressors - or to think of other ways we can handle them.

The art of mindfulness in nature

Finally, being in nature helps promote mindfulness - the feeling of connecting to and being part of our surroundings and environment, which helps us feel grounded and more content.

Because, being out in nature provides many opportunities for us to focus on and enjoy experiences in the present moment and momentarily forget about our troubles.

For example, when you are out in a natural environment, you cannot help by focus your senses to listen to bird song, smell a beautiful flower or feel the sun or wind in your face and the grass beneath your toes.

Spending time in nature

There are many ways you can try to bring more nature into your daily life, from walking, to active mindfulness, to gardening and outdoor activities.

Nature walks can be done anywhere, whether in your back garden, in a local park, or out in the countryside and they are a really simple and effective tool to help you relax and clear your mind.

Gardening is a great stress reliever too and working with plants, caring for them and watching them bloom and grow, also provides a sense of accomplishment and acievement.

As for outdoor activities... just choose the one you fancy! Hiking, camping, kayaking, cycling or horse riding are a few of the many, many examples. Just remember to relax and enjoy it - competitive activities may not be that effective at stress reduction!

Summary

As we have seen, being in nature can be a powerful tool for stress relief and improving our mental health and by enriching your life with outdoor activities and mindfulness, you can achieve some wonderful benefits.

So, take some time to breathe in the magic of nature and improve your wellbeing today... and don't forget, if you enjoyed reading this blog post, sign up below to recieve email notifications of new blogs and articles x

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Related links and useful resources

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External resources
 

Why being in nature won't help you de-stress

why being in nature won't help you de-stress

Why being in nature won't help you de-stress

Have you ever heard that being in nature is good for you and is one of the best things for stress? Well, what if I told you that this is not true and simply ‘being’ in nature is just about as good as not being in nature at all and in fact, being in nature won't help you de-stress.

Well, okay. Being in nature can help you de-stress, but only if combined with mindfulness and connection. 

Imagine for a moment that you are walking through a park. But you are wandering along with your eyes glued to the screen and your headphones in your ears. You flick glances occasionally this way and that around the screen, your thumbs absently scrolling, while your thoughts ruminate over worries and stresses, frustrations and anxieties. 

How would you feel by the end of that walk?

I’m guessing that by the end of this walk, you would be feeling just as stressed as you were when you started it. In fact you probably would not have been aware that you had just completed your walk and wondered how you arrived at the end of it!

How to de-stress in nature instead...

Now, imagine walking through that same park. But this time, with you phone safely out of the way in your pocket and your senses turned outwards. You turn your head towards the sounds you hear - bees humming, grasshoppers strumming and birds singing vibrantly in the trees. You breathe deeply, enjoying the inhaled perfume of roses, lilac and hyacinths, cut grass and recent rain. Joyfully, your eyes wander this way and that, delighting in the sunshine and clouds, the dappled leaves, the fluttering butterflies and the beautiful flowers.

How would you feel by the end of this walk?

I’m guessing you would be feeling pretty good. Definitely less stressed and perhaps more hopeful, energised and content.

These two walks were both in the same place, but the results are so different. This is because while doing the second walk, you were present and aware, using your senses and noticing all the amazing things happening around you. But during the first walk, your attention was directed inside your own head, leaving you unaware of what was going on.

I believe it is this mindfulness, which makes the difference in helping you de-stress when in the presence of nature. Not simply the act of being physically in nature. What do you think?

Why not try it the next time you are out and see if you notice a difference.

Goodbye for now and happy nature walking,

Leila x

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