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As someone who\u00a0works\u00a0in wellbeing<\/a>\u00a0but thrives on\u00a0wandering off on an adventure<\/a>\u00a0any chance I get, I often find myself\u00a0doing an awkward\u00a0balancing act between two very different worlds. In the adventure world, I\u2019m surrounded by people whose horizons are huge, who spend a lot of time outdoors and have come to care deeply about nature and the problems it\u2019s facing. However,\u00a0my\u00a0work\u00a0often takes me right to the other end of the scale.<\/p>\n One of the things we do at\u00a0Recreate-U<\/a>\u00a0is help people\u00a0get\u00a0outside and into nature, connecting with others and being physically active through things like allotment gardening and walking groups.\u00a0When our clients first come to us, a lot of them say\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0the first time in years, if not ever, that they\u2019ve spent any time outdoors or in green\u00a0spaces.\u00a0They\u2019re\u00a0often\u00a0completely disconnected from nature.<\/p>\n Interestingly, a lot of them also say that the session was the high point of their week and they wish they\u00a0did spend\u00a0more time outdoors.\u00a0When we ask them why they don\u2019t, a few things stand out.<\/p>\n There are\u00a0some\u00a0obvious reasons, like living in places that are 98% concrete\u00a0or where\u00a0public transport consists of one bus per hour if\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0lucky.<\/p>\n But there are plenty of\u00a0less visible\u00a0reasons\u00a0too. At first, these\u00a0like to disguise themselves\u00a0as lack of interest.\u00a0Sometimes, it genuinely is.\u00a0But\u00a0very often,\u00a0as we get to know people better, the truth comes out.<\/p>\n A lot of them have never had a connection with nature.\u00a0From childhood on, the outdoors just wasn\u2019t ever something they were exposed to\u00a0or encouraged to engage with. They feel they don\u2019t belong, don\u2019t feel it\u2019s for people like them, haven\u2019t got the right equipment (even if it\u2019s just a waterproof coat), worry about getting lost, are scared to go out alone, lost their confidence after an illness or injury, have two jobs, three kids and an elderly parent to look after and don\u2019t have five minutes together to think about\u00a0what they need themselves, and so on and so on.<\/p>\n In the midst of busy lives, the mental load of facing fears\u00a0and\u00a0trying something new\u00a0can end up being\u00a0a barrier\u00a0people\u00a0don\u2019t have the energy to face.<\/p>\n Learning to connect\u00a0with nature ends up coming a distant second to just making it through the day.<\/p>\n This is bad news for the natural world, because\u00a0that lack of connection means\u00a0they\u2019re less likely to care what happens to it. People don\u2019t protect what they don\u2019t love, and don\u2019t love what they don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n The good news is that all a lot of people need to get past those barriers is a little support. It\u2019s a bit like the advice you get given when someone\u2019s grieving or has just had a baby: don\u2019t\u00a0tell them to let you know if there\u2019s\u00a0anything you can do, just pick a task and help with it.<\/p>\n Very often, the logistics seem to be the part people can\u2019t get past \u2013 picking a place to go, a time to go, knowing what they should bring, knowing if the weather that\u2019s forecast is manageable or means they should call off.<\/p>\n Luckily, those are exactly the sort of things that a lot of people reading this newsletter are likely to do regularly without a second thought. That\u2019s also one of the good parts about\u00a0trying to find our adventures closer to home.\u00a0It\u00a0makes them\u00a0much\u00a0easier to share.\u00a0The picnic lunch or coffee in the woods that\u00a0feels like a casual\u00a0local<\/a>\u00a0microadventure<\/a>\u00a0to someone whose idea of a\u00a0challenge\u00a0is\u00a0running across a country<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0biking round the world<\/a>,\u00a0can look like a pretty big boundary-pushing adventure to someone who doesn\u2019t usually\u00a0go outside the routine of work, the supermarket and the nearest cafe or pub. And as anyone who\u2019s ever picked up a new hobby or\u00a0got past\u00a0the doorstep mile<\/a>\u00a0probably knows, once\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0done something once, it\u2019s easier to do it again.<\/p>\n So why not\u00a0invite someone along next time you\u2019re heading out \u2013 especially if you know someone who is always saying they need to get out more and never actually does?<\/p>\n You never know who might find they love being outside once they get past the fear of doing something new, or who has been hoping and praying for support to get back into something they once loved and not known how to ask.<\/p>\n The important part is offering someone a chance to take a small step towards building\u00a0a\u00a0connection to nature and feeling that the outdoors is somewhere they belong \u2013 and by extension, beginning to care more about what happens to it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A BOOK AND A QUOTE TO PONDER<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A SUGGESTION FOR US TO TRY<\/strong><\/p>\n Share time in nature with someone who might not usually get outdoors much \u2013 a family member, a friend, a neighbour, a colleague. You could even turn it into a trade and let them persuade you to try something you might not usually do in return. After all, what\u2019s an adventure but something that pushes you out of your comfort zone?\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019d like to learn more about Jennie and Recreate-U:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
A great beginner\u2019s guide to wellbeing, including information, advice and guidance from carefully selected UK wellbeing practitioners. (Yes, this is a shameless self-plug since we were one of them! But there\u2019s some fantastic advice\u00a0from everyone who took part.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n
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