By Stephen Le Quesne
I DO not know if you have noticed lately, but my writing has been a little bit more negative and the number of occasions that I have been published recently has been more sporadic.
Speaking honestly, my wellbeing has been low, my mind unwell and I struggle to write when I am like this. I am not going to go into great detail, as I have written a lot about my personal story over the years and there is a right time and place to do that. Now is not that time.
My realisation is that over the past few months I have stopped practising self-care, stopped looking after myself. Life gets in the way, with work, stress, life pressures and what seems like the slow and continuous breakdown of our social bonds. Kindness is being forgotten.
You will be surprised to hear that one of the main reasons that I am at this point is that I have not been outdoors enough; I have not found time to be surrounded by the animals, the plants, the sounds and smells that I connect with. Time spent outdoors is incredibly important for me to rest and reset, and to remind me that my life is small and insignificant compared to the countless ecological cycles, processes and events that are happening right now. I need that groundedness and if I do not get it, then this contributes to my brain effectively overloading.
My wellbeing and personal outlook link directly to a couple of pieces of research that I have come across during the past month or so.
The first study was by Professor Miles Richardson, of the University of Derby; he is a professor of nature connectedness. The research was published in the Journal Earth (you can read it here: mdpi.com/2673-4834/6/3/82). It modelled the human-nature relationship from 1800 to 2020 and into the future. The study found that connection to nature has declined by more than 60% since 1800. Is this important? Yes. Very. The benefits of connecting with nature are extensive, including reduced stress and anxiety, improved mood and cognitive function, and enhanced physical activity. It also strengthens the immune system, helps regulate sleep and offers a restorative environment that can improve focus and promote social connection.
For children, the benefits are greater and last into adulthood, providing greater resilience for the challenges ahead of them.
The warning from the study is that the baseline is so low, that we now need far-reaching policy changes. Politicians need to know this is happening and must include this research, this subject area, in their policies, through all areas of government, especially health and infrastructure. The solutions need to be bold. Measures to increase popular engagement such as walks and talks were not seen in the study as being effective at helping to reverse long-term declines (but do boost mental health). Instilling an awareness of and engagement with nature in young children and families was more effective. Think Forest School nurseries and the primary schools that have nature at their core.
The second study that caught my eye was of 2,000 British adults by Super, Natural BC (the tourism body of Canada), which reported that two-thirds of Gen Z (67%) said they do not go outside for days at a time, and more than half (57%) of millennials said the same. Supporting this study, the Raising the Nation Play Commission report in 2024 documented that the amount of time British children spend time outside had decreased by about 50% in a generation.
For children, teenagers and young adults, the negative impacts of not spending time outdoors are amplified, especially in relation to isolation. (Does anyone know if Jersey has any data or reports specifically relating to access to nature?).
What worries me is that the less time we spend in the real world, interacting with the environment around us (including people), the more our world view is shaped and restricted by online culture. Nature provides perspective and humility.
But where can we go in Jersey to get that nature time? Is there enough green space and is it easily accessible for everyone? Is the green space we have access to diverse and complex enough to provide the benefits we know such areas can offer?
Thinking about the automatic benefits that nature brings to us makes me frustrated about the state of the countryside in the Island and of our urban green spaces. It is so difficult to access the type of nature and “wildness” that we need to soothe our soul and connect with it (or however you want to describe it).
This is why I feel disappointed when I see housing development after housing development being built with little to no consideration of how families and individuals will access the outdoors and to also bring nature to their doorstep. There is a fundamental difference, a cataclysmic gap, between a green space with some grass, shrubs, a few trees and benches, to a green space that is designed and managed with people’s health and enjoyment in mind, as well as encouraging wildlife to live there too.
Hopefully I have shown that access to nature for everyone really does matter. It is important now and it’s becoming increasingly urgent for the future. It is an essential ingredient to improving our quality of life.
Stephen Le Quesne is a naturalist and outdoor learning instructor.
