The Irrefutable Health Benefits of Nature - Get outside to celebrate Earth Month!

Every year, Earth Month brings the world and our community together to celebrate and protect the environment. It's a month dedicated  to raising awareness about the pressing issues that threaten the natural world—habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and the depletion of resources. But beyond the importance of conservation and climate action, there is another aspect of nature that deserves our attention: its impact on our physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being.

Spending Time in Nature
In our fast-paced, screen-focused world, we forget just how much nature provides us. We have shorter attention spans, more stress, less creativity and more physical ailments. Studies show that spending time in natural environments can improve our health in several ways.
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At South Bay Parkland Conservancy we agree! AND, volunteering while you spend time in nature provides a variety of opportunities to engage you, your family and your  community! In fact, 94% of SBPC volunteers surveyed, say they volunteer because it feels good to spend time in nature.
 
What constitutes spending time in nature? Some examples of activities you could do alone, or with your family and friends, include:

• Taking a walk
• Sitting outside and meditating
• Going on a hike
• Gardening
• Volunteering with a nature conservancy

 
The Healing Power of NatureThere are so many benefits to spending time in nature, including boosting your mood and getting exercise. Additionally,  if you’re volunteering or gardening with a group of like-minded people you are also building social connections and helping restore native habitat.
 
According to the American Psychological Association, you can boost your mood just by walking in nature for as little as fifteen minutes, even in urban wilderness. The sense of connection you have with the natural world appears to contribute to happiness even when you’re not physically immersed in nature.
 
Whether hiking or walking, gardening, planting or weeding, the activity  burns calories and strengthens your heart and lungs. Gardening and restoration work also brings people together and strengthens one’s sense of belonging. Community garden plots bring together people with diverse backgrounds to work on a common goal: feeding people.  Or in the case of restoration work, the common goal of reviving and enhancing native habitat.
 
Social connections are important because they help lower stress, improve resilience and provide support during difficult times in life.
 
All these benefits help counteract the overstimulation of our modern lives. So how will you spend time in nature to celebrate planet Earth this year?
  
Sources:
https://www.southbayparks.org/
American Psychological Association- https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature
Robert Hutchins, MD, MPH. UNC Health internal medicine physician
Mayo Clinic Health Systems