By Ben Mills, Senior Editor
Today is International Wildlife Day. Modern life means that humanity today is becoming more disconnected from nature than ever before.
Humans have always had to live and work with nature. Often, what favours our environment and the flora and fauna we share our planet with favours us too. We help nature by looking after the world around us and in turn, nature looks after us, providing the food and natural resources we need to live.
But over the past few centuries since the Industrial Revolution swept across the world, this millenia-old contract between nature and humankind has been broken. Today, we are seeing the effects of human exploitation of the natural world. As forests have been felled, ecosystems destroyed, resources plundered, oceans littered and cities constructed, we as a species have shown an unprecedented disregard and disrespect for the world we live in.
As a result, humans are now more disconnected with nature than ever before. Urbanisation, the movement of people from rural to urban areas, has brought many benefits. Cities and towns are generally more affluent than rural areas, amenities and services are much more accessible and with many people from different backgrounds living at a high density, our lives are now more culturally and socially diverse than if we all still lived in small villages.
And yet, studies have shown that those living in the countryside can be almost eight times as happy as their urban counterparts. So what exactly is making people in our cities so unhappy?
A lack of access to nature is almost certainly to blame (in part, at least). There are fears that people living in crowded cities with very little experience of green space or wildlife is leading to a “nature deficit disorder” in the urban population. Modern lifestyles means many of us do not regularly get the opportunity to walk amongst trees, breathe fresh and unpolluted air, or even see natural sunlight; this is amplified in winter, when mornings and evenings are dark, the whole day is spent in the artificial light of houses, schools and workplaces. Studies are showing that this is having a massive effect on our health and wellbeing.
Those who live near green space are 24% more likely to be physically active than those who do not, which has a massive impact on our physical health, as a lack of exercise is a significant risk-factor in the development of many non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, cancer and diabetes. A lack of green space seemingly takes its toll on our mental health too; those living in cities are more likely to experience chronic stress, anxiety and depression.
So it seems that by concreting over our natural habitats with cities and excluding ourselves from the natural world, we are not only damaging the health of our environment, but our own health too. What can be done to salvage our relationship with nature?
Make time for nature at least once a day. Even just small experiences of the outdoors, such as spending time in the garden or walking along the cycle paths mean that you can feel more connected with the natural world.
Explore the local area with family or friends. There are loads of amazing open spaces in and around Northumberland, from Hadrian’s Wall to Kielder Forest to the coast. Spending a day outside in nature can be massively beneficial for your physical and mental health.
Walk or bike to school instead of taking the car or bus. This way you can spend time outdoors every day, even if it only is for half an hour or so.
Look after local wildlife. There are lots of different opportunities to volunteer with projects like wildlife conservation and beach or river cleanups, helping to protect local wildlife and their habitat.
Today is International Wildlife Day. Modern life means that humanity today is becoming more disconnected from nature than ever before. We need to do something to change our attitude towards the natural world in order to protect our wildlife and our natural spaces before it's too late.
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