‘Green exercise’ like walking, running or cycling outdoors can revive our minds and bodies. Activities like these can clear our heads, reduce fatigue and raise our self-esteem.
What you do, and when, will be guided by the nature you have nearby. Any time you spend being physically active in the fresh air is well worth your while. Even a five-minute outdoor stroll can help calm anxious or overactive brains.
You could:
- Take the dog for a walk: amble along a towpath, or through open fields
- Run in the woods: seek out scenic trails that take you in and out of the trees
- Hike in the countryside: find a local loop, or get the map out and go further afield
- Cycle around a city park: hire a bike and pack a picnic for a treat
- Kayak, canoe or paddleboard: take a lesson on a canal, lake or reservoir
As you exercise in these green spaces, take a pause every now and again to admire your surroundings. Your mind will be grateful for the extra dose of endorphins.
Outdoor activities also give us opportunities to socialise and get closer to our community. Through local groups, like ParkRun, we can meet people and receive peer support, all of which is very helpful for fighting feelings of loneliness and isolation.
Before doing any of these, check if the weather and conditions are safe. Wear appropriate clothing and always tell others where you’re going.
You could join one of our Great Wild Walks, where you can choose 5 or 10 mile routes and receive a WWF t-shirt and medal on the day, all while taking in beautiful landscapes and picturesque woodland routes. Register your interest for 2025 walks.
A sensory safari is a fantastic way to bridge the gap between ourselves and the natural world. If your thoughts are racing, this exercise is a great way to ground them. It requires concentration, which you may find tricky at first. But stick with it and the benefits will soon follow.
Set aside some time and find a suitable spot outdoors. The greener, and less busy, the better. When you’re ready choose one (or more) of your available senses and hone in.
What can you hear?
Tune in to the symphony of nature and try to pick out three individual sounds – birdsong, the snap of twigs, crunching leaves. Do you know what’s responsible for making them?
What can you smell?
Sniff the air. What natural scents can you detect? Do these get stronger or weaker as you move around? Can you follow them all the way to their source?
What can you feel?
As you explore, reach out and touch three natural things – a spiky leaf, the soft sand, the roots of a tree. Run your fingers across their surface (carefully) and notice all the different textures.
What can you see?
Look out and choose three natural things in your view – a pine cone, a colourful rock, an insect, or a cloud. Focus on them one at a time and consider their shapes, colours and sizes. Can you imagine what they’d be like to touch?
Because our environment changes so often, you can do this activity daily and get different results every time. It’s especially rewarding to see what new things your senses detect as the seasons come and go.
Get green fingers, fresh air and plenty of restorative natural light by growing plants outdoors. All you need is a few seeds and some soil. Here are some things you can try:
- Scatter wildflower seeds: help your neighbourhood become a vibrant habitat for wildlife by growing an assortment of native wildflowers. When they pop up, you can try to identify them with family and friends. Psst... pollinators love them!
- Sow some herbs: Pot up some seeds indoors, watch them sprout, plant them out and eventually, they’ll be good enough to eat.
- Plant for your senses: Explore your local garden centre and look for plants with interesting leaf patterns, unusual textures, and strong scents. If you’re new to gardening, start with more established plants so they stand a better chance. Get them home and arrange them however you like. They’ll bring you joy every time you see or smell them.
- Grow some veg: If you’ve got the room, why not try some very rewarding veg-growing? You can do it in pots on your balcony, raised beds in your back garden or in a community allotment. Start with seeds and enjoy the full circle moment that comes from eating a potato, pea or pumpkin you’ve grown and tended.
Whether you’re taking a solo trip, or adventuring with others, there’s nothing like a camping trip for getting us closer to the great outdoors.
Once you’ve pitched up in the perfect spot, the fun can really begin. You could try:
- Hiking: find a circular route that takes you on a tour of the local area and brings you right back home again
- Wild cooking: forage some local food to cook over the campfire (always taking care to know exactly what you’re collecting). Use a trusted source like the Woodland Trust’s Essential Foraging Guide to help you - and never eat anything you’re unsure about.
- Animal-spotting: seek out tracks and find signs of creatures who live nearby. Pack a pair of binoculars to observe birds and other faraway things.
- Forest-bathing: find a safe, peaceful place in the woods and let your senses be taken over with the sights, sounds and smells of nature.
It’s an ideal opportunity to take a ‘digital detox’ and switch off from technology, too. Between the feel of grass beneath your feet, the serene landscapes, and the invigorating fresh air, camping allows you to get away from it all and fully recharge.
Doing any small task that’s good for the environment, like like litter-picking or helping to create a community garden, helps people and nature thrive together. Plus, it’s good for the soul. Donating time to activities like this not only strengthens ties to the community, it also enhances empathy and self-confidence. This can help you feel more empowered about doing things for yourself and others.
Make a big difference to nature in your neighbourhood by volunteering with an environmental group. It might be:
- A tree-planting scheme
- Creating a community garden
- A nature restoration project
- An educational programme that spreads the word about nature’s brilliance
- Rewilding or regeneration of an urban area
- A monthly litter pick.
A quick search online should show you local nature-friendly organisations, and help you decide how much time you can give. It could be an hour a week, a weekend a month or once a year. Any time you can give really does help.
You could also invite your workplace to donate conservation, community or charity days, where people are given time off to strengthen their connection with nature and help their local environment.
Litter picking in your local area is a superb way to support nature and keep your community thriving. It’s an activity that anyone, of any age, can get involved in and it can be done on your own or in a group.
As long as you have an empty bag, a litter picker, and can be outside for five minutes or more, then you’re good to go. There may already be some litter-picking initiatives in your area. Check out your park, or beach, noticeboards for information or search online for local environmental groups, if you feel comfortable doing so.
You’ll begin to feel the benefits almost immediately:
- Being outside among greenery has a mood-improving effect that’s boosted by the gentle exercise we get from walking.
- While searching for things to pick up, we concentrate on the task at hand, which can be helpful for settling down spiralling thoughts.
- It’s also a great opportunity to be mindful of what else is around you – the plants you see, the weather you feel, the creatures you hear and the scents you detect.
- The strong sense of purpose and warm feelings of satisfaction we get from ‘doing our bit’ for the environment can’t be overestimated.
- It gives us a fantastic opportunity to get to know our neighbours and socialise with others on a more regular basis.
