Nature for wellbeing

Our Biodiversity Education Officer educates and inspires thousands of school-age children working with teachers to provide informative, interactive indoor and outdoor events organised for school classes, Scouts and Guide packs, church groups and more. Interested? Get in touch

Our Wildlife Watch club for children and teens encourages awareness of nature and positive feelings for the world we live in, increasing understanding of our environment and fostering a caring attitude towards wildlife and conservation.

Nine of our  nature reserves are open to the public and are equipped with interpretation material to encourage people to explore on their own. 

Our new project, Ramsey Eco-Active, is a 60 acre wooded playground designed to engage the whole family with nature based obstacles, trails and activities. We are also campaigning to create a countryside gateway site in Douglas, which will provide access to all, irrespective of income, age or knowledge of the countryside.

You’ll be amazed how many birds you can hear if you take a moment to really listen to nature. Even when you’re inside you can close your eyes and immerse yourself in birdsong, rippling water or the wind breathing movement into trees. Spotify has a wealth of nature sounds to enjoy.

Find yourself a quiet place, close your eyes, focus on your breath and relax. Visualise a happy memory when you were surrounded by nature. Notice the sounds, the gentle breeze on your skin, the sensation of the sun, your footsteps on the ground. You can find many online mindfulness tools on YouTube.

When outside, focus on nature's gifts, such as sticks, leaves, nuts, seeds, flower petals, grasses and feathers. Get curious, pick things up, reach out and touch. You could collect anything not rooted (please don’t pick wildflowers).

Use your camera or phone to capture the exquisite detail of nature, from a pavement weed to an individual leaf.

Bring nature into your living room through the eyes of great nature broadcasters on TV. Keep pot plants in your home and hang images of nature on your walls - studies show this can improve health and wellbeing.

Smell flowers, the scent of damp leaves or other natural aromas . Grow herbs, or just inhale that scent of new-mown grass.

If you have a garden, stand, sit or lie in it. Go barefoot if you like. Or find a quiet spot outside. Bring your awareness to the parts of your body that are in contact with the ground.

Take a lunchtime walk in your local green space or exercise outdoors - even in winter. Create your own outdoor gym with logs for steps and weights, secure garden benches for jumps, and trees for working out the triceps. Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing.

Simply sit outside or relax with outdoor yoga - YouTube has thousands of videos you can use at home or in your garden.

Grow flowers, fruit and vegetables in your garden. This relaxing pastime is also great exercise and will provide free food for your table.