Benefits of Nature - Berkshire LNP
This article has been written by Andrew Cameron, Chair of the Executive Board of the LNP. The article is based on a paper originally written by Andrew is his capacity as a consultant to businesses but has been edited for use by the LNP.
The opening statement of the report from the All Party Commission on Physical Inactivity states:
'The UK faces an epidemic of physical inactivity. Over the last half century we have simply stopped moving—in our schools, our work places, our towns, cities—and how we get between them. In all human history, we have never been so inactive.'
The report goes on to list the cost of physical inactivity to health and the economy, because the two are inextricably linked.
Of course the problem starts in childhood where physical inactivity is leading to childhood obesity but adults are no better.
Nearly a quarter of all adults fail to achieve 30 mins activity over the course of a week so it's no surprise then that heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and mental health problems, such as stress and depression, have all increased by 25% - 45% costing the UK economy £20 billion per year.
Cycling Pewsey Downs by Oliver Cripps 2012
The cost to business has been put at nearly £6 billion per year through absenteeism and the associated costs of employees being off work through illness.
What is not fully measured or accounted for is the rate of decline in an individual's ability to perform at work as the effects of physical inactivity take hold. Stress and anxiety for example might impair a person's ability for months before reaching the point that they require treatment and time off.
The All Party Commission on Physical Inactivity (APCOPI) talks about the need for exercise at school and in April 2014 the government pledged £150m to help schools facilitate and embed physical activity but what about adults?
Those adults who are in their 40s and 50s probably did have plenty of exercise at school so whilst I understand the need to create a culture that encourages activity at an early age, that is no guarantee that we'll see a decline in any of the above mentioned diseases.
The problem is that we lead more sedentary lives. We sit at desks, we take lifts instead of stairs, we drive instead of walk, we use our brains not our bodies. Exercise at school is great but the real challenge is physical activity once you're in work.
How can we motivate people to exercise more? The National Ecosystem Assessment paper makes clear links between green space and exercise: 'Green exercise, comprising of activity in green places in the presence of nature, is associated with positive health outcomes, which exceed those experienced from exercising in environments lacking nature.'
In other words taking a 30 minute walk through a woodland has more health benefits than a 30 minute walk through a housing estate.
How do they know this? A widely used method of measuring benefits is called the Rosenburg Self Esteem Scale. High self esteem leads to happiness, good leadership, resistance to stress and greater work achievement. Low self esteem leads to depression, anxiety, lack of assertiveness and unhappiness.
Numerous studies have shown that people who spend time outside in green spaces have higher self-esteem than those that don't. The more natural and interesting the environment is the better people feel and the higher the self-esteem they have.
So there is a link: Time in green natural space = higher self esteem + physical activity = more productive and healthy employees.
Businesses directly benefit from natural green space in reduced costs of absenteeism and higher levels of productivity.
In its first report into the value of the natural environment in 2011 the government stated that looking after our 'green space' better would be worth £30 billion a year to the economy including health and wellbeing benefits. It also highlighted the loss of green space since the 1980s: 10,000 less playing fields, 90% decline in allotments. And it stated that failure to look after, improve and enhance our green spaces would cost us £20 billion a year, some of that being the costs related to declining health and wellbeing.
Dr William Bird has published numerous reports linking green space with increased physical activity and a decline in the diseases identified by APCOPI as being in the ascendency.
Proximity to green space is a factor as is the variation of habitat. The closer to green space we live the more likely we are to get out and visit it. The more interesting the space is the more we will visit it. This means that a patch of grass is somewhere we will go to but if it also has trees, shrubs, ponds, birds and other wildlife, we will visit more frequently.
Therefore, investment in green spaces would pay for itself by reducing the healthcare costs associated with illnesses linked to physical inactivity and save businesses the known and unknown costs of employees becoming ill and needing time off.
We all work much harder and unfortunately we only measure success on the wealth of businesses and individuals. We see it as shame that heart disease and mental health are on the rise but we don't knock anything off the 'bottom line' to reflect this failure in society.
Are we going to work less? Probably not, so we really do need to address the problem of physical inactivity and it seems to me that more, better and bigger green space is required if we are to give hard working people a chance to relax and exercise. It's also no coincidence that 'more, better and bigger' was the plea from the Lawton Report: Making Space for Nature.
The more 'natural' the environment, the more we'll benefit from it and looking at the figures being stated I would say that an investment in the natural environment will not only pay for itself, they'll also be big fat bonuses as well.
Walking is good for you, it is FREE and has many health and wellbeing benefits.
For example walking helps:
- prevent heart disease by improving cardiovascular fitness,
- reduce cholesterol and blood pressure,
- improve bone density (without straining your joints) so low risk of injury,
- maintain flexibility and mobility into old age,
- relieve depression and anxiety, reduces stress,
- weight management and other weight related illnesses eg diabetes
- towards a happy healthy life!
More information is available on the Walking For Health web site.
Walking does not need specialist equipment, there are walks just outside your front door and you are never very far from an open space or wood. Walking can be enjoyed with friends or family or why not join a local organised group?
A group walk is a great way to meet new people and make new friends, not to mention the benefits of being out and about in the countryside. Most walks finish with a cup of tea at a local coffee shop too!
The current minimum recommendations by UK Chief Medical Officers of physical activity for men and women are 150 minutes a week, that's 30 minutes a day on average.
There are 1440 MINUTES in a day - can you find a spare 30 minutes to go for a walk? (Reference from Henley Health Walks Jan 2011)
Here are some links to some external websites offering walks:
Organised Led Walks:
Walking for Health (Main website - search for local walks in your area)
Reading Walks
Wokingham Walks
East Berks Ramblers Group Walks
West Berks Ramblers (longer walks)
South Oxfordshire Health Walks
Wokingham University of the Third Age Walks
Parks and non-organised walks:
Reading Parks
East Berkshire Parks
West Berkshire Parks
Local town and country walks around Berkshire
"My Journey": Wokingham, Earley and Woodley Walks/Cycle routes
Earley Environmental Walks
AA Reading Town/River Walk
Reading walks (longer walks) - gps files available.
Walking Britain
Further information on local walks, maps, books and walking clubs can be found on the Walking in Berkshire website
A healthy natural environment creates a community that is more attractive to live and work in. More and more of us are choosing to move out of the cities to more rural locations. Estimates suggest that more than 100,000 people in the UK make the move to the country each year, giving reasons such as more space, money and quality of life.
BBOWT work party by BBOWT
Towns and villages that are more 'green' are also more attractive to live in. The inclusion of green spaces, parks, access to the wider countryside and 'green infrastructure' such as roadside verges and trees not only make the community more attractive, but also create the opportunity to lead a more healthy lifestyle, positively affecting our health and well-being.
Many people are not aware that towns and villages often contain areas very rich in wildlife, much richer in fact than intensively managed countryside. There are not only diverse parks and gardens, but also remnants of ancient natural systems (such as woodland), pre-industrial landscape (such as meadows) and naturally seeded areas on disturbed ground, which are unique to settlements. All of these areas harbour wildlife and provide much more opportunity for contact between people and nature than many parts of the countryside.
Nature also unites people, creating a common interest in the community. For a list of all the current community groups in Berkshire see our Nature Directory.
"It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living."
(David Attenborough)
As well as providing great aesthetic value, nature supplies the air we breathe, creates the food we eat, cleans and provides the water we drink, protects the homes that we live in, controls the climate we require to survive, and benefits our mental and physical wellbeing.
Nature provides 'free' resources that many of us take for granted, but which would affect us all should they cease to exist.
Follow the links on the left to find out more about the specific roles nature plays in supporting all aspects of life.
The natural environment benefits your business in many ways, from provision of core resources to making the area attractive for potential employers to live and work in. A healthy environment also leads to increased staff wellbeing:
- 'The cost to the economy of physical inactivity is £1.7 billion to the NHS and £5.4 billion for work absence'
- 'Physical activity increases where participants have convenient and close contact to natural green space'
- 'One measure of the attractiveness of a park is the amount of nature it can offer to the visitor. Exercise becomes simply a method of travelling to, and engaging with, the benefits of nature'
- 'Biodiversity can have a direct-use economic value'
(Dr William Bird, Royal College of Physicians – author of Natural Fit)
A healthy natural environment will make your business a more attractive place to work in and your staff will benefit from better wellbeing.
Looking after nature CAN be good business sense:
Example- Waitrose Bracknell Energy Centre
In September 2012 a new energy centre at Waitrose Bracknell opened. The low carbon energy centre uses sustainable local woodchip harvested from Forestry Commission standard sustainable woodlands located within 15 miles of the store. The energy generates heat and cools the store, providing the majority of the supermarkets energy needs.
Other sustainability measures at the store include a 'green' roof covered with wild grass to improve drainage and provide an area for wildlife, a 'living' wall to promote wildlife movement around the site, hedges instead of fencing, nest boxes for swifts and bats, and a 'bug hotel' constructed with the help of local primary school pupils.
Waitrose states:
"Many of the features incorporated into the shop and car park make good business sense as they conserve the environment and help us save money. We're keen to roll out these new features more widely, particularly the-on site energy centres which offer massive CO2 savings and will reduce the amount we spend on energy in the long-run. We are confident that our Bracknell shop will achieve the BREEAM Outstanding rating – something that we will be very proud of, it will be one of the first retail buildings in the world to achieve this accolade."
