Natural England

11 March 2008

There is a vital need to mainstream the link between a healthy natural environment and healthy communities said Natural England at the British Trust of Conservation Volunteers’ (BTCV) Green Gym tenth anniversary event on 11 March 2008.

Natural England is working to ensure that people, wherever they live and whatever they do, have the opportunity to enjoy and benefit from the natural world and would like to see a ‘natural health service’ existing within a National Health Service.

Speaking at the conference, Sir Martin Doughty, Chair of Natural England, said: “BTCV has, over the last half a century, encouraged and helped millions of people enjoy and experience the natural environment. There is now mounting scientific evidence to support what many of us have perhaps long known but found difficult to prove - the explicit link between a healthy local environment and healthy communities.”

“These days people are walking less and there are fewer opportunities for children to go outside and explore. We have an indoor sedentary culture, where obesity alone is costing the NHS £7 billion a year.

“If people are to enjoy the natural world for their health and wellbeing, they need places to do it – high quality wildlife rich green spaces. Only if we are successful in reconnecting people to the natural environment will we succeed in conserving and enhancing it for the future.”

Natural England’s health advisor Dr William Bird worked with BTCV to develop the Green Gym in 1997. Dr Bird is now working with Natural England’s health campaign to continue promoting the health benefits that contact with the natural environment can bring - and ultimately helping to create a ‘natural health service’.

Speaking about his work with Natural England’s health campaign, Dr Bird Said: “It’s been shown that the great outdoors is the best motivator to keep people active and it has a significant effect on helping people reduce or cope with stress – This really can make a difference to peoples’ lives.”

Natural England’s top reasons to get active outdoors are:

• Walking in your local park or in the great outdoors available on your doorstep is one of the greenest way to exercise as it doesn’t leave a carbon footprint
• The outdoors also provides great opportunities for wildlife spotting - join the two million people who have used the Natural England and BBC website which provides links to great places to walk and explore near you - all you need is your postcode, visit 'Find Breathing Places near you' at www.breathingplaces.org/public
• Exercising outside can improve concentration for several hours afterwards and makes you more resilient to stress or helps cope with stress
• £2.9 billion has been assigned to environmental schemes in the countryside between now and 2013. This is your money being used for environmental benefits – get out there and enjoy it!
• If you walk for 30 minutes a day you can burn off 2,000 calories a week (the equivalent of six Mars bars) or 150 calories per mile. That may not seem like a lot but walking and keeping fit also increases your metabolism so it’s good for you even when you’re not doing it
• Your stress levels fall within minutes of contact with nature – good for body and mind
• Research has shown that if children haven’t had the opportunity to be in the natural environmental on their own before the age of 11 they’re unlikely to use it in later life and therefore benefit from the stress relieving qualities the outdoors can bring