Grantham RiverCare volunteers talk about the benefits of being outside

We are so lucky to live near green spaces, writes Ian Simmons, co-lead of Grantham RiverCare.

It all makes sense when you think about it!

Ask anybody and they will invariably tell you that they always feel better when they have spent time outside.

Some prefer it to be sunny while some like walking in the rain - often with the one they love (with apologies to songstresses Love Unlimited, one for the teenagers...).

Well, now it is official! A recent report from Urban Mind, a project looking at mental health and local planning, has confirmed what many of us previously thought - that spending time in Nature improves physical and mental health. Studies for this project confirm that people who are lucky enough to live near parks and rivers - or indeed any green-blue spaces - are less likely to struggle with mental health issues.

The risks of developing depression are, they estimate, about 20% lower in people who either live or spend time in or near green and blue spaces.

We are very fortunate in Grantham to have beautiful parks running the whole length of the town.

The studies have found that these spaces can enhance an individual’s sense of wellbeing for up to eight hours.

Just the very sight of trees and the sound of bird song has been shown by Urban Mind to induce this response.

The results of these positive effects from being close to green-blue spaces are demonstrably beneficial to mental health, mood and outlook.

Couple this with litter picking, tree planting and simply taking time to appreciate the natural environment around you will have a direct impact.

Just ask any RiverCare volunteer! Take time to pick up a piece of carelessly discarded litter and you will feel a buzz from improving the world just one little bit.

Take time to watch a solitary bee carry out its symbiotic role in a colourful flower to marvel at this small example of biodiversity which benefits both plant and insect, then scale this one bee to a whole hive of 40,000 workers doing what they have done for tens of millions of years.

This recommendation is not to make you feel small and insignificant, but to illustrate we are part of a bigger picture and just cogs in a larger biodiverse machine. This is not to ignore the perils we have recently visited on our planet - climate change, pollution etc. - but to show how one individual (or group!) can make a significant improvement to our local home. Think global, act local....