Following the UK government’s 2021 Environment Act, Public Health England’s report on improving access to greenspaces, and increasing concerns over climate change, the importance of nature has been at the forefront in the last few years.
This growing prevalence has simultaneously resulted in a growing feeling towards the mental health benefits of being outside. Spending time in nature in your everyday life benefits both your physical and mental wellbeing. Growing plants, exercising outdoors, and being around wildlife can improve your mood, reduce stress, anger, and loneliness, and help you to be more active.
The Benefits of Working Outside
Spending time outside has been proven to help with mental health problems like anxiety and depression. ‘Ecotherapy’ is a form of therapy that involves doing activities and spending time in the natural world. These improvements may relate to nature’s impact on physical activity, social contact, and fresh air.
Being in natural sunlight can also be helpful for those who experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a form of depression that affects people during specific seasons or times of the year.
Getting involved with conservation efforts, campaigns to help the environment, and community projects is also a good way to improve your mental health and strengthen your connection to nature. In particular, those who experience ‘climate anxiety’ may find these strategies helpful.
While partaking in these activities, we’re also more likely to stay away from out phones, tablets, and laptops, and reduce our screen time.
Working at 4th Corner
Our 4th Corner employees all say that having a job that involves spending all day outside and getting stuck in with nature helps them to relax, destress, and improves their mood.
At 4th Corner, we take our employees mental health seriously. Six of our staff are trained as mental health first aiders, and regularly check in and encourage our staff to share their worries and concerns.
We are also partners of Perennial, who offer free, confidential mental health advise for those working in horticulture. They have recently launched a free health and wellbeing app that is packed full of valuable advice and support for mental health, fitness, nutrition and more, all created by experts.
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