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18
Aspects of Land
Spring / Summer 2018
NATURAL BENEFITS
For many people, it’s nothing new to hear that spending time surrounded by nature is
good for you. But as more and more studies back this up with statistics about the benefits
of the great outdoors on mental and physical health, the Government is taking notice
Green
is good
for you
the tiger’ response that we had as an early
hominid. If you encourage that, it has
demonstrable health benefits.”
The World Health Organisation,
meanwhile, suggests that as many as one
in four adults are not active enough and
that pursuits such as walking and cycling
can reduce the risk of stroke, diabetes,
various types of cancer and depression.
Outdoors experiences are good for you
and the high demand and the huge variety
on offer reflects the fact they’re also
enjoyable, says Terry Robinson, Chairman
of the UK and Republic of Ireland
Outdoor Recreation Network.
Whether it’s long-established pursuits
such as fishing or walking or more modern
ones such as zip-wiring or drone-flying,
recreation is big business – and land
managers are well placed to capitalise on
this, he says.
E
ncouraging the public to
spend time in the great
outdoors has become a
political priority. Defra
Secretary of State Michael
Gove has proposed
that subsidies should
shift from what he calls an “unjust and
inefficient” area-based system towards
ones that reward those providing “public
goods”. Although the exact definition
of “public goods” has yet to be clarified,
providing access to the countryside will
be included.
“This will bring opportunities for
farmers and landowners,” says Rupert
Clark of Savills Rural Estate Management.
“Connecting people with the natural
environment will be a way of generating
income on farms and estates, because
if it is to happen on the scale that the
Government and the electorate desire it
will either have to be incentivised or funded
through private or corporate means.”
The general drive to get more visitors out
into rural areas results from an increasing
recognition of the health service provided
by the land, nature and green spaces.
Whether it’s combating cardiovascular
disease, lowering blood pressure or pushing
back the onset of dementia, the benefits
of regular outdoors activity are diverse,
especially in an era of sedentary lifestyles.
Research by Professor Jules Pretty of the
University of Essex has shown the value
of even short periods in the outdoors
to mental and physical wellbeing. “It’s
like having a vaccination,” he says. “It
switches on a range of hormonal cascades
in the brain in a particular kind of way
– the ‘rest and digest’ system that is the
opposite of the stressful ‘run away from