This is the fifth year of Get Outdoors Lanarkshire’s Nature Advent(ure) Calendar.
It features daily prompts up to 24 December to encourage people to connect to nature even during the busy – and often cold – festive period.
Sarah Burgess, Green Health Development Officer at Voluntary Action South Lanarkshire, said: “There has been a lot of research into how noticing nature can increase positive emotions, including profound ones like awe and inspiration.
“It can also improve life satisfaction, making people feel more connected to both nature and other people. It is often argued that it is too difficult or even impossible to notice nature in winter, so a study was run during winter (in Canada) which found that attending to winter nature can boost feelings of hope and resilience.
“This year’s nature adventure is a collection of the ways that the friends and partners of the Lanarkshire Green Health Partnership notice and connect to nature during the winter season, encouraging all of us to look out of the window, listen for birds or notice the frosty leaves on the pavement.
“The ideas are varied, so hopefully anyone can get involved wherever they are – from getting outside at lunchtime to look at the sky to snuggling up on the sofa with a good book about nature, because it is even possible to get more connected to nature through reading or watching a wildlife documentary.
“These things produce positive benefits mentally and physically, lowering stress, improving sleep and concentration. Nature connectedness is also associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety, so it’s not just something to do during the winter.
“Use December as an experiment to see which of the prompts work best for you and then try and build them into your life during the other months of the year.”
Marie McKeown, Green Health Partnership Manager, NHS Lanarkshire, added: “Get Outdoors Lanarkshire’s Nature Advent(ure) is a great opportunity to explore and enjoy nature during winter, either from your window or by getting outside for a walk. For ongoing doses of nature connection sign up to the Get Outdoors Lanarkshire monthly newsletter at their website.”
