Secret Life Of The Zoo, Eden & Cities - Natures New Wild
This week we shift to Mental health and Turn To ‘At One with Nature’. With lockdown and our exercise allowance making our open spaces more appreciated and pleasurable can we turn this to our advantage? After all, the exercise was always promoted as supporting our mental health so what is stopping us from venturing out or staying home and utilising the gardens and open spaces we have surrounding us. Do we really know what’s out there?
Like it Wild? Like it enclosed? What about the City? We look at the opportunities that three TV programmes can offer that can kick start some inventive and intuitive activities that hit all the boxes!
One programme can trigger so much thought and perception of the world around us. Expanding our brains to more knowledge can only be a good thing right? With lockdown theres no doubt we’ve been having more screen time and the search for programmes that aren’t repeats and our favourite shows drying up, time to find some new and an expansion on ‘old’. This blog will highlight that discovery and launch us into the world of nature and wildlife. This will lead us on our own nature trail and on to better mental health and well being. That’s the plan anyway, we hope you will join us as we venture and meander along some new and exciting pathways……
Secret Life of The Zoo
‘Using cutting edge cameras to capture astonishing animal behaviour, the series gives viewers a previously unseen insight into the world of Chester’s 35,000 animals, revealing their close relationships with the keepers and animal care staff’.(https://www.chesterzoo.org)
This channel 4 production is absolutely fascinating. It’s base at Chester Zoo and the incredible collection of animals that they have but the keepers who talk so passionately about their work and are extremely knowledgeable about the species they care for.
With cameras planted morning and night unique insights of the animals can be observed not only for the use of the staff there but for us to indulge in as well. They are thriving with space and creatures never heard of. Their ground breaking breeding programme is forefront not only at Chester but around the world. The incredible and now quite famous seahorse ‘Seabiscuit’ producing an unimaginable amount of offspring as part of a fascinating process alongside a brightly coloured wasp laying an egg on a beetle in a tube and blocking him in with rocks! Sounds bizarre but it worked and egg born and survived to help the breeding process continue!
Not only is the programme interesting to watch it’s factual, sound knowledge, driven and inspirational but you can trust that the subject is FACT and therefore it’s a great hit for those with mental health problems as you know that what you hear is true. Something that is vital in what has become an ever changing and confusing world. It gives you something to think about, perhaps a topic to discuss with a friend.
Contrast Of Eden - In The wild
Dynasties will have you hitting the ‘Big Five’ in Africa whilst Japan in the wild will take you to remote seaside towns where what may be extreme ways of life and self sufficiency with two 70 year old women pushing their trollies to the beach waved on by others to see how they catch vicious sea snakes to feed the families! Some of these programmes have taken two years to film and the camera angles and special effects are unbelievable. With amazing narration, many by Sir David Attenborough the content is easy to digest but accurate, to the point and allows us as viewers to take in the pictures and at times be aware when the animals migrate in their millions the screen can become like a blur, but its one of captivating intrigue and desire to learn how they survive.
Cities - Nature’s New Wild
So now we’ve captured the wild in Zoo’s and in their natural habitats out in the real wild. This one slots right into the middle as animals start to move into cities in an ever changing world where their battle to survive and thrive is taking over many cities around the world.
‘Wildlife documentary series. Animals increasingly travel in and out of cities to find food and shelter or to breed. Is the secret to success becoming a wild commuter?’. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0c05zsp)
Another captivating programme which explores Cities around the world. It showcases how animals are ‘taking over’ in places you would never imagine and highlighted in a recent episode was the city with the highest number of ‘bumble bees’ from around the world where they thrive and grow the most and you may be surprised to hear that that place was actually London! You may sometimes think about the enclosed high rise building of flats and offices but London also has so much more to offer in parks and open spaces.
All far reaching, the change of life, amazing camera angles, the challenges faced and the unbelievable way the animals live and survive both in the wild and in captivity and increasingly our cities as well.
So why nature? How does the exercise creep in? How about Mental Health?
These programmes are deeply fascinating and give plenty of opportunity for family viewing, a bit of home schooling and the chance to trigger an interest for the world around us. But with getting outside and exploring our own countryside we can still find joy and shared interests.
We may not be able to match what some countries have but there is plenty we can do and see and with the knowledge base built up what better thing to do than get out into the wild and enjoy ourselves? It’s no secret that pets are great ‘friends’ and comfort people, nature and open spaces offer so much opportunity. Gym trails and park runs, walking groups, nature reserves, the list goes on. Not to mention the fact that if you have a mental health problem already, being at ‘One with Nature’ can have significant benefits as the MIND Charity reports;
‘Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing. For example, doing things like growing food or flowers, exercising outdoors or being around animals can have lots of positive effects. It can:
improve your mood
reduce feelings of stress or anger
help you take time out and feel more relaxed
improve your physical health
improve your confidence and self-esteem
help you be more active
help you make new connections
provide peer support’
Isn’t this why the Government allowed exercise outside even at the height of lockdown? So we could help our mental and physical health and access our green spaces more even if it was in a very different way?
However, let’s start it small and gradually build!!! How you begin may well depend on where you sit on the Mental Health Spectrum, whether you are currently active, have a Long Term Medical Condition and / or disability and of course with the focus on mental health as we approach World Mental Health Day on the 10th of October. As MIND shows above if you have a condition already then this could help you escape for a while as you indulge yourself into calm and tranquility or the rush of a park run. For those lucky enough to be healthy this could prevent problems as we all move forward into a world of uncertainty.
Starting small
Have your own garden? Or a friend nearby that does? That’s your starting point or at least it certainly is for us at Time To Heal. Time just spent sitting and watching the wildlife has been a real sanctuary of space for us since the pandemic hit us down. It feels like going out and so we are lucky to have the space to move around and watch and enjoy as the birds come for their regular feeds and butterflies flutter around the trees.
You could expand on this and have a coffee morning within your ‘bubbles’ and do a scavenger hunt or just a few minutes walk around to share each others gardens. If that’s not possible then how about some photography to share with loved ones over Facetime which could really help both mentally and physically.
Grow a few flowers on your window, planting, watering and generally looking after a few plants can be done easily and cheaply and still be connecting with nature. Why not get an art therapy colouring book? There are loads of choices out there and what a great way to enjoy your favourite type of nature on a very small level that will still help your mental health, especially while those seeds are growing! Click on the link below for some great ideas on creating wildlife friendly gardens.
A helpful link for anyone who finds gardening difficult or thinks they cannot do it at all can click the link below which takes you to a video posted by The We Are Undefeatables Campaign who regularly promotes time in the garden doing different activities. This one focuses on a lady who has arthritis and shows how she adapts to make gardening accessible to her.
If you are lucky enough to live near to parks and trails then this may be the trigger to go out and explore our countryside, which leads us nicely into ……….
Venturing A little Further - Keep Essex Active Outdoors
This link will help you to plan activities outdoors with COVID-19 information around social distancing and as some research on the benefits of being outdoors. You can also access details of places to explain both locally and further afield.
This we love and so simple but different at the same time. Walking groups in Essex are supporting people to get active, make the most of their environment and improving their mental health! If you want to know why they are so important and relevant then this poem from a participant and links to two talking groups are all below! Plus think of how many little creatures you could find along the way! If you aren’t near to these groups then create your own family or friend walk together and enjoy whatever you can in your safely created ‘bubbles’.
Be mindful of the social distancing and ‘group meet up’s’ as the Corona Virus progresses and restrictions are put in place.
‘A poem by Sheila
Our walking group is a lot of fun,
I think I can say that for everyone.
Every Friday on Finchingfield Green
We all meet up and are very keen.
We select our course and off we go,
Some walk quick and other slow.
We walk and talk and have our say
Admiring the view along the way.
It’s lovely to be out in the fresh air,
After lockdown with all the despair.
We finish with a coffee relaxed and uncoiled,
And everything feels alright with the world’.
Want to know more about the two walks? See details about the Finchingfield and Witham walk on the bottom of the page at the link above.
Accessible Parks
‘Promoting accessibility to leisure and sport, signposting family, carer and disability support organisations’
Getting Up Close With The Wild is next!
If you like it ‘wild’ and live near a zoo then with them opening up what better time to plan, prepare and venture out to see your favourite creatures. Long gone are the days of animals in ‘captivity’ being in small cages and surrounded by barbed wires. Now they are more like open savannahs with enclosures made as close to the natural habitat as possible. Breeding of the animals to avoid distinction. If you are a family why not plan by looking at maps of the zoo you will visit and select what animals you want to see.
Zoo’s cover a lot of space so there’s a lot of walking to be done! So if you aren’t currently active or need help to get around you may need to check out the accessibility for yourself to make sure you can see what you want.
If you watch the Secret Life Of The Zoo then this link can help get you there in the centre of what you have seen on TV!
If you are based in Essex then Colchester Zoo will provide you with everything that you need.
Accessibility Information
If you are disabled then you can get a carers ticket for free when you show proof of Disability.
RSPB Welcome Back Guests to Their Centres
If like us you love watching the birds feeding in the garden then this is a great place to start.Simply click on the link below and pop in your postcode to find a centre near you. Theres plenty on offer! https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z\
The shop is also worth a visit, they have so much to offer. From bird food to wildlife charts to binoculars, themed craft and clothing.
MIND project eco-therapy groups.
These groups run at different levels with some more physical than others. Its aim is to offer therapeutic benefits by engaging those with mental health problems that are led by professionals and involve integration with Nature. MIND describes them as;
‘Ecotherapy can take place in both rural and urban settings, including parks, gardens, farms and woodlands. It involves varying amounts of physical activity, depending on the type of programme. It can include activities that focus on:working in nature, such as a conservation project, gardening or farming experiencing nature, such as enjoying the views on a walk or cycling through woodland.
You can watch a video on the link below that explains what the groups look like, the differing levels at which people can engage in the process and what benefits there are with some participants explaining themselves what the benefits have been for them;
The Final Stage on the Ladder!
Please be careful on this level, especially of you do have a medical condition or disability.There are so many ways to increase your activity levels within ‘nature’. Below are just a few ideas and opportunities that may be of interest to you.
Fancy a Challenge?
Being based in Bristol The Pituitary Foundation are close to so many beautiful outdoor spaces and they make the most of this with their fundraising opportunities that double with exploring the great outdoors. For anyone able to exercise at the level to complete these challenges you could have a fantastic time, preparing in your local area and then tackling something that will leave you feeling exhilarated, for filled and hopefully raising money for a great cause.
Clearly climbing Snowden or following the Brekin Falls is beyond the possibility for many people. But what you do doesn’t have to be much to make a difference. Watch out for new events at the link below;
There are obviously other charities and other places to explore as well and with all the restrictions in place this can be difficult, especially with the new ‘group of 6’ that we are pushing into now! You just need to be creative, choose something at your level and enjoy, whether that’s trekking up a mountain or tending to your window sill garden! Have fun, enjoy and I hope you find some comfort, relaxation and interest in whatever you choose to do. Please remember to be COVID safe, ensure you check the rules BEFORE a challenge, a trek up a mountain or a trip to the zoo to ensure you abide by the law and enjoy rather than risk you health or that of others…..
Coming up next week……..
Impact on Mental Health of those with Sensory Impairment or Learning Disabilities
COVID-19 holds changes and challenges for everyone but what about those with sensory skills? Brought to the forefront back around Christmas is a blog we never managed to finish. Why now then you may think? Well we intended to look at the changes that occur in terms of objects around the home, additional people around, more noise making it harder to complete simple tasks at home or in shops. At time to heal we sponsor a guide dog and when the latest ‘Pup update’ arrived we were transfixed by the group that may have been forgotten. Guide dogs are extremely special and life saving but how do you teach a dog to social distance?
What about those who lip read? This group need considerable support and aid. Do they have what they need? Are they now facing increased stress and anxiety about going out and how will this affect their confidence and mental health. Could this lead to isolation? This is clearly something that requires immediate attention.
Let’s explore………..
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