If I asked you to close your eyes and imagine some wildlife
you would probably conjure up an image similar to this…
Or even this…
The focus of your visualisation was most likely the cute little fox,
rather than the Digitalis plant or the Conium Maculatum plant.
Well, you’re not alone in this,
a 2016 study showed that study participants
remember pictures of animals better than they remember images of plants.
We've never been at this point
of disconnection and estrangement from the natural world before.
We're surrounded by synthetic and electronic entertainment
and we don't interact with plants and nature as we once would have
had we been growing our own food or hunting for our own food.
And this has resulted in what is known as the nature deficit disorder,
where people don't recognise plants at all
other than something that they may consume for dinner.
The human eye sees green a lot easier than any other colour
so it tends to group green objects together
and fade them into the background.
And then there's the evolutionary development within humans
that early humans were threatened by animals
We also had to look out for movement,
for a fast moving lion coming to eat us.
Therefore, the human eye picks up movement and looks for movement.
So we often don't recognise plants which are relatively unmoving.
Connecting with nature affects us from our heads to our toes,
from micro bacteria in the soil,
which studies show can enhance wellbeing,
to petrichor, the smell of the earth after it's rained,
to the sound of birdsong,
which has been found to decrease the stress hormone cortisol.
I realised I was disconnected from the natural world
about eight years ago
during a period of recovery from depression and addiction issues.
I found myself drawn to walking daily on Walthamstow marshes.
And the experience of being in nature and walking on the marshes
became as important and as therapeutic
as the medication, the psychotherapy
and the support of friends and family.
Those who have less access to outdoor space,
and two and a half million people in Britain
don't live within easy, 10 minute walking distance of a green space ,
have fewer opportunities to decrease their stress
through contact and connection with the natural world.
Every year, more plant species go extinct than animal species.
And in fact, CITES,
which is the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Wild Species, that's fauna and flora,
has 30,000 plant species listed
compared to the 5,000 animal species
which are in danger of extinction from legal and illegal trade.
Plants and fungi are the foundation
on which humans and animals really depend.
And yet they're not recognised and they are the underdogs.
They just keep toiling away and keeping us alive.
You don't need anything to go out in nature.
You just need to find something that you're interested or curious in.
I love insects and lichen and moss.
I'm always looking around for different species I can find
and patterns and shapes.
So I'd say just find something that makes you feel wonder and awe
and say, "Wow," and just continue your lines of curiosity.
Plants are essential to us.
They're not just a green background
or something for us or animals to eat.
They are significant in our survival as a species and as a planet.