At this time of year when the nights are drawing in and the weather is a bit gloomy, our mental health can take a hit. But nature can do wonders to lift our mood. Here’s how creating and spending time in a Wild Space can help boost your wellbeing this winter.
Exercise your creativity
Designing a Wild Space, whatever size of space you have to work with, is a great opportunity to get creative. From planning butterfly and moth friendly planting schemes for a garden to picking out pots for your balcony, channel your creative side and enjoy the mood-lifting effects. You can even paint your own pots or repurpose old materials to create planters. Check out our Info Hub for ideas to get you started.
Getting your hands dirty
Planting and sowing seeds or bulbs is a great way to get hands-on with soil, which research shows is good for your health! Not only does it help your gut health by increasing the diversity of your microbiome, but tactile activities like this can also be really good exercises in mindfulness, which can help your mental wellbeing, too. This time of year is a good one to plant spring bulbs, sow sweet peas or plant bareroot trees and shrubs.
A breath of fresh air
Digging, lifting and other active tasks to create or tend to your Wild Space are a great form of exercise, and getting out in the fresh air and natural sunlight, whether you’re throwing the doors of your patio wide or sowing a new mini-meadow in a community garden, can have real benefits for your physical and mental health.
Seeing your hard work pay off
Once you’ve created a Wild Space, remember to enjoy it as much as the butterflies! Our research shows that just 15 minutes counting butterflies can reduce anxiety by up to 9% on average and enhance mental wellbeing, so make sure to include a spot to sit and watch who flutters by.
Have you created a space for butterflies and moths? Register it as a Wild Space today at Let’s Create Wild Spaces – Wild Spaces
