We feel happier when we are in places filled with wildlife. There is a tonne of evidence proving that it provides multiple benefits to our physical and mental health – and that it saves the NHS money. So, as we celebrate the tenth year of 30 Days Wild, it’s the perfect time to remember this! 

In fact, I’d like to take you back in time, to when 30 Days Wild was just five years old. The University of Derby did a fantastic piece of work to look into the benefits of bringing a bit of nature into our lives, every day, for 30 days. It’s well worth a read, but if you’re short on time, they basically found out that by taking part in 30 Days Wild, people gave their health and wellbeing a much-needed boost. Even more amazingly, the feel-good factor lasted, sometimes as long as three months after June. Incredible!

A stepping stone

As a fun challenge, 30 Days Wild can help people to create some really great habits, which lead to them spending more time outdoors in nature long after June is over. Some excellent research from 2019 demonstrated that spending 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. If you can manage this, your mental wellbeing is likely to improve, the amount of physical activity you do will go up, and it helps those who are lonely or socially isolated to connect with others. It is also worth noting for those that cannot get out and about so easily, that there are even benefits to viewing nature in photos or through a window. This is why 30 Days Wild is such a brilliant thing to do. 

This closer relationships with nature doesn’t just benefit health and happiness. If more and more people start to realise that the nature they love seeing, hearing and feeling every day is at risk, then they are more likely to act to help it. People will take action to halt and reverse the loss of wildlife and their habitats, and to help wildlife cope with a changing climate.

A Natural Health Service

More door-step access to nature is also good news for the NHS! Nature-based health and wellbeing programmes could save hundreds of millions of pounds each year and reduce society’s reliance on the NHS. Independent economic analysis published in A Natural Health Service: Improving Lives and Saving Money, found that Wildlife Trusts health and wellbeing programmes save more in healthcare costs than the price of running them. If these programmes were scaled up with the right investment, 1.2 million people’s health and wellbeing could benefit, resulting in cost savings to the NHS of at least £102 million a year. 

What can you do?

Send a postcard to your GP or other health professional – like a physio.  We’ve created some fantastic postcards that will be posted for free, to your own GP surgery. We have even found out all the addresses, so it really couldn’t be easier to let them read first-hand about the positive impact their ‘prescription’ has had. We’re hoping these will be displayed in health centre waiting rooms and noticeboards so everyone can get the message – nature helps! 

Send your postcard today

At the heart of it all, 30 Days Wild helps us feel more in tune with nature and happier as a result. Here’s to another naturally healthy and joyous June!