Radical Nature is a small CIC based in Bristol and registered in 2024 to make accessing nature easier.
The health benefits from nature and forest therapy practices are becoming increasingly well-known and yet many people are unable to fully access these benefits. Barriers and challenges to accessing nature’s health benefits include inequality in access to nature, lack of knowledge of the health benefits, lack of implementation by health services, practicalities such as affordability and time constraints, how we value nature, and a societal shift towards more time spent connecting with technology rather than nature.
Access to nature is greatly affected by our economic status, class and cultural backgrounds. In the UK, one in three people cannot access nature close to their home and the poorest communities are twice as likely to be without nearby nature rich spaces. Black and brown people are also twice as likely to live in a neighbourhood with minimal access to green space.
Studies show that connecting with nature can lower blood pressure by lowering the production of stress hormones and activating our parasympathetic nervous system, encouraging a calmer state. It has also been found to reduce anxiety and depression. Being in nature can also boost our immune systems, partly from reduced stress hormones and inflammation but also from inhaling phytoncides which are emitted as a gas from trees for their own immunity but which we can inhale and benefit from.