It feels like perhaps I am not destined to see the aurora from my back door. Despite people all around me posting photos on social media that suggest if only I looked at the sky harder, then perhaps I'd see it in glorious technicolour. Never mind, the leaves are providing quite enough colour just now. Autumn is my favourite season- or it is until Spring comes along. Although I wouldn't want to discount the benefits of Winter (Candles! Snow! Hibernation!) or Summer (Long days! Sunshine! Warmth!) But more than any recent autumn I can remember, the trees are producing some pretty damn funky leaves this year, and I am feeling inspired!
It seems that trees have always had this effect on humans, and that we've been drawn to draw (sorry!) trees for many centuries - all the way back to rock art 25,000 years ago, according to a recent article in The Guardian about trees in art. Clearly we are fascinated by a multitude of different things about trees as shown through the variety of representations and media used. From the structures and shapes, to the other beings trees attract, to the colours, which are what is motivating me right now. The beautiful leaf in the picture that I found on my walk the other night, is carefully drying between sheets of newspaper and heavy books. I still have a stash of dried gingko leaves from last year -such a great shaped leaf and such an amazing yellow in autumn. Why not visit the one in Cadzow Glen if you’re in Hamilton? Our friends Art in Nature in the Highlands recently turned a glass jar into a leafy lantern using PVA glue and I'm wondering whether I should give it a go - or whether I'll just make a mess!
It's definitely nearing candle time of year, so a lantern would be useful. In just over a week the clocks will change and before you know it we'll be celebrating Halloween or Samhain. However the weather won't necessarily be cold. According to The Almanac, if there is a period of warm weather towards the end of October, it is called St Luke's Little Summer. St Luke's Day falls on 18th October and maybe little summer started a little early this year, but it's definitely warm once more. Halloween signals autumn's end and the start of winter, by the Celtic calendar. Although if it is warm around All Hallow's Eve, 31st October, it's called All Hallow's Summer. You can insert your own jokes about the actual summer summer - or lack thereof. Better late than never. Halloween is probably the most celebrated nature based festivals, a way of preparing for winter, with bonfires and pumpkin lanterns, so get carving!
The Guardian continues to champion the cause of walking and nature connection with a plethora of articles. The headline ‘Nature is free, and the best kind of medicine’: is this the perfect walk for improving mental health? caught my eye. It's an article highlighting much of the research about why being in nature is good for us, a lot of it captured from Good Nature, my favourite recent book on the subject. Information about fractals, the smells in nature, the benefits of blue and green spaces plus how to access awe, are all there. However, these articles seem to have tipped over into an excuse for selling books, clothes, programmes, experiences!  Remember, nature is free and you can experience nature connection in even the most nature depleted place. (Of course that is not to say we don't think that everyone should have access to good quality green space. We very much do.) However, I remain a fan of the dandelion growing between paving slabs, as a reminder that nature is all around us.
I often listen to Dan Harris's podcast 10% Happier and I love when anything vaguely green health related pops into an episode where I am not expecting it. This time it was an episode on brain health with Dr Sanjay Gupta, neuroscientist and author. As usual the show was filled with interesting tips on keeping your brain in tip top condition, but the one that jumped out at me was summarised by Dan in the show notes as "Brisk walks beat intense workouts for brain benefits". All movement is good for you and supports a healthy brain as it increases Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) which is associated with improved memory as well as the alleviation of depression and anxiety. However during a hardcore workout, your body also produces cortisol which supresses the BDNF - so while it is better for your heart, it is less good for your brain! I'm naturally a brisk walker however I've learnt to slow down to, sometimes literally, smell the roses, and so that my colleagues don't shout at me when we're walking together. Since this episode I've been making sure to do both. I'm still working on getting the intense exercise though.
October is a prime walking month - hence Walktober. We're pleased to be taking part in and promoting the Go Jauntly Walktober challenge to walk 30 minutes every day during the month, and it's going quite well. We do love getting our daily badges. It's particularly good when the sun is shining and the leaves are crunchy. We've also been adding new Lanarkshire walks to Go Jauntly, one in East Kilbride and one in Blantyre. Both of these are from local health care facilities (Hairmyres Hospital and Blantyre Life) connecting people to their closest greenspace, when they might just need to take a breather from a stressful situation, whether that be work or visiting a relative. Plus we've got a whole new page on our website dedicated to walking. This is part of our active travel project funded through Paths for All, encouraging people to walk or wheel more to local places. Talking of which, we have a Make Your Way walk coming up in Carluke on Wednesday 30th October, where we'll be walking part of the old Roman Road. Click the link to find out more. We're looking forward to getting together with Community Action Lanarkshire and Carluke Development Trust for this next phase of the Make Your Way project. If you're feeling particularly energetic, then why not join CDT's Weeding Wednesday session before heading out on the walk?
I'll leave you with a final way that we can connect to nature that might seem a bit unusual. The latest Tune Into Nature Music Prize has just been launched, celebrating young musicians whose work demonstrates a true collaboration with nature. The prize was founded by Miles Richardson of the Nature Connectedness Unit at Derby University, and acknowledges that there are many different ways to connect to nature. It's a way of tackling the fact that people no longer write about the natural world in music, the way they once did, and the fact that nature connection takes a massive dip in teenage years. This prize encourages action to get young musicians to reconnect through a medium they love. Get connected to nature through music yourself, by listening to the judges' nature connection playlist on Spotify.
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