We are not the only nature reserve struggling with increased visitor numbers. Here, David Attenborough presents a twenty minute documentary about Richmond Park, showing us a biodiversity not dissimilar to Southwick Country Park’s own, and wrestling with very similar difficulties.
Please comment below. The problems of sharing our few public green spaces with our threatened wildlife in a damaged biosphere grow as our population grows, and we all need to find solutions.
Last weekend, we stirred up a hornets’ nest with two posts (here and here) about out-of-control dogs in the reserve. There have been so many comments, messages and mails from park-goers and dog owners, all of them pertinent, that we feel we should summarise the situation.
Continue reading “Summary”
by David Feather
A few days ago, the postman delivered a brochure from the Whitehall Garden Centre. I was pleased to read an article about making a garden a place of well-being. Very few have a garden as big as the Country Park, but we can try to have some elements of it.
Continue reading “Your own sensory garden”
by David Feather
On Wednesday, we were reminded about the importance of private gardens for the well-being of our wildlife. However, there is an aspect of private gardens which needs and deserves a lot more public discussion.
Continue reading “Right to Nature”
by David Feather
I monitor a Scottish website called Paths for All, as it provides valuable advice to making and maintaining country paths. This site reports that researchers have found that there are 5 pathways to connect to nature: contact, beauty, meaning, emotion and compassion.
Continue reading “Walking with Nature”
by David Feather
In a recent piece, I suggested that a walk in the park might be better than pills for dealing with depression.
Continue reading “Nature Prescriptions”
by David Feather
Those of us who use the Park appreciate the benefits it has for our mental health. More and more evidence is coming to light to emphasise how important these places are for the health of the community. They are miles better than dispensing pills.
Continue reading “Throw the pills away”
by David Feather
Did you realise that by taking walks through our lovely semi-wild nature reserve, you were saving the Country money? I didn’t and I bet you didn’t, unless you read an article in the Guardian last week.
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by David Feather
I think that we accept that a walk in the park is very good for our mental health. What is not so clear is that it is also good for our physical health.
Continue reading “A walk in the woods”
by David Feather
I wonder how many problems get solved, as visitors to the park have the chance to think more clearly, away from the pressures of modern life. Even if we do not solve problems, there is a growing body of research that has proven without a doubt that connecting with nature can improve our mental health.
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by David Feather
Did you know that this week is Mental Health Awareness Week? I didn’t until recently. You might well ask how it connects with the Park?
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By David Feather
What would you say if you went to see your GP because you were feeling a bit down and was told to get out into a green space like Southwick Country Park? I ask because a number of GP practices in Scotland are doing just that.
Continue reading “Nature Prescriptions”
All non-essential services closed, reduced travel, households no longer able to meet indoors or in their gardens: this is the new lockdown.
Updated 10.45am
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The media is full of advice about how to avoid the coronavirus disease COVID-19; there are lists of things to do and even more lists of things not to do. It has been a lot more difficult to find information about the safety (or otherwise) of a walk in the park.
Continue reading “Coronavirus”
Why do we feel so much better after an hour or two in the Country Park?
Continue reading “Every Breath We Take”
A Walking for Health group from Frome sweeps purposefully past our Wednesday work party; they are on their annual outing and probably heading to Hope Nature Centre for their lunch.
It has been Mental Health Awareness week all week and we only just noticed.
Continue reading “Mental Health Awareness Week”
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 