Prioritise parks this July! by Natalie McCulloch
Throughout lockdown many of us took comfort in the ability to enjoy the wide open spaces we are lucky enough to be surrounded by. Here in Cardiff we are fortunate to have a large amount of beautiful parks with an incredible array of appealing features. In fact, Cardiff has the most Green Flag Award-winning parks in Wales! An incredible 15 parks and green spaces hold this coveted award which is an international mark of quality. Weather permitting we could take a stroll in the stunning Bute Park and admire the colourful borders and sounds of water gushing, or explore the mesmerising marshlands of Forest Farm or (my personal favourite) relish in the rosy routes of Roath Park. What’s even better is that this is actually doing us some good which can’t be a bad thing! Research has shown that spending time in green spaces and bringing nature into daily life can be beneficial for both mental and physical wellbeing in a multitude of ways such as: • Improving your mood – a study of 2,000 adults found that 85% of people experience a positive effect on their mental state after spending time outside in a green space. Reducing stress – Let’s face it, life isn’t always a walk in the park but that certainly doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy one! “Take short walks in the park down a happy trail.” ~ Frederick Lenz • Improving physical health and helping you to be more
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active • Encouraging socialising (at a safe distance obviously!) • Encouraging hobbies (such as birdwatching, photography, running) As lockdown eased some activities which would have previously been held indoors, such as social groups, gym classes and meet ups, took to the great outdoors in order to resume safely in line with the current government guidelines, so really – where would we be without our parks? There may be some benefit to keeping going to these spaces even following the opening of indoor spaces - A scientific review of studies published in the journal Extreme Physiology & Medicine (2003) concluded that when we exercise in natural environments, we don’t feel as though we’re pushing ourselves as much, so we work out harder than we would do in a gym, our blood pressure returns to normal much faster, levels of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline drop right back to normal levels, our immune systems improve and it gives us a good mood boost, among many other benefits. (https://extremephysiolmed.biomedcentral. com/) Not bad for something that’s free as well! Now that we’ve got some signs of nicer weather, it would be a shame not to enjoy it and where better to, than a park! As the brilliant actor, Robin Williams said “Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” and after the year we’ve all had, some celebrations and feel good times are surely warranted?
