Why being in nature might be just what the doctor ordered

But things are starting to bloom regardless. A couple of long-forgotten bulbs have popped up in my garden, the cherry blossoms in the neighbourhood are tinged with pink. And I don't care if some wattles are actually weeds, there is nothing more cheery than bright yellow blossoms.

It's a wonderful time to be living in the bush capital. We all know being outside makes us feel better but it can also make us better.

According to research from the University of New South Wales, a dose of the outdoors may be just what the doctor ordered. Professors from the university's Population Wellbeing and Environment Research Lab are talking about something they're called a "nature prescription".

"The evidence shows that nature prescriptions can help to restore and build capacities for better physical and mental health," says Professor Xiaoqi Feng.

"What we need now is to work out how to make nature prescriptions happen in a sustained way for those people with high potential to benefit, but who currently spend little time in nature."

Research shows that contact with nature reduces harms, including those from poor air quality, heatwaves, and chronic stress, while encouraging healthy behaviours such as socialising and physical activity. This can help to prevent issues including loneliness, depression and cardiovascular disease.

So that said, here's five ways to feel closer to nature in the bush capital.

Those of us of a certain age are done with indoor plants. We have children to keep alive now. We kept a maidenhair fern alive in our university dorm rooms and that was enough. But it appears millennials love them. The Jungle Collective's indoor plant party has just happened and hundreds of people turned up. On September 30, there'll be an Indoor Plant and Succulent Market at South Pacific Hydroponics in Fyshwick.

There's no excuse for not planting something you can eat. Whether it's some herbs in a pot on your kitchen bench or a full-blown farm in your backyard. Don't have the space? Why not join a community garden. You'll get your plot and meet some interesting people along the way. The Canberra Organic Growers Society operates 12 different gardens throughout the ACT at Charnwood, Cook, Cotter, Dickson, Erindale, Holder, Kaleen, Kambah, Mitchell, Oaks Estate and O'Connor. Find out more at cogs.asn.au

More research from the UNSW suggests that investment in public green spaces is part of the solution to the epidemic of loneliness. There's a larger capacity for connection if we live in areas where we have access to nature. One longitudinal study reported a greening target of 30 per cent local landcover could cut the odds of becoming lonely by a quarter. Among people living alone, who tend to be more vulnerable to loneliness, green space cuts those odds by up to a half.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic they did a survey and found the odds of connecting with neighbours were five times higher for people who visited high-quality green space than for those who didn't or couldn't.

I feel guilty when I think about how much I loved spending more time in nature during lockdown. What's stopping me now?

I can't understand why people don't use their clothesline, or even live somewhere where's there's no access to a clothesline. Perhaps I am a child of the Hills Hoist generation. All those years spent spinning in the backyard till the wires drooped and your mother yelled at you. I've had to make do with a wall-fixed one in recent years and while I can't play on it, I can dry my sheets. Maybe I'm a woman of simple needs but nothing brings me more joy than being able to line-dry loads of washing. Is there any better feeling in the world than slipping between freshly line-dried sheets? I don't think there is.

If there's one thing I like to do early in the season it's get to the coast. Sure the water is still chilly but there's nothing quite like that first dip in the ocean to set everything right again. If you time it right, the sand might be slightly warm underfoot, and if you find a warmish current, dive right if you can handle the invigorating shock of it. Because at this time of the year we have to remind ourselves that's how we should be spending our whole lives, not just September.

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