Reconnecting with nature in everyday life

Reconnecting with nature can begin before you organise a walk or learn a bird’s name. It might mean noticing how the wind moves through a familiar tree, choosing to spend part of a break outdoors, or becoming curious about the place behind a recording. The useful starting point is something you can actually enjoy within the life you have.

There is room for different relationships with nature. Some people want company and activity; others want a little space. Your choice can change with your energy, the season or the day.

Connection is more than collecting knowledge

In Lumber and colleagues’ 2017 research, a 72-person walking experiment found that activities involving sensory and emotional engagement increased reported nature connection more than walking alone. It studied a particular intervention, rather than establishing a universal formula.

Knowing what you are looking at can be satisfying, but you can begin with uncertainty. “I like the shape of that leaf” is a complete response. You need neither an identification app nor a list of observations to make an encounter worthwhile.

Begin with three questions

What is available to me today?

Think about your actual circumstances. An accessible courtyard, a view from bed, a local garden with somewhere to sit or a recorded river may fit better than a trip requiring transport and a free afternoon.

Make the choice concrete. Instead of promising to “get outside more”, decide whether you would enjoy taking your drink to the doorstep after lunch. If opening a window is uncomfortable because of noise, temperature or pollution, keep it closed and look out. The opportunity should fit you.

What catches my interest?

You might prefer watching cloud shapes to listening for birds. Someone else might enjoy learning how water has shaped a landscape. Follow the detail that draws you in, rather than working through every sense in order.

An everyday scene offers several possible starting points. At a bus stop, you could look at the tree canopy above the shelter. In a garden, you might notice which flowers insects visit. Indoors, you could listen to a recording because you want to hear what a distant shoreline sounds like. Choose one thread and let the rest stay in the background.

What would make this easier?

Practical arrangements matter. Bringing a comfortable layer, choosing somewhere with seating or inviting someone whose company you enjoy may do more for the experience than adding another exercise.

Give yourself permission to finish. You do not need to stay until you feel calmer, and a distracted day does not create a debt to make up tomorrow. If a place feels unpleasant or inaccessible, choosing another setting is useful information.

What does paying attention add?

A 2025 experiment at RHS Wisley randomly assigned 79 participants to different prompts during a 20-minute garden visit. Those directed towards natural features reported greater immediate wellbeing and restoration than the comparison groups. One garden experiment does not establish lasting effects or a required daily duration.

It offers a reason to try noticing what is around you. The suggestions here are flexible editorial ideas; they are not the tested intervention. You can look, listen or simply enjoy being somewhere without monitoring how well you are doing it.

Let a recording serve a purpose

When outdoor access is limited, a recording can give you something specific to explore. Choose a place from the NatureScapes recordings library, listen before reading its description, then discover where it was captured. Perhaps the interesting part is how the water changes, or how distant sounds make the space feel.

A recording has its own possibilities. It does not bring the movement, daylight, weather or companionship that may accompany an outdoor visit. Our guide to virtual nature breaks explores this distinction and offers practical ways to choose a format.

Include care for the place

Connection can also involve making room for other living things. Watch without approaching a nest, leave plants where they grow and let other visitors enjoy the space. The Countryside Code for England and Wales sets out local-access and wildlife-care guidance; follow the equivalent guidance wherever you visit.

You might eventually want to help a local group care for a green space. Equally, a brief encounter can remain enough. If your surroundings are mostly streets and buildings, our urban nature guide offers more concrete places to look.

Start with what interests you and what is possible today. Leave enough room for the encounter to surprise you.

— J