Can we really love the natural world, yet remain unconscious of the impact of our choices in contributing to either its destruction or protection?
That’s the question I challenge myself on often.
If you know me well (or frequent my Instagram profile) you’ll probably know me best for my passion for the natural world. Ever since I can remember, I’ve felt a deep connection with nature. I’ve always found the natural world breathtakingly beautiful and continue to be enchanted by its powers to nourish and heal, physically, mentally and spiritually. I can’t help but wonder about what we’re giving back in return.
I used to feel that the natural world was something quite separate from myself, that I could interact with and walk through, yet still remain me – a separate entity, mostly unchanged. Over the years my interpretation of that connection has shifted. Now I see that we are not so distinct as we may think.
Science has shown that even just being in a natural environment changes our physiology. For example being amongst trees lowers our cortisol production (the stress hormone) and our blood pressure, as well as triggering other beneficial parasympathetic responses, such as an increased immune system. Our body's natural response to photoncydes released by trees shows that trees can literally help us heal.
Connecting directly with the Earth (grounding) neutralises the positive electrical charge we build up in our bodies as we go about our day and this has significant bioelectrical benefits including reducing inflammation and associated pain. The free electrons from the Earth's surface have an antioxidant effect on the body, reducing free radicals in the body which are linked to cancer.
Spending time close to fast flowing water, which emits negative ions (molecules charged with negative electricity), has been found to cause biochemical responses linked to increased cognitive capability, better sleep and has shown to help with depression.
There is no doubt that nature changes us. It helps us realign and repair some of the damaging affects of modern life.
Not only are we a part of nature, we are nature. Like a child rooted by the umbilical cord, in the womb of her great mother, we are both separate and we are one. When we forget our deep rooted connection, we forget an important part of ourselves. And when we forget, it’s easy to make decisions less consciously that cause injury to our great mother.
And when we harm our mother, we in turn injure ourselves.
There’s a tempting belief that the planet is here to be mastered and conquered, to be exploited for resources and manipulated to accommodate a growing population with capitalist values. To support a lifestyle based on economic growth at all costs.
Ecocide - a crime against the Earth and Humanity
I’ve recently been reading about the inspiring work of Polly Higgins (1968 – 2019), a London Lawyer who made it her life’s work to ‘create a legal duty of care for the Earth’. My interpretation is that having worked in a fiercely corporate environment and having achieved the commonly accepted perception of ‘success’, Polly couldn’t help but feel uneasy and she began to question why she was feeling ever more disconnected, the further along the corporate ladder she progressed.
She asked herself about the meaning of her work and the values of her practice. Reflecting on the wider corporate landscape, she thought about what values our modern society is continuing to be built upon and to embed. She saw the divorce between humans and the natural world getting wider and the atrocities against the Earth through irresponsible governments, businesses and practices. She was compelled to focus her efforts on driving positive change.
Polly recognised the increasing focus on economic growth at the expense of all else and the mountain of ecological debt being racked up, that will need to be paid off in full one day soon. She recognised the need for a shift and how she might use the skills and experience developed through her life and career to lead and influence this.
Think on this for a moment. It’s considered a heinous crime to cause mass destruction to an ecosystem in warfare. Yet ecocide – mass ecological and climate destruction - is occurring all the time to a catastrophic effect, mostly unchecked, as a by-product of practises within industry.
The work Polly set in motion is about recognising that millions of lives are at risk due to climate breakdown and involves building a legal framework to ‘prohibit, prevent and pre-empt’ ecocide. To recognise ecocide as a crime on the Earth, a crime on peace and a crime by humans which impacts all of Earth's inhabitants. The focus is on creating a collective responsibility to protect the Earth and the natural world. To create a ‘first do no harm’ principle and to set in motion the shift needed within governments and supported by international law to draw a line under the continued atrocities on our planet. The Stop Ecocide campaign that Polly cofounded is working towards implementing an amendment to the Rome Statute, to make ecocide an internationally recognised crime and putting in place practical solutions to support governments and industries in making the changes needed.
You can find out more about this and how you can support the prevention of ecocide here.
What can I do to help?
It’s not just the big businesses and governments that contribute to the problem. It’s easy to feel so far removed from the ‘real problem’, the future outcomes of us continuing to live this way or to feel that it’s only people like Polly who can really make a difference. But what if we’re all contributing to the problem in at least some small way and collectively the sum of that small contribution is significant? What if the impact of our footprint isn’t a problem that will just be felt by future generations but is being felt in a catastrophic way today? What if this problem cannot be be dismissed as a responsibility of others to resolve, but requires every one of us to take some action now?
I needn’t list a load of metrics about the size of this crisis or the rate that it’s occurring. If you’re interested in the numbers, you only have to do a few Google searches to see the stats are scary! We know that it’s happening - that’s not up for debate and we know that the consequences are and will be devastating. As I write this I’m thinking about Sir David Attenborough’s recent harrowing film of his Witness Statement of our ‘global decline during a single lifetime’. I challenge you to watch it with a dry eye and not come away wanting to do something to help.
We know that getting to this point has been a cumulative effect. If we recognise the power of a cumulative effort towards a solution, is this still something we can turn easily away from?
I believe it all starts with being more conscious. Conscious about the issues and how the choices we make have impact. Being more conscious of our habits and recognising where these contribute to the problem. Conscious when making decisions, for example when consuming products, food choices, how we deal with waste, how we travel, how we support positive change more broadly, the values we share with our children, how we use our voice, how we vote, how we run our business.
And once we’re more conscious, the next (and most important) step is the doing bit, where we actually make the changes. It’s important to recognise that these don’t have to be huge transformations.
Another great thing about what happens when we begin to make better choices and start to trade habits for those that are healthier for the planet, is that the benefits gained in relation to efforts are not linear. If you’re familiar with James Clear’s work on Atomic Habits, you’ll know that 1% change doesn’t necessarily equal 1% improvement. It’s more akin to the 20% - 80% rule (known as the Pareto Principle).
Essentially, small changes can lead to improvements accumulating disproportionately over time, so you get way more bang for your buck! Unfortunately, the rule doesn’t just apply to positive habits and improvements, but also works for action that causes negative effects, meaning there’s a disproportionally accumulative negative impact from habits which are not good for the planet.
Think on that for a moment and what it means to you about the impact that each of us has and how we can make a real difference if we are more conscious of our habits and were to make better choices.
How you and I decide to contribute to the solution may differ and our contributions may seem subtle in comparison to the work of others, in particular people like Polly Higgins and David Attenborough. What’s important to recognise is that we all have a unique contribution to make in the service of our planet.
Have you considered what your unique contribution might be and what small (or great) changes you might begin to make today?
But where to start?
There are many competing things for our attention and time and the Internet is so saturated with information that it can be difficult to know where to start. So here’s a few things to think about and places to look. The examples below may have contenders for even greener options and things change often, but I share them as a starting point to offer ideas based on the easy and affordable adjustments that I’ve recently made which have worked really well for me.
Feel free to use the comments box to share your thoughts or any relevant tips and links.
- Say no to new plastic
- Recycle
- Reuse / repurpose things that cannot be recycled
- Buy second hand
- Give away to charity shops or pass on to others
- Switch to greener cleaning products:
- Less plastic and eco friendly laundry cleaner
- Greener dishwashing
- Tabletised kitchen/bathroom cleaner
- Swap for reusable sanitary products:
- Eco friendly and cruelty free hair and beauty products
- Switch your most regular repeat purchases to Plastic-free & reusable products
- Swap cling film for vegan or beeswax wraps
- Grow your own herbs and veg
- Cut out (or down) meat and dairy
- Shop local and seasonal
- Consider ways to be more energy efficient
- Ask if it’s as 'green' as it appears
- Plant trees
- World land trust (recommended by Sir David Attenborough)
- Our National forests
- Trees in uk cities
Reference material and credits
Dare to be great - Polly Higgins
Ted Talk on Ecocide, the 5th crime against humanity - Polly Higgins
Stop ecocide campaign - Polly Higgins
A life on our planet (a witness statement) - David Attenborough
If women rose rooted - Sharan Blackie
The nature fix - Florence Williams
The hidden life of trees - Peter Wohlleben
Earthing - the most important discovery ever? - Clinton Ober, Stephen T Sinatra, Martin Zucker
Atomic habits - James Clear
Photo 1 - Helen Robinson
Photo 3 & 4 - Robin Goldsbro
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