- Urgent action needed, say the charity Eden Project and partners, as more than half of UK adults (52%) now spend less than two hours a week in nature
- Rallying call for more ‘greentime’ to improve human and nature’s health despite screentime domination
- Giant emergency exit sign featuring drought-tolerant plants launches Eden Project’s new Greentime17 initiative encouraging people to spend at least 17 minutes a day in nature
- Campaign forms part of three-year multi-organisation partnership connecting people with nature across the UK
The study, which is the first of its kind to examine UK-wide attitudes towards time in nature, reveals that almost nine in ten (86%) people report that spending time in nature helps their wellbeing, and eight in ten (83%) have very or fairly easy access to green or natural spaces.
Stepping up its action to coincide with the charity’s 25th anniversary year, Eden Project has brought together a multi-organisation partnership to launch Greentime17 - a mission to make 17 minutes in nature as routine as getting your five-a-day or 10,000 steps. Easy, accessible ‘greentime’ activities can take place in green or blue space, and can range from walking in a local park, spending time waterside, enjoying the garden, or even birdwatching from a balcony.
The initiative is informed by research conducted by the University of Exeter’s Centre for Environment and Human Health, which found that people who spend at least 120 minutes in nature a week are more likely to report good health and higher psychological wellbeing than those who do not visit nature at all during an average week.
According to the World Health Organisation, more than one billion people now live with mental health issues globally, with the climate threat actively destabilising mental health, and acting as a multiplier of many other critical health issues.
As a direct provocation to inspire action, passers-by in London’s Canary Wharf were presented with a stunning one-of-a-kind installation depicting the new GreenTime17 Emergency Exit sign - with one clear message. The 6 x 3 metre board, built primarily from drought-tolerant plants to reflect the climate crisis and biodiversity collapse, is a rallying call to the nature-deprived UK public, urging them to take the nearest exit into nature to boost their health and support the natural world to recover.
Located beside Eden Dock - the transformative dock regeneration project developed in partnership with Eden Project and CWG - the installation stopped residents, office workers and tourists in their tracks, inviting them to join in with the build and connect with nature by potting up plants to add to the living wall. After being displayed for several days, the installation will be dismantled on Thursday (10 September). All plants will be given away or re-homed at the Eden Project in Cornwall.
The Canary Wharf installation forms part of Eden Project’s Nature: Connections and Recovery, a three-year partnership programme that connects people with nature to boost health and wellbeing, while equipping communities with the skills and confidence to take climate-positive action locally. Thanks to National Lottery players, Nature: Connection and Recovery has received over £2 million from The National Lottery Community Fund‘s Climate Action Fund, a long-term commitment to support communities across the UK to act on climate change and involve more people in positive environmental action.
Led by Eden Project in partnership with Wildlife Trusts, it’s part of the charity’s renewed strategic effort to drive a revolution that engages people in climate-positive action where they live, while also improving their own health and wellbeing by spending time in nature.
Megan McCubbin, TV presenter and zoologist, is supporting the campaign and said: "It’s fantastic to be supporting Eden Project’s Greentime17 campaign! I’m incredibly passionate about the importance of reconnecting with our natural world, and appreciating the sense of awe and wonder it can inspire. Even simple acts that take just 17 minutes a day can help us to connect with the natural world, which can have a huge impact on how you feel – and it can help our planet too.
“Explore your nearest green space, do some birdwatching, make a bird box or bug hotel, sow native wildflower seeds, walk on a beach, or grow some veg from a seed! Just 17 minutes doing a nature related activity improves our happiness and our health, while also giving nature a little helping hand when it needs it most."
The UK-wide public engagement campaign sits alongside six place-based focus areas and has been developed through an extensive period of in-depth work at Eden Project’s iconic home in Cornwall supported by partners.
The programme now aims to get at least 10 million more people feeling the benefits of spending 17 minutes a day in nature by taking action for nature and climate by 2028 – the same year the charity plans to extend its impact further by opening its new site, Eden Project Morecambe, followed soon after by Eden Project Scotland in Dundee.
Representatives from each of the programme’s six project areas - Dundee, Morecambe, Liverpool, Belfast, Newport and Cornwall - came along to roll up their sleeves planting the unique installation, as well as enjoying a 17 minute mindful nature walk around Eden Dock.
From participants connecting with nature to support mental and physical wellbeing, to volunteers helping to protect fragile habitats, the event saw attendees come together to share experiences and inspire members of the public to spend more time in nature.
Andy Jasper, CEO of the Eden Project, said: “I love that just 17 minutes in nature a day can make a real difference for everyone. Get outside, walk, breathe, notice what’s around you. The more connected we are to nature, the better we feel, and the more we value and protect it.”
“I’m incredibly proud that our charity Eden Project, is leading this work alongside our fantastic partners. Greentime17 is about inspiring millions of people to make one small change that, together, can have a huge impact on human health and nature recovery. Seventeen minutes. Anyone can, and everyone should do it.”
Nature: Connections and Recovery is run by the Eden Project and partners, made possible by The National Lottery Community Fund, the Ashken Family Foundation and Bupa Foundation. Working in partnership with Gwent, Ulster, Lancashire and Scottish Wildlife Trusts, and Intelligent Health, the programme targets communities across the UK which are worst affected by climate change and health inequalities.
Greentime17 is the public engagement campaign which aims to reach 10 million over three years – it’s part of Nature: Connections and Recovery and Eden Project’s broader Nature Connections programme, one of the charity’s key strategic priorities over the next 25 years.
Find out more at www.greentime17.com
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