‘Nature affects human cognition — the impacts of separating us from nature are very powerful’

Gretchen Cara Daily

teaches environmental science at

Stanford University

. Speaking to

Srijana Mitra Das

at

Times Evoke

, she discusses the close ties between nature and humans — and the effects of ‘nature separation’:
What is the core of your work at Stanford’s

Natural Capital

Project?
We are shining a light on the powerful connections and benefits of nature to people. Many of these are very significant but hidden. Think of our microbiome — amidst most of the cells that make up our bodies, there are ten times more non-human cells than human ones. That’s why we need to touch soil, plants and animals — this helps us maintain a healthy microbiome which gives us both physical and psychological benefits. We need to understand the enormous contribution of nature to our wellbeing and bring this into policy, planning and financial investment.



How does the term ‘nature experience’ improve human cognition?
This is an extremely interesting area of research now. Evidence shows a very powerful effect between nature experience and human cognition. Even a short walk in a park or viewing a tree outside an office window has a measurable effect on our cognitive function, our ability to concentrate, recall, process maths and put ideas together in a creative way This is also apparent in the performance of school kids. A study in Illinois in the US compared high school children in identical classrooms with one difference — the kids in classrooms which had a view of a little bit of greenery performed better than the kids whose windows faced a parking lot or a space with no sign of nature.

Even a tiny glimpse of nature can have a major effect on our cognitive function. It also impacts the emotional dimensions of well-being — the first set of high school kids in the study experienced lower stress levels. With more access to nature, people report higher levels of happiness, more positive social interactions and a greater sense of meaning in life.



What does ‘rumination’ mean in this context?
In psychology, ‘rumination’ refers to repetitive negative and self-referential thoughts. This is something many of us do when we keep thinking back on events with regret or negative feelings. Research is now studying the links between nature experience and such psychological outcomes. We’ve studied people taking short walks in natural areas compared to being in built-up areas — and we’ve found that people ruminate much less when they’re amidst natural surroundings. On doing brain scans in these studies, we’ve found lower activity in parts of the brain, particularly the subgenual pre-frontal cortex, linked with the onset of depression and associated disorders. Spending time in nature, from a small park to a large reserve, literally lifts people out of the troubles that cause them to ruminate.



What do these bonds between a human being and nature tell us?
They show how humans are strongly connected to nature at every level. Our connection with nature is incredibly historic — and the impacts of separating us from nature are very powerful. Our well-being involves reconnecting with natural experiences. Tests show that just hearing birdsong at dawn or frogs singing at night can have a very deep effect on people.


This is extremely important as worldwide now, people in cities are suffering from much higher rates of mental illness, stress, depression and other challenges associated with nature separation, alongside facing unceasing chores, more screens and more electronic devices.

You research cities worldwide — has a city changed its relationship with nature?
I’ve featured San Antonio, Texas, in one of my books. Over the years, the city changed from having a Native American culture to a Mexican one and now, the US. A beautiful river runs through this historic city but this was hemmed in with concrete. In the 1990s, some city leaders recognised that instead of fighting the river’s tendency to flood, they should accept it as part of nature’s rhythm. They have now revitalised their urban downtown by bringing back a living river. The city also found public lands prone to flooding which had been abandoned and recreated ‘food forests’ there — these have plants like the native pecan tree and others which were significant to San Antonio’s diverse communities. Under the shade of these trees, there is also urban farming of vegetables, nuts and fruits.

These are ways for people to sink their hands in healthy soil and restore microbiome — this also creates access to nature in parts of the city which are considered ‘food deserts’ or lacking access to fresh foods. This is a place of both history and the future, semidomesticated and semi-wild nature, where humans and other beings can also connect with each other.

Should equitable access to nature be recognised as a fundamental right?
Absolutely — nature is essential to well-being and dignity and equitable access to it should be as human a right as water is. Many international organisations which once followed a ‘development at all costs’ approach are now recognising this. The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank have pledged to mainstream nature into all their policies, analyses and investments in human development by 2025. Many of their efforts lend credence to this — the ADB and

IADB

have established a Natural Capital Lab, formally recognising nature as an asset and acknowledging the high costs of overlooking this.

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