Nature and the Environment. 10 – 16 May
“If we speak of things as inert or inanimate objects, we deny their ability to actively engage and interact with us—we foreclose their capacity to reciprocate our attentions, to draw us into silent dialogue, to inform and instruct us.”
David Abram, Becoming Animal
Mental Health Awareness Week was established by The Mental Health Foundation 21 years ago and continues to be an annual opportunity for the whole of the UK to focus on mental health. Each year the Foundation sets the theme, which this year is Nature and the Environment. There is an interesting statement from Mark Rowland, Chief Executive of the MHF as to the reasons for the choice here.
We might instinctively know that we feel better for spending time in Nature, even if we do not know why. This week of presentations and conversations will be a chance for us to better understand and experience the healing power of Nature.
Online Events
- Mission Invertebrate – May Webber – Monday 10 May 7 – 8.15 pm
- Gardening for Mental Health – Nichola Daunton – Tuesday 11 May 7 – 8.15 pm
- Our Energetic Nature – Qi Gong taster class with MayMay Knight – Wednesday 12 May 4 – 5pm
- Mental Health in Times of Covid 19 & Open Forum – Prof S Bhugra & Dr D Gupta – Wednesday 12 May 7 – 8.15 pm
- The Healing Power of Nature – Ratnadeva Sean Quigley – Thursday 13 May 7 – 8.15 pm
- You’re a Bit of an Animal – Jane Shaw – Friday 14 May 7 – 8.15pm
Real World Events
Booking an Event
Please register for the event you would like to attend below:
Activities you can practice now
Read this booklet on Thriving with Nature or enjoy these tree meditations.
The Mental Health Foundation suggests the following activities :
- Experience nature: take time to recognise and grow your connection with nature during the week. Take a moment to notice and celebrate nature in your daily life. You might be surprised by what you notice!
- Share nature: Take a photo, video or sound recording and share the connections you’ve made during the week, to inspire others. Join the discussion on how you’re connecting with nature by using the hashtags #ConnectWithNature #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
- Talk about nature: use our tips, school packs, research and policy guides to discuss in your family, school, workplace and community how you can help encourage people to find new ways to connect with nature in your local environment.
If you would like to do some fundraising for the Mental Health Foundation, have a look here.
The Primrose Hill Community Association (PHCA) is keen to promote mental health in our community. If you have ideas for events that could support this end, please contact events@phca.cc.
“Such reciprocity is the very structure of perception. We experience the sensuous world only by rendering ourselves vulnerable to that world. Sensory perception is this ongoing interweavement: the terrain enters into us only to the extent that we allow ourselves to be taken up within that terrain.”
David Abram, Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology
Last Updated on 5th May 2021 by Mick Hudspeth