Empowering urban communities to connect with nature: a conversation with Divya Kumar - Vol 3 Sneak Peek
How can we connect with nature in landscapes that sometimes feel separated from nature? Sally Smurthwaite speaks with Divya Kumar from Tiny Forest for some ideas.
Article by: Sally Smurthwaite
Artwork by: Nathalie Dickson
We tend to see nature as separate from ourselves and the spaces we dominate. Town versus country, human versus animal, civilisation versus wilderness. But we live in shared spaces, nature is everywhere and we are an intrinsic part of it.
Many of my most magical wildlife encounters took place in towns and cities. The screeching of foxes in the middle of the night outside my London flat. Stumbling across a hedgehog trundling along the pavement when walking home from the pub. A moment of spiritual connection as I gaze up at a starling murmuration dancing above a hotel car park.
Many species can thrive in cities. Peregrine falcons nest on some of our tallest buildings. Urban hedgehog numbers have been shown to be recovering in contrast with a 75% decline in some rural areas. Bumblebees have been shown to have better access to food in cities. Numbers of urban foxes have more than tripled since 1995. We can engage with wildlife in urban spaces if we know where and how to look.
Society is recognising the benefits of spending time in nature for our mental and physical health everyday, yet many of the people who need these benefits the most cannot reach them. Around 1 in 3 people don’t have access to nature-rich spaces near their homes. Some of the most deprived areas have no green space with ethnic minorities twice as likely to live in nature-poor neighbourhoods.
But there is hope. There is a growing movement to connect people with nature in urban spaces. A pioneer in this movement is the environmental charity Earthwatch Europe. Their Tiny Forest, Naturehood and Green Earth Schools programmes all aim to engage urban communities with nature.
Based on the Japanese Miyawaki tree-planting method, the aim of Tiny Forest is to create natural forest ecosystems in miniature. Working with councils, schools, the NHS and more, Earthwatch have planted over 200 Tiny Forests in urban communities across the UK, amounting to nearly 90,000 trees. But Tiny Forest is about more than just planting trees.
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