We often forget to notice nature all around us, and this is especially true in our urban environments. Many species have adapted so well to the urban environment that they are easily overlooked. There’s more to see, and more ways to connect with nature in our urban streets than we might think.
Pavement plants and nearby nature
At TFBI, we love looking out for plants poking through any gaps they can find in pavements, through fences, halfway up a wall or even on a roof, sometimes poking out of the top of drainpipes! It’s true that weeds are often ignored and dismissed as unwanted intruders. Seen in a different light, these ‘weeds’ are often important to birds and other wildlife. When you take a closer look, they are often beautiful too.
Take the humble dandelion, the scourge of lawn owners and park keepers, it is a fantastic food for pollinators. This year saw many people showing a new appreciation for dandelions, and even inspired human foragers to add leaves to salads, make dandelion tea and even dandelion honey!
This love for pavement plants and re-branding ‘weeds’ as incredible plants in their own right has a growing following. If you would like some inspiration check out More Than Weeds, who have been using social media to help spread the word.
Abundant habitats
In winter, you may not see dandelions – although it’s amazing how many plants in urban areas have a much longer season due to the ‘urban heat island’ effect – but you will definitely see other winter-flowering plants and berries. In fact, this year is a ‘mast’ year, a year in which there is an abundance of berries (and other fruits, nuts & seeds). Although the exact reason why mast years occur has not been determined, it’s fantastic to witness. Particularly impressive this year are holly trees and bushes, which are laden with bright red berries. You may be lucky enough to spot the birds and other wildlife having a snack.
Nature in miniature
Other fascinating plants that are so familiar they are often unnoticed and overlooked are the many species of moss and lichen. These little pioneers grow everywhere: on walls, trees, lampposts and in other nooks and crannies. Once you start looking out for them, you’ll notice them clinging to all manner of surfaces. Try seeing how many different types you can spot. Noticing their different textures, colours, how and where they grow, adds to the fascination.
Trees as our urban companions
The ‘urban forest’ is a collection of trees that grow within a city, town or suburb. Our familiar and incredibly important street trees. Someone else who has been passionate about bringing urban nature to public attention this year, is Forest School teacher Rachel Summer, who chalked up the streets near where she lives to help people identify local trees. Knowledge isn’t being passed on like it used to be, as many town and city dwellers have no need to identify trees, and few realise how important they are to our wellbeing. A single tree can absorb around 4.5kg of air pollutants in a year, so they are especially important in urban environments.
Keep an eye out for unexpected wildness
Nature doesn’t just have to be about parks & public gardens, sometimes our forgotten or less used spaces can be where nature really thrives. The land around our shops and supermarkets can be a haven for wildlife but we are often too busy and distracted to notice. A tree in the car park of a local supermarket is often a roost for noisy birds!
Depending where you live, there are often pockets of nature that you’re not expecting and miss if you’re hurrying past.
By training your eyes to notice, and taking time to become aware of the details, you’ll see plants trailing over walls, escaping from gardens, and tentatively taking hold in urban spaces. Have you ever walked past a forgotten building who’s garden has been neglected? It doesn’t take long for nature to start to reclaim a space. Next time you spot such a garden take a moment to linger and wonder at nature’s determination to re-wild.
Go local exploring – and a new take on familiar routes
This year we have heard countless people reporting new nature discoveries that they simply hadn’t noticed on their walks before. Try a simple exercise of taking time to wander aimlessly, getting ‘lost’ in your local area. Look out for back paths, try new routes, you never know what you might find. Why not approach it as if you are exploring somewhere new, or as you would if you were discovering a new town on holiday?
If you have a very familiar route that you take frequently, allow a bit more time to pay attention, pause and look around. Try looking up! You can notice new things every day, a different bird, a new plant. Bushes that look dormant but when looked at closely you can already see swelling buds getting ready for spring.
One thing that you’ll discover as you bring Forest Bathing+ practices of mindfulness and nature connection in to you urban life, is that even on a familiar route, no two walks need ever be the same again.
Wherever you find for your local walk, take some moments to look up and around, to really notice your surroundings, and you may find surprising and hidden beauty. We think there’s no such thing as a ‘boring’ walk when you take the time to include nature!
This is the second of four articles designed to inspire your own nature connection journeys – in the next one we head into our gardens, and in the final one we will explore nature connection indoors when you can’t go out.