Roots in the River: Celebrating Spring and connecting with nature!

Having passed the spring equinox on Friday 20^th March, spring is officially here! Over the past few weeks, we have seen shoots appearing, the first flowers of the year blooming, and that cold edge in the air has gone. Spring offers a great opportunity to get out into nature, connecting with the natural world to reap the well-being benefits it can offer. As the cold and shorter days of winter have passed, engaging communities with nature becomes easier, as many people are ready to be outside again, and the natural world becomes a more inviting place to be. Rivers are a great place to bring people together. For those of us involved in conservation work, surveying, or simply walking the same stretches of river regularly, spring is when everything starts moving again.

Connecting with nature has been shown to provide us with many benefits, such as improved mental wellbeing, greater meaning and purpose in life, and more pro-environmental behaviours (University of Derby). Nature connection can be very simple, it is about the feelings you get whilst in nature. Spring is one of the easiest times of year to feel a real connection to nature, especially when walking by a river. The senses seem to wake up along with the landscape. The more time you spend in nature, especially in spring with longer days and warmer weather, the more you realise that nature connection comes from noticing small things, using your different senses to recognise them, and think about how this makes you feel. Standing by a river at this time of year, you are reminded that nature connection is not complicated, it involves simply being present long enough to see, hear, smell, and feel the natural world around you.

Next time you walk near your local river, or are passing by some nature, take time to notice and pay attention to any wildlife around you. You might notice new buds and shoots on ash, beech or oak trees, leaves emerging from alder, field maple and silver birch, or blossoms blooming on blackthorn and crab apple. Look out for pollinators too as they begin to move around to feed on newly grown flowers. Peacock, comma and red admiral butterflies can be spotted this time of year, and you could also spot beetles, spiders and ladybirds. You may also spot some special migrant bird visitors that return to the UK after spending the winter in warmer areas, including blackcap, chiffchaff and wheatear.