Feeling disconnected from nature? You’re not alone.
With few of us recovering from the teenage dip in nature connection, it’s no surprise that many of us report feeling disconnected from nature and left searching for ways to rewild ourselves.
Rewilding is a term that we often use to describe the restoration of natural spaces. Helping a landscape revert back to its natural, wild state, after being changed by human intervention. So what does it mean to rewild yourself?
Related Read | How to Keep Young People Connected to Nature
What does it mean to rewild yourself?
Many of our lives revolve around a digital world. Bathed in blue light from our devices. Exposed to adverts, emails, comparisons, and what feels like 24-hour connection. The natural world feels like a distant other, something we seek out only when we can spare the time in our busy schedules.
Yet, we’re part of nature.
A disconnection from the natural world can leave us feeling worn out, stressed and disorientated.
Multiple studies have now shown that a strong nature connection can boost our wellbeing, pro-environmental behaviours and even a feeling that life is worthwhile.
Rewilding yourself involves re-finding a wilder state of being. But you don’t have to head off-grid and live on a diet of foraged foods to find a strong nature connection...
It can be as simple as making small changes to your lifestyle that keep you more in tune with the natural world, its seasons, cycles and rhythms.
And there are lots of ways you can do this…
10 tips to rewild yourself and reconnect with nature
From making a conscious effort to learn the names of the plants that surround us, to bringing seasonal events like the Spring Equinox back into our lives.
Here are 10 ways you can rewild yourself and reconnect with the natural world…
1. Rewild your gut microbiome
Our gut microbiome plays an incredibly vital role in the health of our body and mind. A gut microbiome with a diverse population of good bacteria can strengthen our immune system, boost our mental health, improve digestion and so much more.
Yet our diets often don’t support our gut microbiome. With most British diets lacking fibre (especially prebiotic fibre which our good bacteria feed on), we miss out on the benefits of a healthy and diverse gut microbiome.
By meeting our daily prebiotic fibre requirements (3-5g per day is recommended) we can ‘rewild’ our gut microbiome and boost our health.
One can of Jamu Wild Water contains 5g of prebiotic fibre from chicory root inulin which can help you ‘rewild from the inside out’.
Related Read | Why is Prebiotic Fibre so Good For You?
2. Mark/celebrate seasonal events
These events aren’t just reserved for Neo-pagans or Wiccans! Celebrating seasonal and celestial events like the Summer Solstice, Harvest Time and Spring Equinox can help to connect us with the cycles of the natural world.
These natural events keep us in tune with the seasons and help us notice the shift between the natural cycles of the year.
3. Spend regular time outdoors
Spending regular time outdoors, in parks or gardens, can help us feel more grounded. It gives us a mental break from the strains and pressures of a digital and commercial world.
This regular connection with nature can help to rewild our minds. Allowing us to reset our thoughts and helping to remind us of what’s truly important in our lives.
Related Read | 8 Nature-Filled Family Day Out Ideas in the UK
4. Learn a skill that involves natural materials
Lots of hobbies allow us to delve into a world of creativity, but there is something so inherently grounding about working with your hands and using natural fibres and materials to create something.
Working with natural materials connects us to a time when humans used only what was available in nature. It’s a great way to reconnect with nature and brings the idea of ‘rewilding’ to a hobby.
Some activities that involve natural materials…
- Woodworking
- Knitting with natural wool
- Basket weaving
- Fabric dying with natural dyes
- Pottery
5. Try foraging!
Foraging for wild food is an ancient skill that helps us recognise our place in the natural world. Before the convenience of farms and supermarkets entered our lives, nature provided for us, and it still can.
Knowing the names of plants and recognising their potential medicinal or culinary value can be a very rewarding experience.
Joining a foraging course is a great way to explore the potential of wild food. If you're based in or around Devon, Robin Harford from Eat Weeds offers online and in-person courses!
6. Sow seeds and grow things
Planting seeds, watching seedlings grow, and harvesting your own veg is a great way to reconnect with the seasons.
Shop shelves are filled year-round with produce that has been forced or grown in faraway places. We can rewild our diets by including more homegrown food. Plus, it usually tastes so much better when you’ve put in the effort to grow it yourself!
If you don’t have access to an outdoor space, even a windowsill can be turned into a mini garden. Create a mini windowsill oasis with houseplants, and even windowsill crops like microgreens, micro tomatoes, lettuce and much more.
7. Notice Nature
Taking time to notice nature is a simple way to deepen our connection to the natural world. One way to notice nature is to learn the names of native flora and fauna. It opens our eyes to the depth and variety of plant and animal life around us.
Learn the names of the birds that visit your garden or the wildflowers that grow in your lawn. Apps like Seek by iNaturalist or Warblr can help you easily identify plants or bird calls.
8. Eat seasonally
Making a conscious effort to eat seasonally can keep us in tune with the seasons and help us appreciate what nature can provide for us, and when.
9. Head into the wild
Spending regular time outdoors in the garden or local park can help to recalibrate our minds with the natural world instead of the digital one. But we can take this one step further by heading into wilder places…
Woodlands, forests, coasts, mountains, wetlands or rivers. Being in totally wild places allows us to experience the full restorative power of nature. Away from roads, fences, or pathways, we can enjoy the wild freedom of these locations without restriction.
Related Read | Why is Nature So Important to Happiness?
10. Choose natural foods
According to the British Heart Foundation, ultra-processed foods make up over half of the average British diet. With limited nutrition and artificial ingredients, these foods may be convenient, but they’ve pulled us away from the natural foods our diets were once filled with.
Opting for natural and whole foods where possible can help us ‘rewild’ ourselves. Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is key, and it's also another great way to boost your gut microbiome.
