What nature means to me

I have been meaning to write this article for some time now. It is about the healing power of nature in my life especially in this strange year of a continuing global pandemic.

We all have mental health – What helps you?

Just last week, Bergen, Norway, also went into lockdown, for the second time this year, following other European countries.

I have spent a lot of time in nature this year, even more than usual. I am lucky to have many places to hike. Living in Bergen, the city of seven mountains, you are never far away from a hiking trail. As climbing halls and swimming pools closed, I have found myself going for walks or hikes several times a week, once a day during the first lockdown.

I have also been more grateful than ever for having horse riding as a hobby, as I have been able to hop in the car and drive out to stables and spend time in the woods with horses. Horses need to be looked after, mucked out, fed, and exercised, crisis or no crisis.

As a result of the COVID19 pandemic, I have truly come to realise that there are primarily two things which energise me and provide me with resources to deal with life: community and nature.

I have already covered the topic of community quite extensively in a previous article about my volunteering with the Red Cross and the incredible warmth of the rock-climbing community (Becoming a volunteer, perhaps the best decision of my life).

My intention this time is to share with words and photographs taken over the last few months, how my time in nature has kept me happy and healthy. Welcome to “Into the forest – Trees & plants”, a photo album with my best forest pictures from 2020, from which these selected photographs are taken.

Reconnecting with nature

I believe that many of us have been feeling a need to reconnect with nature in these times of a global pandemic. Not everyone has access to the same natural resources at their doorstep as I do, but most of us can see trees, autumn leaves and birds flying in the sky. Photographs and documentaries are also at our fingertips if we wish to travel far in the mind’s eye and witness the richness of the ecosystems of our planet.

Looking at nature, touching nature, breathing it in, and being in nature is so important for our well-being as a species. Nature gives us hope, space, a home, and a sense of being a part of something bigger than ourselves. I would argue that going for a walk in nature helps clear the fog of worry that can appear in the mind, and soothe a deeper sense of anxiety that we are feeling right now for the fate of our loved ones and our communities.

Here is a quote by a supporter of the Thriving with Nature guide, by the Mental Health Foundation and WWF, which aims to help people to make the most of our natural spaces through the seasons: “Sitting outside, in nature, calms me so much, gardening makes me feel healthier, inspired, the rain calms me, the smell and sounds of birds, animals, flowers, the wind, watching clouds float by, calms me.”

Not everyone shares this view and that’s fine too. What matters is that we all have something or someplace that we turn to when times are hard. For me, that place is nature, the outdoors, the elements.

What nature means to me in pictures

I have always loved taking pictures and have done so my whole life, using everything from one time use cameras to mobile phones and small digital cameras. Last year, I bought a Sony A6000, and this marked the start of a new chapter for me.

Since going on a photography course this summer, I have been teaching myself how to shoot in manual mode. I have become a true amateur photographer, learning how to use my camera and how to edit pictures afterwards.

This year has given me the opportunity to invest a considerable amount of time into learning these new skills, combined with spending more time hiking. I have published many photo albums on Flickr, a great platform for photographers, without the advertising or the videos that overwhelm Instagram. I have now decided to create albums by topic, where I collect my favourite shots from a range of other albums and gather them all in one place.

The first one is called “Into the forest – Trees & plants”, from which these selected photographs are taken. For each photograph, there is a title and most of them also have a short description. Publishing my images thus gives me the opportunity to combine my two main languages of art: photography and writing.

I hope that they will brighten your day, give you a break, and some space to breathe and dream.