Holmfirth mindfulness coach offers Nature Fix platform to improve mental health

“In some ways, it sort of sounds like a strange idea that you would connect with nature through a computer rather than just, you know, going outside,” says Rachel. “But actually, a lot of research now shows that we can get as many health and wellbeing benefits by connecting with nature on the screen or in a book as we can from actually going outside, if we know how to do it.”

Also, she adds: “For a variety of reasons, people can’t always physically access outdoor space and so I am absolutely passionate about making good quality support available for people in a flexible, accessible way which ultimately enables people to feel rested, inspired and cared for.”

Rachel, originally from the Midlands, used to be the arts and wellbeing programmer at Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Wakefield but in 2018 decided to focus full time on Other Ways To Walk, a service where she guides groups outdoors with a focus on mindful activities.

That had to stop when the pandemic hit, and Rachel herself got Covid-19 in March 2020, resulting in symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog and inflammation for a year afterwards.

She also started feeling lightheaded and dizzy in August 2021 and eventually got a diagnosis of PPPD in March this year.

Symptoms – which she says have since improved – initially prevented her from taking out groups or even going for walks herself.

All of this was compounded by the death of her father, Pete Howfield, in the early hours of New Year’s Day this year after a long illness and extensive hospital stays throughout the pandemic.

“It just became a vicious circle because I couldn't do the thing that I knew helped me to reduce stress, and basically couldn't get out,” she says.

As things got better, she realised that there was an unmet demand for online nature content which could help people improve their mental health.

Rachel says: “There's lots of stuff that is very spectacular - David Attenborough-style wildlife programmes or maybe the dawn chorus, all those sort of special nature events. But I just wanted to find things that actually gave me a sense of connecting with what's actually happening outside my window, outside my door right now, in nature, to help me feel that connection with the world around me, and I couldn't find it online. So that's really the main motivation for making Nature Fix, was realising well, if I can't find it, other people can't find it, and I know it could help. As soon as I was well enough that was my big motivation, to go out and start making little videos that I knew I could watch and I could listen to when I was at home on days where I was having a bad day, and it was so beneficial for me. Then I knew I needed to make it available to more people.”

Nature Fix is a monthly membership platform, costing £5. Features include Woodsong - a guided meditation in nature presented as a video, recorded in the woods each month. The platform also offers news from experts about how connecting with nature improves our wellbeing. Elsewhere, users can enjoy regular updates about what’s happening in the natural world - such as spring flowers, migration patterns of birds or zombie ants being controlled by parasitic fungi, for example.

Health and social care professionals are even suggesting its use through “social prescribing” partnerships in parts of Wakefield, Kirklees, Hull and Derbyshire, says Rachel.

She has cited research, reported by the World Economic Forum, by analytics firm Gallup which annually surveys adults in 122 countries and areas. In its 2021 survey, four in 10 adults worldwide said they experienced a lot of worry (42 per cent) or stress (41 per cent). Rachel also notes that studies by researchers at University of Derby have showed that people with a strong connection to nature are 1.7 times more likely to report their lives as being purposeful, meaningful and worthwhile.

“We all know that if you walk through the park that's going to have some health benefits,” says Rachel. “It's going to reduce obesity or get your cardiovascular system working on things like that. But nature connection is about developing more of an emotional connection and response to nature."

The feel of leaf’s textures on someone’s hand, for example.

“And that's where you get benefit with things like improved mood. There’s really fascinating studies measuring salivary cortisol. Cortisol is a stress hormone. You can measure it in people with saliva, and the levels of cortisol dropped really dramatically when people spend just a few minutes, like two or three minutes, connecting with nature.

"That will reduce levels of stress in the body, which helps prevent depression and anxiety and all those other things much more quickly than if you just had a walk. So there are lots of different benefits through developing this more mindful, emotional connection. And that's what Nature Fix is all about.”