What is Your Nature?

I spent some time thinking about what ‘Your Nature’ is and thought that describing it as an outpouring of what’s in my brain and what I like learning about, probably wasn’t the best description, so I thought of some other ideas…

I would describe ‘Your Nature’ as a not-for-profit enterprise. The definition of an enterprise as defined in the Oxford dictionary, as ‘a project or undertaking, especially a bold or complex one.’ What is more complex than the planet and the people that live in it?

‘Your Nature’ came about as I attended a webinar about Green Social Work and from that I realized that my two passions in life, being a social worker and being an eco-warrior, were combined. I found this mind blowing and began to research and read about Eco Social Work and other types of Environmental Social Work. There’s lots of different terminology, but anyway, the point I am trying to make is I began to read extensively about social work and the climate crisis, which led me to learn more about environmental issues. I was reading, watching films and listening to podcasts and I felt like I wanted to share all this information and all of this knowledge. So basically, I decided to build a website where I could put what I was learning and things I had accessed, onto the website.

As I was putting it onto a website, I needed to give the website a name. I wanted it to be connected to nature, I wanted it to be about being eco-friendly, I wanted it to be about nurturing the planet. I am training to be a counsellor as well as already being a qualified social worker, so I am interested in the issues of looking at nature versus nurture. So, I decided to call it ‘Your Nature’ as I wanted to put people at the centre of discussion. Whilst it is about looking at the planet, the planet consists of billions of people and social work is based centrally around putting the person at the centre of practice (person centred practice). It is a bit of a play on words; I love the name ‘Your Nature’ because of the many different connotations it has.

The term Your Nature also makes me think about the concept of self, what is intrinsically you, what makes up the nature of you. For me, first and foremost this has been about working out who my authentic self is; what is important to me, what makes me who I am. For me the most important aspect of me is being (or trying to be) a good person. For me this looks like, caring about the people I love but also caring for myself and looking after my wellbeing and my mental health. Nature is pivotal in my well being and keeping good mental health. I need daily doses of the outdoors, immersing myself in nature, whether that is walking, running, hiking, swimming or just sitting! During Covid I took up wild swimming and have managed to go all year-round swimming in the sea in just swim wear – no wet suit required. The buzz I get from cold water swimming is incredible and can keep me smiling for a whole day! Living near the beach in Bournemouth makes it easier for me but wherever I travel I manage to find somewhere to go for a dip; whether that is in a river or lake or even under a waterfall. For anyone interested in cold water therapy check out Wim Hoff. Cold water therapy has so many health benefits but also mental health benefits. I find open wild swimming so freeing, so cathartic but also so grounding and connecting to the Earth. The power of the sea is so humbling and I feel like the water is surrounding me and almost giving me a hug!

I hike and run in nature too – The Purbecks are my playground. Anything to get your blood pumping and your heart rate elevated. It gives me such a sense of achievement doing a hard walk or run and feeling exhausted but energized all at the same time. I started running years ago when my mental health was really bad and what it taught me was the mental strength to keep going, to push through, not to give up. It was never about losing weight, or getting fit, it was about proving to myself that I could do it. If I can run 13 miles, I can do anything!!

All my adventures are usually with my faithful companion who is always by my side with unconditional love, but also the energy and drive to continue to motivate me and to make sure I get outside every day. I love her more than I have the words to explain and my existence is to make sure she is having the best life I can give her. As a lifelong vegetarian and Vegan for 6 years, I cannot fathom the hurt and suffering that some animals endure. Why just because my companion is a dog, does that mean she is any more or less deserving for a happy and peaceful life. Billions of animals suffer at the hands of humans and it is just not in my nature to be a part of that, as much as I can do living in this western culture. Being Vegan is central to my identify, my authentic self and my nature, values and beliefs.

Not only is being Vegan and loving animals about treating beings with kindness and respect, being Vegan also is one of the most impactful ways we can have on the climate crisis. I love my life; I love animals and I love spending time in nature. Therefore, I want to do anything I can to help the planet survive. It feels daunting sometimes, how can little old me make any impact on the climate crisis, but we all can do what is in our scope. Setting up ‘Your Nature,’ sharing what I do on social media, raising awareness is part of my nature, in helping, in doing something, being an activist! As well as having a bamboo toothbrush and cleaning like it is 1929, I also tell anyone that wants to listen that the planet is f**ked if we don’t all do something! I am sure I will write about this more in the future but I wanted you to know how important this is to me and my nature!

As you have hopefully seen from the website, there is a bit about me which is probably the least interesting bit on the website! There’s a section on different books I’ve read, different podcasts I’ve listened to and films that I have watched. There is an ‘other resources’ section which I’ve put links to other websites and a link to the webinar I watched on Green Social Work. There’s a blog section – this is my first blog and there is also a professional section around my qualifications, what I do for work and linking in with me if you want to work with me.

From listening to the podcast Happy Pear with Dr Tara Shine and Madeleine Murray of Change by Degrees, they talk about sustainable businesses. Whilst ‘Your Nature’ isn’t a business so to speak, I do want to look at my sustainability plan, how I am working environmentally friendly and how I can work better. So, I am going to start building up a business plan incorporating how I am going to be sustainable and the actions that I am going to take to fulfil that goal.

My website will grow and develop, I will continue to post on social media; (I am far more active on Facebook than Instagram or Twitter, mainly as I know how Facebook works better than the others). I would love to hear from you guys; anything you have read, watched or listened to. Please follow me on social media and share my page! Please let’s get people talking about these issues and thinking about the climate crisis. But, most importantly, what I would ask you to do, is think about you and your nature, what is important to you, what do you do to look after yourself, how does nature factor into that?

Thank you for reading!