Do London Differently by London National Park City
Do London Differently is a podcast series hosted by London National Park City Ranger Emily Langston and produced by Michael Shilling.
Have have relaunched in 2025 with a new format - sharing how Londoners are making the city Greener, Healthier and Wilder.
Do London Differently by London National Park City
Episode 5: Rejoice
Rejoice:
To rejoice is to celebrate, to feel joyful, delighted, happy, or glad.
Where do we find joy today? In an age of eco-anxiety, with a mental health pandemic piled on top of a viral one, how can we bring joy into our lives?
Many are deeply concerned about the future - ecological collapse, and future pandemics, to name just a couple. Meanwhile, short-term dopamine hits like online shopping and scrolling through TikTok might placate our urges, but can they truly make us feel longer-term joy? How can we build joyful foundations that form the building blocks of a happier life?
As many of us found during lockdowns, often joy can come from noticing and being mindful of the rhythms and details of the living world around us. Being overwhelmed by a meadow in bloom, by the flash of a Kingfisher, or the smell of trees and grass.
Does the rest of nature rejoice also? Who hasn’t stepped out on a spring morning and felt like the earth itself was happy?
Science speaks of the benefits of 'natural prescribing’, but might it benefit more than our own well-being? And if so, how can we ensure more of this rejoicing, for ourselves and others, human or otherwise?
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Host: Emily Langstone
Emily loves exploring London’s nature and is passionate about wildlife and bird photography. Emily has volunteered for lots of local organisations and loves to discover, learn from, and share knowledge from wildlife organisations.
Chantal Woodun
Chantal is a Londoner who loves hiking and has recently discovered the joys of walking in her own city. Always having had an interest in animals and the natural world, she graduated in Zoology & Psychology. She strongly believes that a connection with nature is critical for mutual health and wellbeing and will result in a natural respect of the environment. She understands how important it is to draw people’s attention to green spaces particularly in cities and has a Shinrin Yoku (Forest bathing) guiding certificate. She is currently working on the Wanderful London project which aims to uncover the amazing wildlife, green spaces and events and knowledge across London by creating a green platform accessible to Londoners. In her spare time, she enjoys creating habitats for wildlife in her garden.
Dipa Patel
Dipa is involved in Transition Town Tooting and volunteers at her local community garden. Dipa has worked with refugees and asylum seekers and set up Taste of Tooting, which offered visitors a taste of Tooting’s rich cultural heritage through tours of local food-growing spaces and independent food businesses. Dipa will be working with Ranger Ingrina Shieh to connect with underrepresented individuals and groups in the boroughs of Lambeth, Wandsworth, and Southwark who are actively growing their cultural food from seed.
Ingrina Shieh
Ingrina has a passion for urban social design and is keen to address how she can involve ethnic minority communities in London’s urban agriculture scene. She also has a personal interest in active travel, sustainability, and making the city a people-friendly environment. She loves being active outdoors, whether it's running from park to park, walking, or hiking.
Welcome to the Regrowth Project from London National Park City. London National Park City is a large-scale and long-term movement to make London greener, healthier and wilder. It is a way to rethink our relationship with nature and the expectations we share for our urban habitats. Most importantly, it's about taking actions that result in a better quality of life for people and wildlife. This podcast, The Regrowth Project, is all about bringing diverse and fascinating people together to discuss the biggest issues facing London, humanity and our natural world. Each episode is based on one word.
SPEAKER_02:Hello everyone, welcome to this next episode of our podcast series. The theme today is Rejoice. So Rejoice is to celebrate, to feel joyful, delighted, happy or glad. Where do we find joy today? We're living in an age of eco-anxiety with a mental health pandemic piled on top of a viral one. So with all of that in mind and with tons of headwinds in the wider ecosystem, how can we actually bring joys into our lives? Many of us are deeply concerned about the future, ecological collapse, future pandemics, to name just a couple. Meanwhile, short-term dopamine hits like online shopping and scrolling through TikTok might placate our urges, but can they truly make us feel longer-term joy? How can we build joyful foundations that form the building blocks of a happier life? As many of us found during lockdowns, often joy can come from noticing and being mindful of the rhythms and the details of the worlds around us, the living world around us. Being overwhelmed by a meadow in bloom or by the flash of a kingfisher or the smell of trees and grass can really benefit all of us. Does the rest of nature rejoice also? Who hasn't stepped out onto a spring morning and felt like the earth itself was happy? Science often speaks of the benefits of natural prescribing, but might it benefit more than our own wellbeing? And if so, how can we ensure more of this rejoicing for ourselves and for others, human or otherwise? My name is Emily Langston and I'm a ranger with London National Park City. London was the very first city in the world to be awarded National Park City status in July 2019 by the Mayor of London. The National Park City movement is a large-scale, long-term, collaborative initiative to make London greener, healthier and wilder. The movement is really about taking actions that result in a better quality of life for people and for wildlife. Actions that can inspire each and every one of us to rethink our relationship with nature and reimagine the expectations we share for our urban habitats. I'm joined by my fellow rangers today, and I'm going to hand over to each of them to introduce themselves, but I'm also going to pose the initial question, what brings you joy in the day? So maybe Deepa, let's start with you. Hi,
SPEAKER_04:yeah, thank you for having me. So, yeah, my name's Deepa Patel. I'm a ranger for National Park City based in Balham, so in the borough of Wandsworth, a little bit of Lambeth. And yeah, I kind of do things around tooting with the community garden, with food tours. And in the daytime, I work at a university in central London. And what brings me joy in my day to day is my lunch break. Just kind of going out, going for a walk. around Holben where I work. There's some beautiful big trees around there, especially at the moment. Everything's in full bloom. Everything's green and looking really good. I've got the river not too far away. And also, you know, just sitting down somewhere quiet and having my lunch and just having, you know, an hour to myself, I think sometimes can actually be quite nice. So yeah. That's my little joys in the day, in the working day.
SPEAKER_02:Wonderful. Then maybe I'll hand over to you,
SPEAKER_01:Ingrina. Hi, I'm Ingrina Sheh. I'm based in Southwark and Lambeth. My day job is in program management and I joined London National Park City as a ranger in 2020 and I wear a lot of hats from supporting some of the other ranger projects to supporting some of LNPC's work on equality, diversity, inclusion and volunteering in some of the local initiatives around here. I'm also a keen walker and runner and I love exploring London in screen spaces through exercise and physical activity. And I've recently just published enjoyed being outside so much that I'm developing a bit of an obsession for multi-day treks and the thing that brings me joy in the day is just how different it can look from day to day so like yesterday I went for a long walk in South Downs and it was so hot but I had when I got to the top of Ditchling Beacon I had an ice lolly and that was the perfect treat for the kind of like the journey from Lewis and today I was just talking to a colleague about which parts of the UK to go to for scrambling and trekking so yeah I mean from day to day it's so different and that's what I really love the kind of pleasant and varied surprises.
SPEAKER_02:Oh that's lovely. Chantal what about you?
SPEAKER_03:Hi so yeah I'm Chantal. I have been a ranger for about three years now I think when the first intake of rangers and I'm in Brent but bordering Ealing so I tend to find that most of my activities um tend to be in the borough of Ealing um and and yeah I think for me in terms of um joy I find joy and I think really the the very small things and maybe the things that we as adults tend to sort of take for granted um But I think on a day-to-day basis, I'm so fortunate to have a garden. And this year I've sort of spent a bit more time in the garden than I had in the previous two years and just really love the nature that comes to the garden and the changes you see in the plants that you put there and how they grow and develop or bear fruit, but also sort of the different animals that come, you know, obviously from spring to sort of building nests and, having their little chicks and things like that. And also I'm really fortunate to have a fox and her little cubs that come into the garden every evening. So for me, I think there's sort of a real gratitude for the garden and the sort of changes that I can see, the constant changes over time. That's
SPEAKER_02:lovely. I'm getting, yeah, a lot of themes of simplicity, which is nice because I think they're, sort of the fundamental building blocks of joy. We're not talking about, like I said at the start, the dopamine hits. We're talking about the world around us, which is really, really important. And there's also a lot of research on the positive impact of being outdoors and in nature. So I think we all have different experiences of it, but they all have a kind of underlying theme. So thinking about maybe some of the bigger themes, like what about nature brings you the most kind of joy is more of a general theme. So even beyond the day to day. I think Ingrina, you had some kind of initial thoughts on that.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean, for me, it's been kind of a journey from where I started in terms of kind of going outside and enjoying nature to where I am now. So before it was just kind of the joy of escaping from the everyday indoor environment. I feel like a lot of people who work in offices might relate to that because I grew up in a very concrete environment and didn't really get out into nature very much. So after just kind of building that kind of adventure spirit to go into parts of nature that I wasn't familiar with. Now I've become more comfortable being outside and I realized that I really enjoy learning a lot more about the environment. And I realized I don't have to be an expert in each subject to enjoy it. I like learning about the different flora and fauna and how environments work together. And I think it's incredible to... be able to be in the environment to help me understand the effects of climate change and to see what really good things are happening in conservation and also seeing like incredible wildlife in films and photos. So I think just being in that environment, even if it's not, you know, you don't see the tiniest amoeba, you know, you can see a planet Earth or something, you can still see insects, you can still see all the things that are working in nature. And I also think that it really does bring different things from person to person. Like I really like, as I mentioned before, going out trekking and wild camping. I really love catching the stars on a dark night. But I also love hearing how different it is for people. I might try to bring people out with me, but at the end of the day, some people might actually enjoy doing forest bathing or foraging or meditation. I think it's great to hear that it looks different for everyone. And I think whatever you decide, how you take joy in nature can also really catalyze ways to think of how... I'm talking about myself personally, like how I can be a bit more ego-friendly in my approach and my lifestyle. So, yeah, I have taken, I think for me, just being able to see, like move slowly and see the things, the little things around me because I'm moving slowly and walking through, sleeping outside. It's given me a lot of joy in that and just that space for discovery and exploration. I
SPEAKER_02:love that. Is there anyone else from there? share their thoughts on what brings you joy in life.
SPEAKER_03:I'll go next. In terms of, I think for me, and Gwyneth started saying it was a bit of a journey, and I think the same for me where I've always loved hiking. I've sort of in the last six years or so sort of focused more on hiking in the UK to sort of discover the country. But it was only about three years ago when I spent a month hiking on my own, that I really sort of, I realised how deeply connected to nature I became, just spending that time on my own, and because I had to navigate on my own, it was sort of, you know, I was seeing things, I was actually looking rather than following a guide, which can also be brilliant, but and, you know, I remember sitting and just looking at moss, and just being amazed at how it looked like a mini forest, and sat there for ages, just looking in depth at this. And sort of, I think that really opened my eyes to what surrounds us and sort of how the microorganisms and the sort of huge trees and the animals, how everything interacts and connects. And so for me, I think I realized over the last few years, forests are kind of my real joy. That's where I sort of feel very relaxed and comfortable and at home. But it was sort of that experience that sort of made me realise that, you know, you don't have to get out into the countryside to experience nature. And I have a real passion for sort of encouraging others to get out as well. And that doesn't mean sort of a whole day hike or a multi-day hike, which, again, can be brilliant. But, you know, it could just mean half an hour, an hour outside and just visiting a place you've not been to before or just looking at what's around you. And I think for me, I've done a little bit more recently, and I realise how happy it makes me when I can get a group together. And you're not just learning about the environment or maybe potentially learning about new birds or insects, but just getting a group of people together that don't know each other and the joy that can bring. I think there's such a connection that can be had in so many forms. So yeah, for me as a whole, I think that sort of connection with nature and connection with others within that space and sharing knowledge and food and laughter and conversation. So yeah, that's it for me, I think.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, I guess, well, it's quite similar as well. It's more, it's a lot about sometimes being present by myself but then also being with others but my kind of entry route into kind of appreciation for nature has been through food because I guess um a lot of my interest has been around how cities feed themselves um you know kind of looking into the future as to you know like sustainable development um country, the links between the countryside and the city. And through all of that, I kind of got involved with a few, I was studying urban agriculture and I got involved with a few community growing groups where I live around Tooting and southwest London. And from joining these groups and kind of getting involved with growing things and just seeing how things work and the type of people who get involved in these groups and the benefits it brings them, it started to then have benefits in me. And I think it was kind of being a little bit more present within, you know, the green spaces that we have in the city and actually appreciating actually how green London is. And, you know, sometimes as well, like, you know, how important the commons are and why the commons are something that we have access to and something that may never change is also something quite, I started to get interested in, you know, in the politics of it and also why certain people have access to green spaces differently. And yeah, and I think through that and growing things and seeing the type of things that people grow in city farms and in allotments and really tuning into seasons and the nature and the London climate, which is also quite different to the surrounding areas, also kind of made me realise that actually there can be a lot of abundance. And This whole idea of sharing space with people, sharing knowledge, like Chantal said, learning from each other. It's almost like that one thing that we all have in common. that is this kind of thing that brings everyone together in it. You know, it's quite nice to grow things and learn from each other and, you know, share seeds and then kind of, you know, have narratives attached to all of that as well. It just kind of really homes down why all of this is quite important for everyone. And, yeah, it's kind of those moments when, you know, you're sat around in a community garden and you've just harvested some, I don't know, carrots or, like, well you know you pick some apples and you're sat there and you're munching on them and you just think oh yeah this is this is really nice and it's nice to just share this with people um and it just I think that's like it's a sense of being human again I guess um yeah
SPEAKER_03:I think just just picking up on that one point I there's been a couple of times this year where there's a um an organisation called Mind Food in Ealing, based in Ealing in a couple of locations and they basically grow food and they have courses and things like that but I went and visited them the other month and I got given a handful of vegetables and leaves and it was just so lovely to be given this gift of food and I also visited a friend in Dorset the other week and it was the same thing she grows things in her gardener it was just such a wonderful feeling to sort of like you know just be given this free food and it's something that they they've grown um from seed and you know I think there is something really beautiful and special about that yeah
SPEAKER_02:I feel like food is something that's going to bring everyone a little bit of joy every now and then but particularly when it's something that you've that you've grown I don't think I've well I've only recently acquired a garden, but I tried to grow carrots once. It didn't go that well, but I'm getting there. Yeah, I mean, a big thing that I think I'm picking up is also community. And really, I mean, community has kind of brought us to the Ranger programme, I think, because I think many of us kind of applied from already doing work in our community. And it seemed like a natural kind of next step to connect communities to the bigger community. um london vision and so you've all kind of talked a little bit about um your backgrounds where you grew up where you are now and how you how you've been involved but can you can you maybe elaborate more on how you've been kind of spreading joy in your communities in terms of other projects you've been working on so deeper you were talking about the community gardening but maybe in greener can you talk a bit more about what you've done in kind of your local local green spaces
SPEAKER_01:and i think because um i
SPEAKER_02:do
SPEAKER_01:This is from a personal experience of how much both mental and physical benefits being in green spaces and particularly being active in green spaces has been for me. It's something that I do also like to share with others. So whether it's seeking out running groups, I've tried other quite a few running groups. and walking groups in London that kind of stay within local areas and they can take you anywhere from going through different parks, along the rivers, along some of the other waterways, and also actually even just through different neighbourhoods. So I was part of those for a little while, just really building that community for myself in that shared interest. But I've also been trying to... kind of bring some of my friends out. You know, I don't really, I'm not really good at kind of like engaging on social media too much, but I do like to post photos of where I've gone. And over time, a lot of people have started to ask like where I've been going and how I get there in some ways. So I've sometimes tried to bring them along. And then when you do that, even if it's just kind of an exploratory thing for them, it's it's, it's been, I found it really great to be able to just offer the company to, to people who want to try something out and then to even just see their joy in being able to notice, um, that there is a park that's really nearby them, that they can just do a few laps in if they, if they really wanted to do a short walk or run, or if they just wanted to sit and enjoy, um, some of the trees and the, and the flowers in the meadows around them. Um, so I think it's just that, um, it's just that kind of offer of being able to do, to, to kind of guide, um, people through that, because at first it can be a little bit scary, but I found that, you know, once you do it slowly and realize that there are, um, as Deepa was saying before, there is so much green space in London. Um, and it's really great that, um, in some ways, like you can find your own little pockets to really enjoy your own piece in. Um, and I think as, um, Hold on, I lost my train of thought there for a bit. But I think as I'm starting to do that, I'm also noticing that I've got friends and family who are doing it in their own cities and in their own spaces as well. And they've told me that it's been really, really great for them to try doing it for themselves. And my hope is that, you know, whatever people do, do enjoy that they can do that in their own spaces, because I think there is a lot of growing research around how beneficial it is to not only be outdoors, but to also just move within there, because there's a lot of good, there's growing research about how the body reacts to you moving in a space, but also to just do that within a space being surrounded by nature. So I'm happy to provide any links in any of the notes if people wanted to kind of have an exploration of those studies. But yeah, so for me, it's very much around kind of allowing people to explore how they like to move within green and blue spaces.
SPEAKER_04:Actually, in Greener, it's kind of inspired me to do a lot more walking. So I think I've always been scared of doing like really long distances. I'm a really slow kind of walker. I don't really, I don't walk, you know, because I need to get from A to Z. I walk because I kind of enjoy the process and I get a bit lost and I, you know, I kind of take my time. But actually in Greener inspired me. me to do a walk from Harpenden to Milton Keynes, which was a three-day walk over the 60 kilometres. But I think it was just seeing Ingrina do it and actually being like, you know, and talking to her and just finding out actually how I could prepare for it because everyone was like, oh, it's super easy. You know, it's only 20 kilometres a day. And Ingrina was like, no, you need to break your feet in a little bit and you should probably wear proper shoes and, you know, just bear in mind that it might take you a bit longer and you might be a bit tired the next day and just, you know, just actually having someone that you could talk to about it um and just know the realities of it just kind of makes you a bit more ready for it and you know actually at the end of the day did it and it was yeah it was fantastic and all inspired by seeing someone else do it so yeah
SPEAKER_02:they yeah they definitely make it a lot easier in london with the with the signposting so um if anyone's ever looked on the TFL website and gone to the walking section, there's actually a walking section of the TFL website, which is amazing. And then you've got kind of the Green Chain Walk and the River Thames Walk, and it's almost so much more geared up for going on a long walk and instead of getting the tube, just kind of navigating the buildings. I have a terrible sense of direction, so I've always got my head in Google Maps trying to work out where I am, but actually looking up and seeing those signposts can sometimes be something of a... of a relief if you feel like you're in the middle of a zone six somewhere. But yeah, I think that walking is a lot more accessible than we give it credit for.
SPEAKER_01:And there are a lot of, there are starting to have, there are more resources now as well. So you could, there's an app called GoJontly that helps you, I think, explore trees around London, but on a walk. And I think, And there's also footways in London, which helps you explore really good walking routes around London as well. And sometimes even for me, like commuting to work or something, I would just take a small detour through a park. So I think the really good news is that there's loads of stuff that help you kind of explore things if you're a little bit nervous about going out or if you want to challenge yourself to do more stuff.
SPEAKER_03:And I think that's what I found as well, where I'll often post things, whether it's sort of a hike or a nature walk or what I'm growing in my back garden. And you kind of realise that those things can really help other people. So whilst you might just be posting it because you want to share a pretty picture, I think like Deepa, you said, I think when you see others do stuff, And I think also it can be, I think as humans, we can be sort of quite competitive without even realising, or competitive might not be the right word, but we look at others and think, oh my God, they're so good at this, or they know all the Latin names of species, or they can walk like for 10 days straight. And I think it's sort of often easy to look at that and not think about sort of how we can get to where we want to be. And I think like you did, you know, then reaching out to Ingrino and sort of just asking the questions and you will get some people sort of who are not necessarily trying to be condescending, but, you know, for them maybe it is easy. So they just, they can't think of how to relate to when they first started. And I think it's really important to sort of encourage others and share sort of what you're doing. And, you know, for me with the sort of the group walks, you know, I'm literally doing it just as part of, eating wildlife group and just creating my own events but literally I'm doing it in a really I'm basically taking all the credit and not doing any of the hard work because I'm just getting amateurs or sort of experts to come along with me so that they can sort of point things out and give the names of different things but again I did that actually from putting a post up saying look I really want to learn more about the animals and what I'm seeing when I go out. So, you know, does anyone have any advice or books or courses? And a few very kind people sort of offered to say, oh, you know, when I go out, you're welcome to come with me. And then those people who volunteered then got, it ended up being walks that I did with them sort of involved because I kind of realised a lot of people then commented on my post saying, yeah, I really want to find out more as well. So, you know, I think it took me asking for other people to say, yeah, that would be great. That would be great to sort of go out with other people. So I think for me, I have no, like, I don't mind sort of saying I'm ignorant towards these things, but I think it's sort of, it can just be really helpful to encourage people, whether it's sort of just going for a short walk, you know, every day with a friend, with your neighbour or, you know, but I think those things can really help other people and it can sort of get, people to sort of a point where they never thought they'd be, where they potentially become sort of experts in that area or, you know, know so much more about birds in a year than you would ever. So yeah, I think it's sort of, it's really lovely to just encourage people. And I think from, you know, that's the reason I wanted to be a ranger, to sort of share that. But you realise how many people are out there that sort of do similar things, which is really encouraging.
SPEAKER_02:I feel like knowing and experiencing that joy in nature, it feels quite unique and special, but sharing it with others and bringing people into the fold of the activities that you're doing is really important to continue to raise awareness of the environmental catastrophe that we're in. And so I guess you have to think about, okay, if I've been brought on this joyful journey, think about the people that brought you in and have influenced your life. And you kind of get to a point where you think, okay, how can I spread that joy to others? And that's kind of part of the community building element. But I suppose, I mean, hopefully there's going to be a slowdown in some of these kind of dopamine hits and fast fashion and some of the things that really do kind of, you know, put... put a drain on the environment. But I mean, how can you see yourself? Well, how have you maybe worked with maybe younger generations in your communities to help spread that joy? And do you think that some of the activities you've done have been effective in bringing, well, all generations into the fold? And, you know, have you kind of found ways to spread that joy for other generations?
SPEAKER_04:Well, I haven't really worked with young people, but I have actually... I've got my mum feeling tree auras. So she's kind of grown up, you know, I think she grew up in Uganda and for her kind of nature is like, you know, there's nature and then there's us and she's always wanted a very like easy maintenance garden and stuff. But over lockdown, I went back and I was staying with my parents and we went on walks and at one point i was like you know i just went up to this big tree and was like oh just kind of said in a joke i was like i can i can feel the tree or and my mum was like oh can you and she came up and she touched the tree and actually we stood there for a moment and it was just i don't know if people believe in tree auras or not but you know it was just standing under a tree and just being like wow this is a pretty special tree we've walked past this tree many many times before but we've never really noticed it um And now my mum loves it. So, you know, we'll be on a walk and she'll be like, oh, let's go tree that, feel that tree aura. So we'll go up to a tree and we'll just kind of stand underneath it for a bit. And I guess it's like little things like that. But I also got her picking wild garlic as well. So I do a bit of foraging. And I think my mum's always been a bit scared of it. She's like, oh, you know, dogs peed on it or that's a bit dirty. um but she's now been picking wild garlic around Milton Keynes and she knows some good spots and she's been sharing that with her friends so her friends who would also have been you know kind of from this like mindset of well that might be a bit dirty and now like oh that's quite cool because my mum's made a few things with wild garlic and they kind of like it so I guess that's kind of bubbled along in this quite natural way um it's not necessarily with um the younger generation but um I think everyone can learn a little bit from each other about that. And just having a bit of fun, I think, as well. Social media can be fun, but I don't think it's that fun, to be honest. You can lose yourself in it. And sometimes you go on Instagram and it's already been 20 minutes and you're like, well, what have I really done in 20 minutes? But actually, there's other dopamine hits, I guess, that you can probably get from nature that come from being in it, you know, just a little bit longer and appreciating it that way.
SPEAKER_03:I think there's so much that resonates with what everyone's saying. I think, you know, I'm definitely no expert by any means, but I've done a few foraging courses this year and previously as well. And I think, like, you know, with the wild garlic, I get so excited when it's sort of springtime and you know the wild garlic's coming because it's just amazing. And it's just so... delicious and making pesto and various things with it but I think for me as well sort of rejoicing in nature and sort of realising that interaction with nature and it's sort of a two-way thing and how it can benefit the plant as well as us but you know learning about sort of nature as a healer and sort of food like things like sort of the willow trees where we got aspirin from but you know, everyday plants like nettles, which are kind of really demonized and, you know, it's sort of something you avoid, you won't go near. But it's actually, you know, again, something I just learned this year, which is fascinating. It's actually really good for sort of arthritis and inflammation and, you know, the actual nettle sting is really good. But the plant itself is the most nutrient-rich plant that we have in this country. And I think sort of learning things like that and the fact that the dandelion, has such long tap roots, and we always see dandelions growing absolutely, you know, everywhere that's so barren, like, you know, a concrete car park, and it will just find its way through the cracks, and, you know, it's a plant that sort of colonises, so it sort of tries to find nutrient sources, and then as it will colonise, that will bring way to the sort of next layer of plants, and, you know, I was told by a woodsman that, you know, the country, basically, everything is angling towards oak forest. And you kind of think that sort of can start with the dandelion. And I think, you know, I get, I think we can hear it in my voice. I get so excited just thinking about that in terms of, you know, there's things that we can forage. So all of those plants that I mentioned, one can eat in some way, but how it doesn't just benefit us from those healing properties. It benefits nature. It, you know, has a two-way benefit. Like when we pick plants, plants they tend to grow more so you know there's just so much of that and I do try when I learn things I'll try and sort of bring things into conversation or if I'm eating something that I've made sort of just mention it because I think it sort of takes away a bit of the stigma of you know we've gone from you know knowing that sort of organic produce things that are grown in the ground is good to sort of thinking that it's weird and strange if we were to pick things and eat them. Whereas, you know, we're more than happy to put sort of processed foods in our mouth and not think it's bad. So I think for me, I do try to do that indirectly as well. Yeah, as well as when I'm out sort of on walks with people where I might point things out. So yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Speaking of nettles, one of the rangers, I think his Gav Forager on Instagram runs something called Nettle Fest. And I remember watching it a couple of years ago and just being completely blown away. I think they even made like nettle mojito, which I mean, who doesn't want that? Yeah, there was nettle tea. They were making nettle pasta and all sorts. So yeah. So definitely worth Googling Nettle Fest. I think I've just found a website that says 2022. I'm not sure of the exact date. Yeah, one to watch. I really enjoyed it. I
SPEAKER_03:will definitely be looking out for that. I'm in love with nettles now. Great.
SPEAKER_02:Well, we'll probably sort of wrap this up. I think we've had some really nice thoughts and themes around community and food. And I think we all have our own approaches to food. to joy, but it all kind of forms around nature. And I hope that people kind of come away thinking about how to spread that joy and how to bring it into their lives as well. But I think in such a fast moving world, so much of joy seems to be themed around, I guess, slowing down. Well, I guess less so if you're kind of a runner or a cyclist, but even then you're stopping and taking in what you're seeing. So I don't know whether any of you had any kind of closing thoughts on on maybe times that you've really kind of slowed down and stopped to kind of take everything in?
SPEAKER_01:As I've been kind of talking about this whole time, I do really, really love walking. It is actually one of my greatest passions, as you can tell. And I... And I have to say, I did try to grow food from seed as well. Absolutely failed. But it taught me a lot. So, you know, if there's that, I think everyone should try it at some point. But I think with walking specifically, I think it is. I think we've kind of all kind of danced around that and talked about it, about how moving slowly kind of helps us actually breathe. literally slowed down. I grew up in LA where everything was get in the car, go from one point to the next, get out of the car. You don't notice or see anything in between. And in some ways that also kind of followed me to wherever I moved to. So if it's not a car, it was a train. And I do love the train. It's just that I started, you would take... you'd often take a train from London to a popular national park, and then you kind of enjoy the stuff around there. But something that happened, I guess, as a consequence of the pandemic, when you're a little bit more hesitant to take things on public transport, really got me to think about what I could do on my own without all of that infrastructure. And then, so I noticed that there was a project called Slow Waves that came up and this is a project that aims to build a walking network, connecting towns and villages throughout the UK. So I decided to go and I talked about this in a couple of other places, but I walked from London to South Downs. And I think what it really helped me to see was just, see all the places that I usually pass by really quickly. So I wouldn't, I would never stop at a place like Leatherhead or Epsom or Guadalmin, just almost like I knew people there. But on this walk, I was kind of forced to stop there. I was forced to see, you know, how the city changes, how people change, how, you know, how, things kind of spread out. I noticed that as you got more stuff, there was more green space and there were more green corridors for people to walk through that we don't normally get into the city. And I think, you know, it just kind of helps you think about ways that we can start shaping London as a city to really... have a few more places where people can kind of access that green space, that shadedness from tree cover, because it's all possible in many different places, but we don't tend to see it because we, you know, some Someone who might be like me might just go from London, which is completely built to just like the Lake District, which just doesn't complete opposite. So the nice thing about going slowly from London all the way to South Downs is that you see how the things change and you see the gradual shifts of the landscape and of our environment. And I think that really shapes your idea of how we can kind of shape our future. I feel like that slowness, encourages you to just take your time to not seek to not go where you know you see pictures on social media though I guess one thing I would say about social media is that I think it's really helpful and also building a kind of different kind of community and to share information that normally you wouldn't be able to access like I've been able to connect with different people online that I normally wouldn't have but at the same time you always think that that's the goal. Whereas when you take things slower, you get to see different things that you normally wouldn't if you just went to a certain geolocated place. And yeah, you get to see the journey of a city, of a town. You get to see the different kinds of demographics that live in the UK. So I do think that that is one of the really great things about travelling slowly, is just to see actually just the world around you. Those are kind of my concluding thoughts for that one.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, for me, it did start with hiking and that sort of slowed me down. But then, as I've mentioned earlier, that sort of time that I spent time on my own and navigating on my own, that really helped me to slow and realise that I didn't have to be somewhere for a certain time. You know, I would plan sort of a three hour walk and take four hours to do it. But that really got me sort of more deeply connected to specifically forests. And I think it's sort of, you know, I just have this real affinity with them. But I think sort of when you slow down, you really see things and there's obviously so much to see in a forest. And I'm by no means going to tell you, but I know the different plants and tree species that I saw. But, you know, you will sort of, you can go up to a tree and see how it's formed so differently. You might see two species, but very close to each other, but they look so different. And so it makes you think, OK, why is that? You know, is it just because it's older or is it because it's got less shade? And I think for me, it sort of made me question things, whereas when you're just hiking through, you don't really look that much. And so, and you know, I was somewhere in the forest recently where it's quite high winds and it just sounded so amazing. It literally, I closed my eyes and it literally sounded like the sea. But what was also so lovely was you could hear it sort of as it entered the forest being quite loud. And then as it got through the trees, it obviously got dissipated by the leaves. And so again, just how nature changes within the space that you're in. So you don't need to sort of see it over seasons. Just being in one space, you can sort of see so much change and how the birds sort of interact differently when it's windy and you can see that they're more attentive and, you know, call more. So I think for me, that sort of really helped me to sort of like see, like look at nature, look at what's around me, look at how the plants are growing or the fact that moss will tend to be on the sort of north face of a tree. And, you know, I think that sort of really opened my eyes to so much. And it took me onto a journey where I sort of learned more about what we know as forest bathing, which is Shinrin-yoku and you know, it's decades, four decades of scientific research, which started in Japan, but where sort of it shows the benefits of being in the forest for ideally like two hours. But, you know, because the plants, the trees release bacteria to protect them, it also has the benefit of protecting us. And so it can boost our immune system. It increases sort of our cell response, reduces blood pressure, improves our cardiovascular system, lowers blood sugar, improves energy just simply by being out in sort of amongst the green of forest. And obviously also walking around will naturally improve our health. So I think for me, it was just fascinating to see see and feel this love of the forest but then actually realise there's scientific evidence to back up how beneficial it is for us so I think for me that slowing down led me on this journey of sort of learning so much about nature and our connectedness so yeah
SPEAKER_04:Yeah I guess the slow kind of like mindset can also be applied to food so there's you know the slow the slow food movement which has been around for a really long time started in Italy but just looking at you know how we can the whole production line of you know food from farm to the supermarket at the moment is sped up it doesn't work in sync with nature and the seasons. We're so dependent on importing food as well in the UK. So really just slowing down that whole process, keeping food in the ground for a bit longer, using more kind of kind practices when growing food, looking at agroecology, agroforestry as well, just systems that are a little bit more kind of closed looped And kind of to people, kind of to nature. But then also kind of when you harvest the food and like appreciating the food that you take out and creating very little waste from it as well. And, you know, using the nose to tail of vegetables as well. So using the whole beetroot and not throwing anything away just really kind of slows you down, I guess, into this whole mindset of appreciating food And it's appreciating the people who grew it and the people who have put a lot of work into it and nature that's put work into it. And then you have this whole process, slow process of cooking it. So maybe just taking your time with thinking about what you're going to do with it. I think about food a lot. So I probably spend my whole day just thinking about what I'm going to make for dinner. But then even just enjoying the cooking process. So even, I mean, it's hard and I know not everyone can do this, but just spending a bit of time in the evening or maybe a couple of evenings a week just putting on a bit of music and then just really engrossing yourself in that cooking process and then sitting down away from the screen with some company or even by yourself and just enjoying that food and I think being thankful for where it came from and then just knowing that that whole cycle can repeat I think Hopefully, I think we're doing that more. And I think we really are because the cost of living has gone up. And one thing that COVID did teach us is that it's nice to stay home and have a night in and to cook with your loved ones. So hopefully, we'll be doing more of that.
SPEAKER_02:I love to listen to a podcast while I'm cooking, so maybe that's a bit of a plug to listen to this one. All right, well, I think we'll wrap it up there, but I've loved all the different perspectives that you all shared, particularly loved hearing more about food, definitely more to research on that topic. So thank you so much, everyone, for taking part, and thank you, everyone, for listening.