Being Nature Connected in 'lockdown'

Over the past year, I have been involved in a project in Lancaster called the "Scotch Quarry Village Green" project. Here, a group of local people spend time in the local quarry, deepening our connection to the natural world all around us, and seeking to grow communities that are rooted - or rather re-rooted - in this kind of connection. It is a fantastic project, and one which has changed the way I think about my relationship with myself, others and the world in which I move and live. It has taught me that the 'natural world' is not merely something out there which I have to go to, to spend specific time in, and which I can leave behind afterwards. It is, instead, something which I can never be away from. It is 'in here', in our cities, homes, lecture halls.

But this is hard to remember when locked in our homes, especially if we don't have access to gardens, plants, or views of obvious nature in our neighbourhoods. And so, I want to offer some thoughts from what might seem a weird place with regard to nature connection: that is, digital connection.

Right now, the need to digitally access spiritual, emotional, theological and environmental resources has taken on a surprising level of relevance, with many more traditional ways of access becoming restricted and/or regulated. However, this is not new to many of the people who I spoke to regarding my research into digital pastoral care. In our conversations they shared how they use digital resources to connect with the natural world. These stories opened up a new world for nature connectedness; one which utilised the connective power of digital technology to draw us closer to nature in ways that could not have been done before.

They spoke of live feeds of baby albatross chicks inside their nests, sharing pictures of walks and gardens to distant friends, learning about other countries by digging into stories of pilgrimage, and looking at the research of scientists working with nature. In these stories are innovative and creative ways of staying in tune with the rhythm of the natural world, bringing it into our day to day lives, and being curious about it.

From these conversations I have learned that the content on social media can be an access point to the natural world beyond our accommodation, to dive into nature and breathe it in when locked inside our bedrooms. Indeed, just as the natural world is something which we interact with and are part of all of the time, it is also something which can be connected with virtually or - more accurately - at a distance. We can hear the noises, notice the textures, and be curious about the presence of nature in all of its forms through digital tools, in much the same way that we can if we are stood amongst it. Perhaps, even more so. As seen with the live stream of Chester zoo today, we can be more connected with the animals and enclosures via live stream than we might if we were walking around the zoo. The videos are taken from inside the enclosures, far closer to the animals than visitors might usually get. They are commentated by zookeepers in perhaps more detail than people might get from displays. And the videos are far more inclusive and accessible, for this live stream does not require payment, a physical presence or a limit to numbers of people accessing at any one time. These properties together make it a more accessible and gentle kind of presence than would be possible if you were actually at the zoo in person, even if it is done with the screen as a barrier to the experience.

Of course, none of this is a replacement for spending time amongst nature in person. Actually seeing, touching, hearing and being in the presence of the natural world which we are accessing via digital tools is a valuable and important thing for many of us. But it is can tide us over whilst venturing beyond the garden fence brings danger for the most vulnerable in our communities. It might even change the way we think about nature all together - to be something which saturates all of what we do, including out digital, hybrid, indoor lives.

Related links:
Very good article by Ruth Lampard (@ruth_lampard) about virtual pilgrimage - https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2019/3-may/faith/faith-features/virtual-pilgrimage-the-road-less-travelled
Sit-Spots (try them looking out the window or hanging out with a houseplant, or even a picture or video) - http://8shields.org/free-trainings/nature-connection-basics-the-sit-spot/