Archived Newsletter Autumn 2009
Psychological benefits of green space
The more we are concentrated into towns and cities, the more isolated we are from nature. Or maybe not! A study about our green spaces shows.
The study looked at the psychological benefits from being in urban green spaces, and how visitors to those spaces perceived the wildlife there. Results showed not only are we happy in green spaces – which anyone could guess – but also we are happier if these spaces have more species of wildlife. Also, the ordinary visitor can quite accurately assess how many species there are!
Like my last report on wildlife gardening, this research was carried out in the 'green' city of Sheffield, which has a lot of parks and woodlands.
Surveys were made of the number of species of tree and bush, butterfly and bird, in 15 green spaces throughout the city, between June and August. Some were mainly grass while others had a range of plants and wildlife.
More than 300 visitors were asked a variety of questions to measure ways of feeling good, for example, how easily they could clear their thoughts and gain perspective, how their sense of personal identity derived from the place, and how attached they felt to the place. When the visitors were asked to estimate numbers of species, their estimates were surprisingly close to the survey figures.
Feelings of wellbeing increased the larger the green space, and the more birds there were. Butterflies didn’t seem to make any difference, which surprises me. Higher numbers of different habitat types was also beneficial – eg. grass, shrubs, flowers, trees.
The implication is that is really is worthwhile spending money on enriching the plant, insect and bird life of our common spaces such as woods and parks.
Psychological benefits of green space increase with biodiversity
Richard A. Fuller, Katherine N. Irvine, Patrick Devine-Wright, Philip H. Warren and Kevin J. Gaston
Of Sheffield, Leicester De Montfort, and Manchester Universities 2007
http://ukpmc.ac.uk/articlerender.cgi?artid=1628810#__secid429286
.jpg) Chickpea and Tomato Salad
Serves 2 as a light meal or 4-6 as a starter.
You need a pestle and mortar, and you may need to soak the chickpeas overnight.
Ingredients
For the dressing
2-3 garlic cloves
sea salt to taste
2 tbs tahini 1 lemon, juice only
1 tbs olive oil
For the salad
200g/7oz dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked until tender, or 1 x 400g/14oz can
cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 small onion, chopped
500g/1lb 3oz ripe tomatoes
black pepper
plenty of parsley fresh coriander
cayenne pepper or chilli powder optional
seasoning to taste
warm pitta bread to serve, optional
What to do:
1. Cook chickpeas if not using a tin. Drain, cool. Actually it's lovely if they are warm - but not hot!
2. Make the dressing: chop the garlic and pound to a paste in a mortar and pestle, with sea salt.
3. Stir your jar of tahini and add 2 tbs to the mortar. Juice the lemon and add half of the juice to the mortar with the tahini and garlic.
4. Add the remaining lemon juice and stir.
5. Add water, a tablespoon at a time, until the consistency is slightly thicker than you want. Add the olive oil and stir thoroughly - this will thin it a bit.
6. Make the salad: place the chickpeas in a bowl. Add the chopped onion and chopped tomatoes.
7. season and add fresh herbs.
8. Pour over some dressing, keep the rest to serve alongside.
9. Sprinkle chilli if you like it.
10. Serve with warm pitta bread. |
