Tell us how nature makes you feel

by Charlotte Owen

Conservation Manager

Nature has huge health benefits for everyone.

Being close to nature helps us feel calmer and think more clearly. It inspires and motivates people.

Having nature close by can strengthen your immune system and speed up recovery. It can help to prevent a whole range of illnesses, from chronic stress to depression, heart disease to obesity. 

Health programmes that focus on nature even save the NHS money.

There’s a huge body of evidence that demonstrates all of this, and we’ve collected some of it here.

But not everyone has easy access to green spaces close to home, and despite the evidence, nature is still considered ‘nice to have’ rather than necessary for all.

We want to fix this.

The government promised a plan but it’s long overdue, and we’ve had enough of waiting. So we’re writing one for them, and we want your views to help shape it.

Please tell us: 

• how has nature helped your health and wellbeing? 
• how does nature make your life better?

We’re collecting real experiences to make sure national and local policies that impact people’s health and access to nature have been shaped by real people. 

We want to make sure the government understands that nature underpins our health and wellbeing, and secure better access to nature for everyone. Your feedback will also help us influence Sussex MPs and decision-makers. They care about what their constituents and local communities are saying. 

We’ve got the evidence that nature matters, but local voices are often stronger.

This is especially important here in Sussex as the devolution process unfolds and big decisions are made about how money will be spent in future and where local priorities lie. This is our opportunity to make sure nature is woven through every department of the new local government structure and is a priority for the new mayor - because it is a priority for local communities. Nature shouldn’t be a destination; it should be part of everyday life.

Please share your voice and add your story to our map.

Share your view on how nature helps you

You can read what others have said too.

Contributions made by 31 August 2026 will help us shape the national plan, but contributions after then will also be added to the map and could help influence conversations in Sussex.