Why we should all be planting trees and wildflowers

The benefits of planting trees and being surrounded by nature are huge in aiding our overall health, the health of the planet and our natural wildlife. At a time like this, it’s important to make sure we spend time outside and continue to appreciate and respect the beauty of our natural world.

So, why exactly should we be planting trees and wildflowers?

Increased biodiversity 

Biodiversity is essential to the health of our planet. Without it we would lose many essential species of trees and flowers, which could have disastrous effects. We depend upon biodiversity to protect us from disasters such as flooding and climate breakdown.

The main reason for loss of biodiversity is changes in land use, and without protection, more and more areas of natural biodiversity could be lost to new developments.

There has never been a more important time to ensure these areas are protected and where we can to encourage biodiversity by planting more trees and wildflowers in our own gardens.

Create a home for wildlife

With the reduction of trees, our local wildlife is suffering from the loss of homes and supplies for food.  By planting more trees and wildflowers locally we can encourage wildlife to return and repopulate.

In Harmony woods alone we’ve created a home for the red-listed Skylarks, several priority species of butterflies, many species of pollinators and within our pond increased aquatic invertebrate and plant diversity.

Teach young people how to respect nature.

If you live in a developed area, seeing woodlands and forests can seem like a different world for some children. By connecting to and learning about nature through the planting trees or wildflowers children are able to experience first-hand the impact they are making.

 Encouraging them to monitor how many pollinators visit their flowers, counting the variety of flowers in one area and seeing trees becoming homes to birds and small animals can ignite a passion for nature that may just lead to an environmentalist in the making!

It’s excellent for our overall mental and physical health

It’s been proven that spending 120 minutes per week is associated with good health and wellbeing (White, M.P., et al. 2019) and we couldn’t agree more! Trees work endlessly to improve our air quality and when you get the chance to spend time around trees and flowers we highly recommend taking it.

Breathing in the fresh air and beautiful scents is a great way to take time for yourself and leave behind any stresses you may be experiencing.