Getting out ‘onto country’ is physically and mentally healing, said Wally Bell, a Ngunnawal elder and Landcare ACT board member, conducting the Welcome to Country this morning to launch a new nature-based wellbeing program.

In fact, being in nature reduces depression, anxiety, and other health problems sevenfold – and helping to conserve nature is even more beneficial. Now, more Canberrans will be able to find tranquillity in the outdoors.

Landcare ACT’s Wellbeing through Nature program (funded by the ACT Government) offers guided walks, conservation activities, and therapeutic horticulture.

“For those who aren’t involved in Landcare, it’s often seen as pulling out weeds or planting trees, but those who are involved know it’s so much more,” said Karissa Preuss, Landcare ACT’s CEO.

Guided walks begin in February with a stroll through the Botanic Gardens for Charles Darwin’s birthday, and a ramble through Lyneham’s commons, wetlands, and microforest. Mindfulness activities will enhance appreciation of nature’s beauty and diversity. The public can take part in conservation activities – protecting habitats, restoring waterways, and planting trees – or tend native vegetation and food gardens, working with Landcare members.

The program has been developed with the mental health service Wellways; it will evolve as research shows which activities are best for mental health.

The local government contributed $225,000 to the program through the Healthy Canberra Grants, which fund community organisations to create opportunities for Canberrans to make healthy lifestyle choices and to help prevent chronic disease.

“We can pave the way for a healthier, happier, and more connected community through all stages of life,” said Rachel Stephen-Smith, ACT Health Minister.

Therapeutic nature-based activities offered by Landcare improve quality of life and reduce the prevalence and severity of mental and physical health problems.

“Being out in nature heals body and soul,” she said. It improves mood; lowers stress; reduces heart disease, depression, and anxiety; and keeps people moving. The Landcare program is also a way to learn new skills and meet new people.

“Caring for country and supporting the quality and sustainability of our environment is actually an act of self-care,” agreed Rebecca Vassarotti, ACT Minister for the Environment.

Almost half of all Canberrans live within 500m of a park or reserve, and Landcare has 70 groups across the ACT – and the last couple of years had shown how vital connection to nature was in managing isolation.

“During the pandemic, we recognised how important our natural spaces were, when we were not able to move as much as we would like to,” Ms Vassarotti said. “We started to understand the special areas of our neighbourhoods. Through the pandemic, we’ve seen Canberrans reconnect with their natural environment.”