Engage Nature for 5 Pledge

Let's Engage with Nature

Have you recently taken a walk in a park or gone for a hike? The beauty of nature not only brings peace to the mind and benefits the body, but it also serves as an environmental educator. By immersing yourself in nature, you can experience its awe-inspiring greatness and tap into its mysteries, as well as learn about ecology and the environment.

To this end, we have launched the Pledge “Engage Nature for 5”, and we invite all of you to sign it. From July 2023 to May 2024, we encourage everyone to seek out the majesty of nature using the methods we suggest, and to bask in the benefits of nature.

Nature refers to the biodiversity, including various organisms and natural environments. Hong Kong is blessed with the distinctive advantages, boasting about three-quarters of our land being rural areas and a long and diverse coastline. Hong Kong's rich biodiversity is truly amazing, with nearly 40% of bird species in China found here. The city centre and the countryside are just a stone's throw away. Even in the urban areas, as long as we are willing to open our senses and connect with our surroundings, we can all engage with nature.

Disconnected from Nature

Despite Hong Kong being a bustling metropolis with beautiful nature and rich biodiversity, many people lead busy lives in the city and may have most of their time occupied by work, digital entertainment and daily routines. The research indicated that Hong Kong citizens spent around 86% of their time indoors¹, which means that we are gradually distancing ourselves from nature as we spend more time indoors.

Children are also facing the same problem. The book Last Child in the Woods published in 2008, introduced the concept of "Nature-deficit Disorder," which describes how people are becoming disconnected from the natural world². This disorder can cause children to become indifferent to the environment, leading to attention problems, depression and other mental disorders, as well as increasing the risk of certain physical problems, such as myopia and obesity.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic not only caused health problems for the public, but also greatly affected our opportunities to connect with nature due to various restrictions on going out and socializing. Therefore, it is crucial that we seize the opportunity to reconnect with nature now.

The Benefits of Engaging Nature

Many studies have shown that exposure to nature can have positive effects on physical and mental health, learning abilities and environmental awareness.

General Public

2 Hours

People who spend more than 2 hours in nature per week can improve their health.³

To strengthen the immune system^{4, 5}
To improve sleep quality⁶
To reduce the likelihood of developing chronic diseases^{7, 8}
To lower the risk of developing dementia in old age⁹
To reduce the likelihood of severe obesity¹⁰
To reduce mortality rate¹¹

5 Minutes

Exercising in nature for at least 5 minutes at a time can effectively improve mood and boost self-confidence.¹⁸

To help relieve stress^{12, 13, 14, 15}
To reduce anxiety^{3, 8, 16, 17}
To boost self-confidence¹⁸

15%

People who visit the countryside every day can recognize 15% more local species on average compared to those who rarely visit.²¹

To encourage pro-environmental behaviours¹⁹
To enhance local sense of belonging and civic engagement²⁰
To enhance ecological literacy and knowledge²¹

Children

98%

By integrating the environment into subject teaching, 98% of teachers reported that their students’ enthusiasm and engagement in learning have been significantly increased.²⁴

To improve academic performance^{22, 23, 24}
To enhance thinking skills²⁴
To increase learning motivation²⁵
To improve focus and self-discipline^{25, 26, 27}

Age 11

Increased exposure to nature before age 11 can help cultivate environmental awareness in later life.²⁸

To increase environmental awareness and encourage pro-environmental behaviours^{28, 29}
To enhance local sense of belonging and civic engagement³⁰

3 Hours

Daily exposure to nature for 3 hours can reduce the risk of myopia.³³

To benefit overall health³¹
To reduce the likelihood of developing chronic diseases^{32, 33}
To help relieve stress³⁴

1 Hour

Participating in outdoor activities for about 1 hour per week can significantly boost children's self-confidence after 8 months of continuous engagement.³⁶

To promote family harmony³⁵
To help to establish a positive self-image and self-confidence³⁶

The Benefits of Engaging Nature

What's “Engage Nature for 5”

"Engage Nature for 5" is a public commitment activity for individuals, schools and organizations aimed at enhancing Hong Kong citizens' connectedness with nature and promoting local outdoor environmental education.

By providing a range of activity recommendations, this pledge encourages the public, especially schools, parents and students, to engage more with nature and participate in outdoor environmental education activities. Increased exposure to environments can provide short-term benefits such as happiness, relaxation and stress reduction, as well as long-term benefits such as increased satisfaction with family, work and life. By gradually increasing the time spent in nature, participants can improve their physical and mental health, establish a connection with nature, and deepen their sense of belonging and environmental awareness.

Promoting "outdoor environmental education" is our guiding principle. By participating in outdoor education activities, such as visiting parks, forests, mountains, beaches and other outdoor leisure areas, engaging in ecological appreciation, photography, hiking, camping, sports and other leisure activities, everyone can have a deeper understanding and interaction with nature, helping to establish positive relationships with themselves, others and the environment.

Connecting with nature is the core of environmental education, which is an important method for achieving sustainable development and improving people's physical and mental health. With the "Engage Nature for 5" pledge, we hope to create opportunities for all sectors of the society to build a better future for individuals, society and the environment.

Reward a FREE Admission to Participate in Exciting Outdoor Activities!

Share your heartwarming stories of Engage Nature for 5 on social media and have a chance to participate in a designated activity organized by Outdoor Wildlife Learning Hong Kong (OWLHK) for free.

Upload a post to your personal account during the pledge period and set it to be public.
The post must include the location of the activity, an outdoor photo, a description of at least 100 words (in Chinese or English) and your personal thoughts about the activity. Additionally, you must use the following hashtags (#EngageNaturefor5 #與自然為五), and tag OWLHK's account (Facebook: @owlhk2016; Instagram: @owlhk; LinkedIn: @owlhk).
OWLHK will select 10 featured posts in August, September and October respectively, and the selected authors can participate for free in our designated activities on November 12th or November 19th, and can bring one child or one other family member to attend the activity together.
For more details, please refer to the terms and conditions.

References

¹ Chau, C. K., Tu, E. Y., Chan, D. W. T., & Burnett, J. (2002). Estimating the total exposure to air pollutants for different population age groups in Hong Kong. Environment international, 27(8), 617-630.

² Louv, R. (2008). Last child in the woods: saving our children from nature-deficit disorder (Updated and expanded ed.). Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.

³ White, M. P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., Wheeler, B. W., Hartig, T., Warber, S. L., ... & Fleming, L. E. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific reports, 9(1), 1-11.

⁴ Tsao, T. M., Tsai, M. J., Hwang, J. S., Cheng, W. F., Wu, C. F., Chou, C. C., & Su, T. C. (2018). Health effects of a forest environment on natural killer cells in humans: An observational pilot study. Oncotarget, 9(23), 16501.

⁵ Li, Q., Kobayashi, M., Wakayama, Y., Inagaki, H., Katsumata, M., Hirata, Y., Hirata, K., Shimizu, T., Kawada, T., Park, B. J., Ohira, T., Kagawa, T., & Miyazaki, Y. (2009). Effect of phytoncide from trees on human natural killer cell function. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol, 22(4), 951-959. https://doi.org/10.1177/039463200902200410

⁶ Karami, Z., Golmohammadi, R., Heidaripahlavian, A., Poorolajal, J., & Heidarimoghadam, R. (2016). Effect of daylight on melatonin and subjective general health factors in elderly people. Iranian journal of public health, 45(5), 636.

⁷ Kardan, O., Gozdyra, P., Misic, B., Moola, F., Palmer, L. J., Paus, T., & Berman, M. G. (2015). Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center. Scientific reports, 5(1), 1-14.

⁸ Nair, R., & Maseeh, A. (2012). Vitamin D: The "sunshine" vitamin. J Pharmacol Pharmacother, 3(2), 118-126.

⁹ Simons, L. A., Simons, J., McCallum, J., & Friedlander, Y. (2006). Lifestyle factors and risk of dementia: Dubbo Study of the elderly. Medical Journal of Australia, 184(2), 68-70. https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00120.x

¹⁰ Halonen, J. I., Kivimäki, M., Pentti, J., Stenholm, S., Kawachi, I., Subramanian, S. V., & Vahtera, J. (2014). Green and blue areas as predictors of overweight and obesity in an 8‐year follow‐up study. Obesity, 22(8), 1910-1917.

¹¹ Gascon, M., Triguero-Mas, M., Martínez, D., Dadvand, P., Rojas-Rueda, D., Plasència, A., & Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J. (2016). Residential green spaces and mortality: A systematic review. Environment international, 86, 60-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.10.013

¹² Nutsford, D., Pearson, A. L., Kingham, S., & Reitsma, F. (2016). Residential exposure to visible blue space (but not green space) associated with lower psychological distress in a capital city. Health Place, 39, 70-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2016.03.002

¹³ Mitchell, R. J., Richardson, E. A., Shortt, N. K., & Pearce, J. R. (2015). Neighborhood environments and socioeconomic inequalities in mental well-being. American journal of preventive medicine, 49(1), 80-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2015.01.017

¹⁴ Marcus, C. C., & Barnes, M. (1995). Gardens in healthcare facilities: Uses, therapeutic benefits, and design recommendations. Martinez, CA: Center for Health Design.

¹⁵ Jung, W. H., Woo, J. M., & Ryu, J. S. (2015). Effect of a forest therapy program and the forest environment on female workers’ stress. Urban forestry & urban greening, 14(2), 274-281.

¹⁶ Meredith, G. R., Rakow, D. A., Eldermire, E. R., Madsen, C. G., Shelley, S. P., & Sachs, N. A. (2020). Minimum time dose in nature to positively impact the mental health of college-aged students, and how to measure it: A scoping review. Frontiers in psychology, 2942.

¹⁷ Foxx, C. L., Heinze, J. D., González, A., Vargas, F., Baratta, M. V., Elsayed, A. I., ... & Lowry, C. A. (2021). Effects of immunization with the soil-derived bacterium Mycobacterium vaccae on stress coping behaviors and cognitive performance in a “two hit” stressor model. Frontiers in physiology, 11, 524833.

¹⁸ Barton, J., & Pretty, J. (2010). What is the best dose of nature and green exercise for improving mental health? A multi-study analysis. Environmental science & technology, 44(10), 3947-3955.

¹⁹ Liu, Y., Cleary, A., Fielding, K. S., Murray, Z., & Roiko, A. (2022). Nature connection, pro-environmental behaviours and wellbeing: Understanding the mediating role of nature contact. Landscape and Urban Planning, 228, 104550.

²⁰ Bell, S. (2005). Nature for people: the importance of green spaces to communities in the East Midlands of England. Wild Urban Woodlands: New Perspectives for Urban Forestry, 81-94.

²¹ Pilgrim, S., Smith, D., & Pretty, J. (2007). A cross‐regional assessment of the factors affecting ecoliteracy: implications for policy and practice. Ecological applications, 17(6), 1742-1751.

²² DeMarco, L. W., Relf, D., & McDaniel, A. (1999). Integrating gardening into the elementary school curriculum. HortTechnology, 9(2), 276-281.

²³ Parrish, D., Phillips, G., Levine, R., Hikawa, H., Gaertner, M., Agosta, N., & Doyal, D. (2005). Effects of outdoor education programs for children in California. American Institute For Research.

²⁴ Lieberman, G. A., & Hoody, L. L. (1998). Closing the achievement gap : using the environment as an integrating context for learning : Results of a nationwide study.

²⁵ Chawla, L., Keena, K., Pevec, I., & Stanley, E. (2014). Green schoolyards as havens from stress and resources for resilience in childhood and adolescence. Health & place, 28, 1-13.

²⁶ Taylor, A. F., Kuo, F. E., & Sullivan, W. C. (2002). Views of nature and self-discipline: Evidence from inner city children. Journal of environmental psychology, 22(1-2), 49-63.

²⁷ Faber Taylor, A., & Kuo, F. E. (2009). Children with attention deficits concentrate better after walk in the park. Journal of attention disorders, 12(5), 402-409.

²⁸ Wells, N. M., & Lekies, K. S. (2006). Nature and the life course: Pathways from childhood nature experiences to adult environmentalism. Children Youth and Environments, 16(1), 1-24.

²⁹ Otto, S., & Pensini, P. (2017). Nature-based environmental education of children: Environmental knowledge and connectedness to nature, together, are related to ecological behaviour. Global Environmental Change, 47, 88-94.

³⁰ Duffin, M., Powers, A., & Tremblay, G. (2004). Report on Cross-Program Research.

³¹ Richardson, M., Sheffield, D., Harvey, C., & Petronzi, D. (2016). The impact of children’s connection to nature: A report for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). University of Derby, 1-25.

³² Wood, S., Demougin, P. R., Higgins, S. L., Husk, K., Wheeler, B. W., & White, M. P. (2016). Exploring the relationship between childhood obesity and proximity to the coast: A rural/urban perspective. Health & place, 40, 129-136.

³³ Lingham, G., Yazar, S., Lucas, R. M., Milne, E., Hewitt, A. W., Hammond, C. J., ... & Mackey-benefit, D. A. (2021). Time spent outdoors in childhood is associated with reduced risk of myopia as an adult. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 6337.

³⁴ Wells, N. M., & Evans, G. W. (2003). Nearby nature: A buffer of life stress among rural children. Environment and behavior, 35(3), 311-330.

³⁵ D’Amore, C. (2015). Family nature clubs: Creating the conditions for social and environmental connection and care (Doctoral dissertation, Prescott College).