Category › Nature

[This post supplements chapter 9 of Connect with Nature] One of the great challenges facing humanity is how to live in harmony with one another, and with other living things. If history and the daily news are any guide, division is humanity’s default condition. ‘Us-and- them’ rather than ‘us-together’ competes strongly to be our species’ […]

(This post updates and extends content in chapters 2, 3, 7, 8 and 10 of Connect with Nature). How good are you at making the most of those events in life that trigger ‘feel-good’ emotions such as joy, gratitude, contentment, awe and inspiration?  When you are looking at natural scenes or objects like the ones in the […]

Boosting the benefits of a walk in nature October 24, 2023 by Les H | Edit [This post supplements the Stop, Pause and Engage (SPE) section of Chapter 2, Connect with Nature] During the last three months, I have been assisting Bushwalking NSW (BWNSW) develop a leadership training course (Bushwalking’ is an Australian version of walking in nature). My […]

(This post supplements Chapter 12 of Connect with Nature). I was delighted to discover that not far from my suburban home there is a healthy colony of koalas, the cuddly marsupials that are among Australia’s most photogenic but endangered animals. The image of a mother koala and her young was taken by the renowned nature […]

(This post can be read in conjunction with Chapter 5 of Connect with Nature) Most people in Australia would recognise Rosie Batty. In recent years, she has become an admired and influential public figure. She was named Australian of the Year in 2015 in recognition of her efforts to raise awareness of the extent, ubiquity […]

(This post contains material that compliments chapters 6 and 12 of ‘Connect with Nature’.) Chances are that you are concerned, even alarmed, about climate change and the deteriorating state of the natural environment. Surveys consistently report that most people are worried about the future of Earth’s climate and ecosystems. Indeed, researchers are finding that this […]

(This post supplements material in Chapter 7 of ‘Connect with Nature’) It is an experience that left a lasting impression on me. My wife, Margaret, and I had walked up to the rounded peak of the volcanic remnant we knew then as Mt Dromedary. At 800 metres above sea-level, the mountain overlooks part of the […]

Here’s me on what is becoming an annual pilgrimage to savour the flowering New South Wales waratahs (Telopea speciosissima) in Bottle Forest, part of the Royal National Park near Sydney. I was in the company of family and dozens of others on much the same mission. This pocket of waratahs attracts hundreds, probably thousands, of visitors […]

(This post supplements material in Chapter 8 of ‘Connect with Nature’.) Michael Portillo is probably best known for his TV documentaries on railway journeys, but Australia’s SBS network is currently screening a series recording a walking trip he did in Devon and Cornwall.  In contrast to his upbeat railway documentaries, this series is more personal, […]

(This post supplements chapters 6 and 12 of Connect with Nature) Australia’s latest State of the Environment Report was released recently. The message of the report is as clear as it is alarming. The already calamitous environmental degradation in Australia is continuing. The loss of biodiversity, ecosystems and species is happening worldwide, but Australia is among […]