The science behind why access to nature is essential for our health and wellbeing

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill reaches its final stages in the Lords next week – a crucial moment to ensure the planning system works not only for growth, but also for our climate, natural environment, and the health of our communities.

Professor Baroness Kathy Willis, Chair of Peers for the Planet and Professor of Biodiversity at Oxford University, is leading an amendment to ensure that, as we construct the 1.5 million homes and new towns the government has promised, access to green and blue space is designed into developments from the very start.

In an article in Politics Home, she highlights a growing body of evidence revealing a direct link between proximity to nature and improved physical and mental health. This is on top of the wider benefits green and blue spaces bring as critical infrastructure – cooling cities during heatwaves, soaking up floodwaters, cleaning the air we breathe, and providing vital habitats for wildlife.

Last week, Baroness Willis was also guest speaker on BBC Radio 4's What's Up Docs? Podcast as part of the BBC's Wild About Nature Week. She took a walk in the woods with Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken to talk about the relationship between nature and our health and wellbeing.

In the podcast, she discusses clinical research that investigates what actually happens to our bodies when we interact with nature. A substantial evidence base now shows that even brief contact with the natural world – or simply seeing nature on a screen – can trigger physiological mechanisms that improve health: lowering blood pressure, reducing stress hormones, easing respiratory problems, and even supporting a healthier gut microbiome.

Clinical trials have also shown that particular natural scents have measurable effects: lavender promotes relaxation, rosemary sharpens alertness, and the smell of cedar – whether experienced in a forest or through essential oils – has been linked to a significant drop in adrenaline levels and a boost in immune function through increased activity of natural killer cells, which help the body combat infections and cancer.

Importantly, these benefits are not confined to the countryside. Accessing nature in urban environments – through parks, allotments, green roofs, or community forests – can bring the same positive impacts. The real challenge, as Baroness Willis notes, is ensuring that these opportunities exist close to where people live and can easily reach them.

That is where the planning system and government policy can make a transformative difference. As Baroness Willis explains, a small tweak to guide the way we plan, design and build could make a huge difference to the nation’s health and wellbeing.

If we design green and blue spaces into new housing developments, and incorporate biodiversity into buildings from the outset, we can reap the rewards of both the health and climate value of nature – creating places that are healthier, happier, and more resilient to a changing climate.

Baroness Willis’s access to green and blue spaces amendment will be debated at Report Stage in October – you can follow coverage here