Good Nature: The New Science of How Nature Improves Our Health

A revolutionary, science-based look at the ways nature can help make us healthier.

Fifteen years ago, University of Oxford Professor Kathy Willis read a study that radically changed her view of our relationship to the natural world. The study revealed that hospital patients recovering from surgery improved three times faster when they looked out of their windows at trees rather than seeing walls.

Since then, she has dedicated her research to proving this link between the amount of green space in our lives and our better health, mood and longevity. For the first time ever, Good Nature brings together these recent scientific findings and shares the simple changes we can all make in our lives. The book is full of surprising and practical ways that nature can improve our lives, such as: did you know that cedar enhances cancer-fighting cells in our immune system? Or that touching wood makes us feel calmer (the woodier, the knot-ier, the better)? Or that the scent of roses helps people drive more calmly and safely? Even having a pot plant by your desk can make a difference.

A book with applications to everything from which way we walk to work to choosing where our kids should go to school, Good Nature brings the latest scientific research into our homes and workplaces. It shows how nature can help reduce the costs of healthcare and how, by bringing nature into our towns and cities, we can create a better, happier and healthier environment for all.

Review

This lucid and entertaining book presents compelling scientific evidence that proves what many of us have perhaps long suspected: nature is really good for us. I found it revelatory -- Richard Deverell, Director of Kew

We've all understood for years that spending time in nature makes us feel better. This brilliant and important book lays out the ground-breaking science behind the feeling. A critical tool arguing for us all to have access to diverse green spaces -- Rosie Boycott, author of OUR FARM

Good Nature is a game-changer - the book that proves how living with plants transforms our lives. Beautifully written, masterfully explained, Kathy Willis reveals the cutting-edge science behind the power of flora to heal and sustain us - from forests to the humble house plant. I defy anyone to read this book and not embrace a life with plants! -- Isabella Tree, author of WILDING

Loved it. It should be required reading for . anybody who values their health. Her engaging writing can't help but change the way we look at the world and I will be astonished if any reader doesn't change at least some habits to take advantage of the fascinating benefits she so clearly outlines -- John Cherry, founder of Groundswell

About the Author

Katherine Willis CBE is Professor of Biodiversity in the department of Biology and the Principal of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford. She is also a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords. Previous roles include Director of Science at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and a member of the UK Government's Natural Capital Committee. She has extensive broadcast experience and, in 2015, Kathy was awarded the Michael Faraday Medal for public communication of science from the Royal Society.