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IMPLICATIONS
In my neuroscience studies, I have learned about many experiments and findings demonstrating the benefits of exposure to the outdoors. That is why it is depressing to learn how little, children of this generation experience the outdoors.
The long-term implications are worrying. This lack of exposure to the outdoors is not limited to children. How many executives would conduct a management meeting in an area surrounded by nature? Offsites tend
Bloomsbury Park
Queen ' s Square Gardens
Red Lion Square Park
Russell Square Park
Lincoln Inns Field
Tavistock Square Gardens
Soho Square Gardens
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to be in five-star hotels in the city, with little or no time devoted to nature.
How wonderful it would be if we could persuade a cadre of CEO ' s to take nature walks with their key executives. That would be a transformation worth pursuing. It may not go straight to the bottom line, but it will send a message to the organisation about the importance of taking care of employees ' welfare.
I am fortunate to be spending some time in London. I have been here for almost nine
# of steps from my abode
300
500
500
600
800
1,000
1,400
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" Just two hours a week in green spaces significantly improved individuals ' wellbeing. "
- Tony Pereira
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months. We are renting a small place right in the centre, in Holborn.
Much to my surprise, despite being in the centre of a busy city like London, I have found that folks, at least in Holborn, are spoilt for choice with the number of parks they have access to( see picture). These parks are all within relatively few steps from me( see table).
In each of these parks, there is also a café, or a pop-up café, where I can enjoy a nice americano and inhale the clean air, with all the benefits that exposure to a park offers.
I know Singapore has been trying very hard to create green spaces even in the city; they have become another blue zone- this one created by government policy, not because it was natural or organic.
Kuala Lumpur is, sadly, infamous for its traffic. Perhaps something can be done to create more green spaces in the city.
It was Fredrick Law Omstead, creator of Central Park in New York, who in 1865 observed that ' nature employs the mind without fatigue, and yet exercises it, tranquilises it and enlivens it and through the influence of the mind over the body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigorating the whole system."- The HEALTH
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