Michaela Strachan
… and walking puts you right back in touch, says Autumnwatch presenter Michaela Strachan.
On watching autumn & kissing birds.
THIS PAST COUPLE of years has made us notice nature so much more. We’ve had more time, particularly in our own local areas, and it’s meant we’ve seen changes that we’ve never noticed before. And of course one of the great things is people have been walking more – and you tend to notice so much more when you’re on foot, particularly the birdsong. I think we’re all more attuned to nature now.
We are all born with that connection to our surroundings. But for so many of us growing up is a process of growing away from it. Walking puts you right back in touch. And it makes us breathe properly. So many of us these days are hunched over our computers and devices for such a long time, or cooped up in cars or trains, and I think it stops your body being able to absorb the oxygen properly. Walking is better for your brain and your body – it’s good for your whole being to be on foot and breathing deeply.
I know how daunting it can feel to want to know more about nature but not know where to begin. I feel exactly the same about living in South Africa – that there’s so much more to know than I’m able to take in. And we’re all so busy! But Britain has a great advantage – if you go to any RSPB or Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust reserve, they have so many courses and walks you can go on, and people who are so willing to make it all accessible to you. The hardest thing is, when you’re older and you want to learn something from the beginning, it’s embarrassing. But I think we’ve just got to put that aside. Go into a hide anywhere in the UK and the people there will be delighted to help you.
Knowing about things leads to caring about them. And that leads to things like making your own garden more wildlife friendly. It’s astonishing how quickly the wildlife comes back. And once you see the difference, that gives encouragement and empowerment to believe we can influence things for the better – from our backyards outwards.
But you don’t need to even know the name of something to appreciate the beauty in it. I find from year to year I forget the names of things. Sometimes it’s the most common things that most of us take for granted that have the most wonder –
“Walking’s
better for your brain, your body – it’s good for your whole being to be on foot and breathing deeply. ”
take a starling. I mean just look at the colours on the feathers of a starling! They’re just so beautiful. It’s important to remember to look at the wonder of things you see every day.
I can’t wait to get back to Norfolk for Autumnwatch. Living abroad, when I tell people I work on a programme about British wildlife they’re surprised and say, ‘oh! Is there any?’ But living on an island in the middle of a migration route, the bird life alone is incredible. I can’t wait to see the arrival of the waders and in particular the starling murmurations – one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in the UK. Every one is different, and you watch this incredible aerial ballet and think ‘I can’t believe this is free!’.
When I come across to the UK for Winterwatch we’re in the height of summer in South Africa. It’s bizarre, going from shorts and T-shirts to suddenly sweating trying on big coats and woolly hats in front of the mirror. I have to travel light so it’s important everything matches everything else. I always go thinking ‘I’ll never need all these layers!’ but of course I never have enough.
In a funny way the pandemic has given me hope. It’s shown how quickly and profoundly we can adapt when something threatens us. And you’ve only got to look at the news of floods and fires to feel like the climate change threat is now as present and visible as the pandemic threat has been. Three years ago I listened to the audiobook Ready Player One, and it featured online learning, people isolated at home, headphones on – how absurd it seemed! And yet now it’s scarily familiar, there’s a generation coming up which recognises the dangers and really wants change.