As some of you may know, 10th - 14th of May this year is Mental Health Awareness Week and this year the theme is Nature 
- Mental Health Awareness Week 2021
It’d be really good to hear from you about how have you connected with nature and how it has supported your mental health and well-being. This might be as a simple as listening to the birds, tending to your garden, or going on one of your favourite walks.
Feel free to let us know below 
Hi @Alice_BloodCancerUK This is such an important issue to raise.
This time last year I was completely shielding in our flat from March till July.
I was given a Walkman (although I brought it!!!) for my 70th birthday just before we went into lockdown.
In July I started venturing out for my early daily brisk walk, masked up and Walkman playing my favourite music. I realised my sense of smell had heightened. My skin was very sensitive to the air.
I walk round and round the same rec and I have done so every day since.
Every day is different, I am fascinated looking at the sky, the beautiful clouds ever changing, the exhaust from planes, the way if the rain clouds come over and the wildlife disappear.
A couple of mornings the snow started and I suddenly had the rec to myself.
Some days it is pouring with rain !!
The way the ground feels different every day.
The dark mornings with dawn rising, that low sun is so beautiful.
The wind and how it can lower the temperature.
In spring each day the spring springs more.
The scents from the plants.
In autumn the leaves change colour and drop and I traipse through them kicking them.
The squirrels love the cold, crisp mornings and they chase each other up and down the trees and leap from tree to tree.
The odd fox will wander around or scurry away.
The early morning mist is eerie in a mystical way.
One day it’s frosty the next the grass is glistening with dew.
There is often nobody about as far as the eye can see.
The next day the bins might be being emptied, the hedges cut, the grass cut or the playing field is being lined for sport.
The keep fitters and people using the outside gym equipment, the tennis and basket ball courts, the children’s playground and even the table tennis tables if it’s not windy. They might be setting up for football or cricket practice or matches are often there to see.
A teacher sets up a tent for young children to be read a story in and then they play games outside.
As for the birds sometimes a flock will settle on the rec and then the wonderful sight as they all take off at once.
The flock of Canada geese might be squawking as they fly by migrating.
One adjoining resident, Pam, I wave to her every time I go past whether she is there or not, who has the most beautiful garden, puts out goodies for the birds and they seem to know when this happens, the pigeons arrive from nowhere and all birds swoop into her garden from the rec and settle on her fence after feeding.
There is a robin that knows me well and sits watching me go round and round.
One morning I saw a parakeet in a tree.
The crows go after any takeaway leftovers.
Some bushes attract flocks of birds and they sing away.
I could go on and on but this is what I missed while shielding in our flat and why I am so happy doing the same route every day, I say hello to everyone whether they respond or not, it is never the same and completely free.
Thank you so much for sharing this @Erica, beautifully written 
Who can relate to Erica’s words? What do other people do that they find helps them feeling a bit better?
I think the simple things in life. Music helps a great deal as does a nice meal out. I love being by water be it the sea or a river. If I’m sitting by water with a book I could be happy for hours.
@Franko, that is lovely.