ABSTRACT
In the face of widespread and growing threats to the natural environment, two arguments about the need for biodiversity and nature conservation are commonly used: the environment should be conserved for ethical and for economic reasons. The whales or rainforests are to be saved because it is the right thing to do, or because they provide valuable economic services. Relatively little attention, though, has been paid to the potential emotional benefits. How does nature make us feel? Much, of course, will depend on what else is important in our lives at the time. Is it, anyway, a good day or a bad day? Irrespective of where we come from in the world, it seems that the presence of living things makes us feel good. They help us when we feel stressed, and if there is green vegetation, blue sky and water in a scene, then we like it even more. This idea that the quality of nature in our home neighbourhood affects our mental health is not a new one, but strangely it has not greatly affected the recent planning of our urban and rural environments. Time spent observing or experiencing natural environments contributes to psychological well-being. This ought not to be surprising if we take an evolutionary perspective. We appear to function better in environments that offered us a good chance of survival in the past.
