[MUSIC] Is there are better way to start your day than breathing in the fresh air, hearing birds chirping, and enjoying a nice walk in a park? We're often told that natural environment is beautiful, and uplifting and important for our health. But what actually is the natural environment? >> I think that the natural environment is anything that's open to the sky so anything that gives us an experience of the natural environment, so public parks, green spaces, a riverside walk, going to the beach or the woodland. So it can be an open mountain side area but also somewhere could be your back garden even, somewhere where you can feel the natural environment and the natural elements and experience them. >> Contact with the natural environment has multiple benefits for our physical and mental health and well-being. And it also strengthens communities. >> I love playing golf. The benefits are quite numerous, really, the networking with all your pals on a regular basis, the exercise of course, you're walking four and a half miles minimum per round. And I really enjoy that, and it keeps me in good form for playing with my grandson. >> When we're outside in our natural environment, we're often more likely to be active than we are when we're indoors. >> But there is a suggestion that being physically active in an outdoor environment, maybe in a natural environment, may be even better for us than being physically active in other kinds of places, so the same level of physical activity in a gym might not be doing us as much good for our mental health, perhaps as being physically active in the woods or in a nice green space or along a river side. >> The contact with nature will help you tremendously if you feel stressed, overworked, or exhausted from being at the computer all day. Getting outside and engaging with the natural environment, perhaps during your lunch hour, can help you feel much better. And once back at work, you may find you work better and be more productive. Also, if you live with a chronic condition, engaging with the natural environment may help you cope better with the disease. >> After I was diagnosed with cancer, it was obviously a bit of a shock, and the thing that really helped my sanity was to take the dog for a walk and I go out practically every day with the dog, even if it was only a very short walk. And when it was decent weather, I tried to get into my garden because just sitting there even if I couldn't do anything, just being in the garden, outside, seeing plants and weeds growing, and it was physically better to walk, but more importantly it was for my mental health and to get a way to get with the dog. It's just look, listen and walk. >> The built environment is also set to influence our health. Let's hear about what the built environment is. >> The built environment is, at the most fundamental level, all the things we can see around us and the things we encounter in our everyday lives, the buildings, the roads, the infrastructure, And even the parks and green spaces that we use throughout our daily lives. >> How well do you know your built environment? Why not try going out, perhaps with friends or family, and exploring your surroundings. It'll get you moving, and you'll also learn many interesting things about the places you live, or about places for being active, such as leisure centers, community centers or outdoor gyms or places for choosing healthier food options. If it is raining, how about taking a walk in the nearby shopping mall, farmers market, or visiting a museum or a gallery? Maybe you could even try a new hobby. How about photography? I'll encourage you to take some great shots and move around and might even go to places you've not been before. [MUSIC] And another way to be more active in the built environment is to choose active travel over driving for going to work, to the shops, or for any other journey. In the next video, we'll learn exactly what active travel is. I learned about how we can build this into our everyday journeys.