Kathy Willis–La Natura che cura

Another distinguished international guest at the Umbria Green Festival for a unique event in collaboration with Aboca:

Kathy Willis - Nature that Heals

Why seeing, smelling, touching, and hearing plants makes us healthier, happier, and live longer.

In conversation with author Nina Gigante

Translated from English into Italian by Malcolm Angelucci

We all take it for granted that being in nature makes us feel better. But if you were a skeptic looking for concrete scientific evidence to support this idea, where would you look? And how would this evidence be collected?

Kathy Willis stumbled upon a study that radically changed her view of the natural world while contributing to an international project examining the social benefits of plants. The study revealed that hospital patients recovering from surgery improved three times faster when they saw trees from their window rather than a wall.

Over the past decade, there has been an explosion of evidence demonstrating how our sensory interaction with the natural world has incredible effects on our bodies and minds. In this essay, Kathy Willis takes the reader on a journey through experiments conducted around the world to gather this evidence, facilitated by new data collected via satellites and biobanks. Did you know that having a vase of roses on your desk or a green wall in your office has a measurable effect on well-being? That touching organic soil has a significant effect on the health of our microbiome?

That touching wood makes us feel calmer (the gnarlier, the better)? Or that the scent of roses helps people drive more calmly and safely?

A book with practical advice – schools should let children play in nature to improve their health and concentration; Urban streets should be filled with trees—bringing the latest scientific research into our homes and workplaces, demonstrating how nature can reduce healthcare costs and how, by integrating it into our cities, it can create a better, happier, and healthier environment.

Kathy Willis is Professor of Biodiversity in the Department of Biology at the University of Oxford. She is also a member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. She was Scientific Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She is an internationally recognized expert and has led numerous initiatives to raise global knowledge on plant biodiversity. She has written and presented science programs for the BBC and in 2015 received the Michael Faraday Medal for Science Communication. She lives in Oxford, England.