Ultra-processed Places

We need to change how we talk about Nature.

Phrases like "Access to Nature" and "Nature Connection" are at odds to the reality that everything on this planet is Nature because it comes from the same raw materials or life essence as each other.

Are we then more talking about a better connection or access to "Wildlife", "Living Beings" like us? Plants, trees, mammals, fish are Living Beings: have babies, grow, find food and die. We do this, rocks do not!

Perhaps a better phrase to use could be "Minimally Processed Materials" or "Whole Materials". Just like ultra-processed foods,we know they aren't good for us, but they are hard to resist and we enjoy them greatly.

Computers, TV, Phones, cars, built-up towns and cities are so highly processed, they don't look anything like the raw materials they originated from.

Why is it that people love old buildings, thatched cottages and churches? Because they use whole materials. Our Neanderthal brain feels more at ease.

Thus the "Nature Recovery" phrase means so much more then it's original intention, including humans as part of that recovery process. Climate crisis, health crisis, biodiversity crisis, cost of living crisis, it's all linked.

This leaves me pondering, what does "recovering humans" look like?