Nature and mental health - Biophilia and Recovery

Flora Botsford | 17.04.2007 17:23 | Climate Chaos | Oxford

Why I decided to speak at a public meeting to try and save Warneford Meadow in Oxford

I decided to speak at tonight's meeting (7.30, Cheyney School, Cheyney lane) because when I was incarcerated in the Warneford psychiatric hospital in the summer of 2005, nature and specifically Warneford Meadow, were absolutely vital in my recovery. I discovered it quite by accident one day, Alice-in-Wonderland-like, when I was restlessly prowling the grounds, probably illicitly. It was so hot and so beautiful that summer, that being locked indoors, hour after hour, day after day, was - honestly - torture. If I wasn't mad before being sectioned, I definitely WAS after a few days in the hospital. What helped me recover was going out into the garden (which was also lovely) and eventually, when I was given more freedom, escaping to the meadow, by climbing through a not very secure fence. And then finding this indescribably beautiful place, full of long grass, wild flowers, butterflies, birds, insects, small furry animals - you know the kind of thing. I started playing hookie there regularly, sometimes alone, sometimes with other naughty boys and girls from the ward. We would hang out, do stuff together, talk and then when we felt like it, we'd go back to the ward, reluctantly, but at least feeling a little more at peace with ourselves and with the world.

I do find it ironic that the NHS (especially in Oxford) is putting money into the essentially buddhist practice of Mindfulness meditation (within the NHS it's called Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, or MBCT, as they can't be seen to be endorsing any particular religion. That wouldn't be PC and might freak out the muslims/christians/sikhs/jews etc. living in this country) which I have done myself, and which is supposed to reconnect you with nature and with observing the little, joyful things in life which make people happy (a bird - a flower - a tree - a smell - a sound) and yet the NHS Trust which runs the Warneford is prepared to sell off land and allow yet more building to happen on one of Oxford's last remaining open spaces. How bizarre is that???

My life was changed irrecovably by mental illness (beginning immediately after 9/11 by the way - no coincidence there) and in some senses I lost everything - my long-standing BBC career as a foreign correspondent, television and radio producer, my good name and reputation, and many dear friends who now refuse to speak to me. But in another sense I gained a lot: I have slowed down, work less, reflect and communicate more, and have more time for my friends and family, for my fellow buddhists and for people I know who are in need, for the planet. I'll always be grateful for that.

So come along to the meeting, and even if you don't come along, please support the campaign by checking out the website www.friendsofwarnefordmeadow.org.uk or emailing