soothingly repetitive actions of making – are the
ultimate mood-boosting activity. A self-confessed
science nerd, she investigated whether there was
resea rch to back up t he mood-improv ing ef fect of
venturing outside, and science confirmed the value of
everything she had done instinctively.
In her latest book The Wild Remedy, she documents
what she and her lurcher puppy Annie see on walks
near her cottage, a habit she began with her daughters,
Evie, then a toddler, and baby Rose. Beginning in
October (with the first frost and the smell of leaf
mould) and ending the following September (when
swallows on telegraph wires are ready to migrate),
Emma interweaves her words, drawings, paintings
and photographs with the compelling evidence of how
the great outdoors affects our neurochemistry. “Wild
places are an essential medicine for me, a sort of safety
net,” she writes. “This year of using nature as a remedy
has convinced me that humans may need to be in
natural landscapes regularly in order to be fully well,”
she writes. Through reading scientific papers, she
discovered that sunlight and contact with the soil
boosts serotonin, a neurotransmitter, while walking
gives a surge of endorphins. Dopamine is a
neurotransmitter released from the brain when
exploring, looking for and finding wild foods. “It
makes sense that there are mental rewards for
activities that would once have ensured our survival.”
Emma prescribes simply more contact with
the natural world. “Tap into it, in a small way such
as with a daily walk, in order to reawaken these
pathways, which for many of us are simply dormant
and waiting to be reused and help protect against the
damaging effects of modern life.” And this, she points
out , is a n idea l t ime of yea r to sta r t – our inst inct is to
get out and see what’s in bud.
CRAFTING OUR SURVIVAL
That we receive benefits for hunting and gathering
makes complete sense, but Emma’s research also
reveals that there are rewards for crafting and making,
too. “As human beings, we evolved not only as hunter-
gatherers but as crafters. Back in 500BC, we’d have
been whittling sticks for all kinds of uses, such as
manipulating food, carving bowls from which to eat,
fashioning animal skins into warm clothing, making
st r ing f rom net t les. We were so much cra f t ier.” Th is
explains why wreath making is particularly
therapeutic. “The sight of green landscapes lifts your
mood, plants and trees release oils (phytoncides) that
can alleviate anxiety, and seeking a collection triggers
the ‘harvest high’.” Coupled with the meditative effect
of fashioning the decoration, this is like dynamite for
mental wellbeing. “I am evangelical about the benefits,
because it ’s helped keep me going.”
Emma’s passions for science and craft have their
roots in her suburban Liverpool childhood, during
which she spent most days after school at her
grandparents’ who lived six doors away. Here she
enjoyed watching pondlife, playing hide and seek in
the leylandii hedge, breathed in the scent of the
aubrieta and experienced the “utter enchantment of
sowing a seed.” She also found her grandad’s copy of
Keble Martin’s Concise British Flora in Colour, a