The joy of discovering a deep connection with nature is that it allows each of us to see each living thing, object and idea within its own intricate network. It allows us to view things in the most practical and philosophical way simultaneously.
What does it mean to feel a connection with nature?
It means gaining an insight into the most important network there ever has been and ever will be. It means becoming aware of our relationship with this network. It means expecting a fascinating and enriching experience each time we step outside. And it means embarking on a journey that leads towards the realization that every single thing that we have found interesting up to this point in our lives has its roots in this network we call nature. Health, business, politics, sport, sex, violence and culture: all subsets of nature.
If we stay out past sunset, we will notice that certain star constellations hide for much of the year.
There is a popular saying amongst survivalists that we can last three minutes without air, three hours without warmth, three days without water and three weeks without food.
Our brains have learned to notice things that move, so if we make a special effort to look for things that are still we see a subtly different world.
Natural navigators know that you get the shortest shadows from a stick in the middle of the day, when the sun is highest, and that these cast a perfect north--south shadow line.
The big relationships:
Once we are used to seeing the landscape as a series of habitats, we can begin to ask and answer more interesting questions.
Animals that eat plants tend towards living in groups: there is usually no shortage of plant matter, and they benefit from having more eyes to look out for predators.
Predators tend to work alone if they are going for small prey or in packs if they are going after very large prey.
Now we can deduce that if we see an animal, it follows that there must be some water and a specific food source in the form of a plant or another animal very nearby. If we add some more building blocks the picture starts to get a little more interesting:
In the wild, given enough time, trees will come to dominate all land, outside of extreme regions like the Arctic or high mountains.
Most plants, including young trees, cannot survive being bitten down to ground level. Grasses are one of the most significant exceptions: their bud -- the part of the plant needed for new growth -- is below the surface and survives grazing.
Everywhere you look, you will see one or more of four things:
Woodland
Crops being farmed
Animals grazing grasses
Built-up areas
We will find a large number of the answers by thinking about water and rocks.
All land is based on rocks of some kind.
Some rocks, like chalk, are porous and some, like slate, are non-porous. Non-porous rocks hold water above them and lead to wet areas. Porous rocks let the water filter down through them and lead to dry areas.
Some plants and animals like wet conditions and some like drier conditions.
Some rocks, like granite, lead to soil above them that is acidic and some, like chalk, form soil that is alkaline.
Most plants prefer alkaline conditions, so you get more plants and more diverse plants growing in areas with alkaline soils.
Rivers carve V-shaped valleys and meander, creating interlocking spurs that result in restricted views. During the last ice age, on the other hand, glaciers carved big, wide U-shaped valleys with great views.
Where the sea meets land, the wind creates waves and constant erosion. Depending on the rocks it acts upon, this process gives us beaches, cliffs and many more beguiling landforms.
The side of a landmass closest to the sea, in the direction the wind comes from, will get most of the rain. The weather in the UK arrives from the west: Wales is a lot wetter than East Anglia, which is on average 34 per cent drier than the rest of England and Wales.