The Wild Indoors No.3: Digital

Welcome to part 3 of a 5-part blog post series, The Wild Indoors. This is a collaborative series written together with Leah Bennett, who is a sustainability writer and researcher. Over the next 5 posts, we’ll be sharing tips on how to bring more nature into your life in a variety of ways, even when you are staying because of lockdown.

In this post, I’m sharing some of my favourite digital resources and apps that bring nature into your home and/or do nature some good while using them.

Digital Resources and Apps

What with lockdown 3.0 and the ongoing pandemic, working from home and staying at home in general have become the new norm. We are doing all our work virtually, and along with that comes more time using technology and looking at screens.

As we spend more time online though, let’s not forget the natural world is still going on outside. There is so much to discover about nature and more to learn about what we can do to help the planet.

Don’t let the pandemic and only going out for local walks and food shops make you think that discovering nature is something you can no longer do. There are so many ways to incorporate nature into your WFH lifestyles, with technology actually providing a wealth of resources. Here are a few of my favourites for reconnecting with nature and leading a greener online lifestyle.

RSPB Giving Nature a Home

This app by RSPB is everything you need to get back to nature. There are fact files and quizzes, as well as ideas and projects that you can for nature where you live. The RSPB also has a Birdsong Radio app where you access peaceful birdsong, helping you relax and feel more productive.

Tree ID by Woodland Trust

If a daily walk is part of your lockdown routine, then make the most of it. Take the time to appreciate what you can see and hear on your walk, as well as enjoying a spell of fresh air. There are many apps available to identify different elements of nature, from trees and flowers to birds. Tree ID by the Woodland Trust allows you to identify trees using the leaves, bark, twigs, soil, really any part of the tree.

SmartPlant

If lockdown has inspired you to get out and try your hand at gardening, but you have no clue where to begin, then SmartPlant might be for you. The app is a plant identifier, but also provides advice on plant care, when and where to plant, and more. Definitely one for gardening fans to try out.

Forest

Struggle with staying productive and not getting distracted when working from home? Forest is an app to help you limit phone time and get stuff done. You plant a tree on the app and overtime it grows (you can make a whole forest eventually). However, for your tree to grow, you have to keep the Forest app open.  If you leave the app, the tree wilts. It’s an effective strategy for staying productive and not letting your phone distract you. What’s more, Forest as a company does their bit for the planet by planting trees (real ones this time).

Ecosia

Last, but certainly not least, Ecosia. If you haven’t switched to Ecosia, then make that something you do today. Ecosia is a search engine just like Google, except it uses renewable energy to run and profits go towards planting more trees around the world. It is really easy to install Ecosia as you just add it as an extension to Google Chrome and voila!

Do you have nature-inspired digital resources that you’d recommend?