The mental health crisis of our current time is something worth talking about. It is stated that more than five million Canadians—roughly one in eight—are living with mood, anxiety, or substance use disorders. To be honest, I’d imagine that number is higher given how many cases go unacknowledged or undiagnosed.
Outside of my work with CE, I am a nervous system health expert who sees clients on a regular basis. Mostly, I work with everyday folks who don’t have intense histories of trauma. Yet it is common for my clients to learn over time that they didn’t know they could feel as good as they do the more we work together. In fact, they often look back and say “I can’t believe every day stress was causing me that much turmoil, I thought that was just normal life.”
This is the power of how our body adapts to new baselines of ‘normal’ and why it’s important to question how well our society truly is. We don’t know what we don’t know, and accepting our current level of being as normal might mean we’re missing out on some pretty big potential. I think more people are beginning to realize they can, and should, feel better than they are. We’re looking for something more.
That said, the rise in mental health concerns isn’t just becoming more common; they’re revealing a deeper story about our modern lives.
How Are We Living?
In Canada, over 70% of people live in cities, and the daily stress and disconnection from nature can amplify the already existing mental health challenges, creating an environment where stress levels thrive even further.
Traditionally, we’re told to take care of our mental health by focusing on diet, exercise, and sleep. I would argue that focus on our nervous system is one of the most powerful foundational things we can do as well. But now, more studies are highlighting another key piece to the puzzle: time spent in nature. We are nature let’s not forget.
We often forget that just being in green spaces—surrounded by birds, trees, and the rhythms of wildlife has profound effects on our mental well-being.
This connection isn’t just an ideal; it’s something that’s been measured. A recent study explored the role of birds and trees in Canadian urban neighborhoods over the span of more than a decade, drawing from health and ecological data across 36 cities. Study authors found a clear association: neighborhoods with greater bird and tree diversity correlated with higher self-rated mental health.
To test these relationships, study authors analyzed unique data sets. Bird data collected by community scientists, tree diversity information from national forest inventories, and nearly two decades of health data covering about 65,000 Canadians annually.
The results were striking. Living in a neighborhood with above-average bird diversity raised the likelihood of reporting good mental health by around seven percent. Similarly, higher tree diversity boosted good mental health by five percent.
These results suggest that preserving the biodiversity of birds and trees in cities is about more than environmentalism—it’s about our health. Protecting urban wildlife by creating pollinator gardens, reducing pesticide use, and designing cities that include wild, green spaces isn’t just an environmental strategy. It’s about fostering resilience, connection, and well-being for urban dwellers.
For those of us who love the park or seek refuge in the quiet of a nearby trail, this might feel obvious. Yet, the implications of the findings are profound—they suggest that if we are planning to keep urban living spaces in the long run, we should consider creating them with well-being and nature at the heart of city design.
Birds and trees aren’t just pretty sights or sounds; they’re deeply embedded in our cultural identity. From ancient art to modern internet memes, they capture our imagination. Birds, affectionately called “birbs” in online communities, bring joy with their songs and colors, connecting us to the wild in ways we often don’t realize.
Their presence is more than just pleasing—they actually help balance ecosystems, controlling pests, dispersing seeds, and even helping pollinate. In essence, our lives are intertwined with theirs, and even a simple moment of birdsong reminds us of this.
Trees, too, hold an undeniable place in our hearts and minds. The term “family tree” isn’t just a metaphor; it’s an acknowledgment of the place trees hold in our lineage, our rituals, and our sense of belonging. When the city of Melbourne gave trees email addresses to report issues, people responded by writing thousands of love letters to them. Forest bathing, an ancient practice, is gaining popularity as a way to relieve stress, simply by being present with trees.
Related: Living Close To Trees Comes With A Number Of Health Benefits
Research shows that it’s not only green spaces but diverse, healthy ecosystems that impact our mental well-being most profoundly. Across the U.S., studies have found that areas with higher bird diversity have fewer hospitalizations related to mood and anxiety disorders and longer life expectancies. In Europe, researchers discovered that bird diversity contributes as much to life satisfaction as income does.
Why does biodiversity affect us so deeply? It might be evolutionary: environments filled with diverse life signal safety—a place where food and shelter are abundant. This goes back to the nervous system health stuff I was talking about. Our minds find relief in these spaces, letting go of the constant effort to interpret and process the urban landscape, allowing our mental resources to renew. This is all signalled by our nervous system.
We Already Know This
Deep in our being, we know what environments and ways of life are best for us. We are mammals, and like all other mammals who know what environment is good for them, we need to tune back into that.
In a world where we increasingly recognize the toll of disconnection, these findings offer a deeper truth: our well-being is woven into the fabric of nature itself.
We are not separate from the trees, the birds, or the ecosystems they nurture—we are bound to them, biologically, emotionally, and spiritually. Just as diverse urban environments contribute to better mental health, nurturing these green, biodiverse spaces is a way to foster a resilient, thriving humanity.
Since the 1970s, North America has seen a staggering decline of three billion birds. In the next 30 years, invasive pests are projected to kill 1.4 million street trees. Beyond this, our disconnection from ourselves has resulted in stories about economic growth, materialism and more and more convenience at the expense of our planet and ourselves.
This isn’t just about saving birds or trees. It’s about creating spaces that allow all life to thrive.
Imagine a future where city life doesn’t just coexist with nature but is guided by it, where urban planning isn’t simply about accommodating people but about integrating the rhythms and needs of all life.
This vision of a thriving, interconnected future is one where every neighborhood becomes a sanctuary, reminding us of our place in the vast ecosystem of life. It’s a call to reimagine our cities, not only as hubs of human activity but as spaces of healing, reconnection, and mutual flourishing for generations to come.
