I was recently taken with the work of a professional occupational therapy colleague and friend, and the work she has done in hospices. It is well known that exposure to gardens reduces stress, increase feelings of calm and relaxation and foster a sense of accomplishment and self esteem. She has recently won an award for this work.

This is about bringing the great outdoors indoors for people at the end of their lives . The same day I met an instructor who works at Sayers Croft which is an outdoor centre for children who live in urban settings to learn about nature . She is interested in tree bathing and she shared some fascinating research with me. In a nutshell.....

The importance of trees in which are a natural plantation or woodland- the trees are protecting each other . The trees at the edge are sending chemicals through the roots system. (Roots and shoots) This is called the wood wide web when trees are all linked together.

A fungus joins all the root systems together and researchers found that deciduous trees help evergreen trees in providing nutrients at different times of the year. They alternate between summer and winter helping each other out when the other cannot make their own nutrients. A parent tree helps the offspring if they are related, just like human parents. The adult tree provides nutrients and chemicals in the air. The adult helps the younger tree to grow which takes a long time, similar to human children.

Trees work with the insects - and this benefits humans as well. Even though we are just walking and breathing it in, the effect is significant .

The soil has different microbes in it so when you touch it gets into your skin, like when you take a carrot out of the ground- when you taste it it also helps your immune system your natural killer cells increase when you have been in the woodland and the soils is also said to help conditions such as cancer.

This is why being outside in green spaces is so important

This story helps us to understand there is more going on under the surface - gardens and green spaces with trees are good for our health and there is an underlying mystery going on since the beginning of time that we are just beginning to understand . It’s important to help care home residents to be part of the wider ecosystem and have contact with nature at the end of life is as important as for children’s health to use the great outdoors .

Last week I visited 2 Surrey care homes who pride themselves on using their grounds and encouraging residents to enjoy nature, including a garden party with activities outside for people to enjoy, inviting relatives to join in.