In 2020 we were delighted to announce that Leon Restaurants partnered with us here at Magic of Foresters in Bromley, South London to celebrate the great outdoors and help us communicate the benefit that plants and natural living have on our well-being.
Plants have been the inspiration behind many of Leon’s cookbooks, their menu and their grocery range, and they’re the key to the health of our gut. We are always talking about the power of plants when you come and visit us at our farm, so for both Leon and Magic of Foresters, there is a natural synergy.
Plus, we both really care about the well-being of people – not only those who work with us, but also our wider community.
Also, finally we just love Leon’s food – it’s our families go-to whenever we’re needing a healthy meal on the go !
Rediscovering natural wisdom
We don't talk about what power the plants have when they aren't on our plate. So here’s a little about the influence they have on us:
There's a new miracle drug. It's free and it's everywhere.
Many of us live in cities and, especially during lockdown, realise how draining it feels to be disconnected from all of nature's good greenery.
But did you know that nature is now actually being prescribed?
In Orkney, Scottish GPs are teaming up with the RSPB to trial prescribing time in nature to patients, and in Sheffield a group of GPs are working to get nature prescriptions more commonly given as well as 'pocket gardens' to be set up by GP surgeries. And a woman in Oxford has told of how a prescription to work on an allotment for a year helped improve her mental health in a way no medication had before.
Sharing the power of nature at Magic of Foresters
in Bromley, Kent
We are so passionate about sharing the little piece of magic that we tend to here. Join us this Christmas for tours of the nursery to explore and learn all about our wonderful Christmas tree farm, organic growing and how we can all help harness the power of plants. You can even take home one of beautiful smelling, naturally grown trees.
A natural prescription.
There are two main benefits why people are being prescribed nature.
1. Scientists have discovered that exposure to non threatening natural stimuli, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress-hormone levels, promotes physical healing, bolsters immune-system function, raises self-esteem, improves mood, curtails the need for painkillers, and reduces inflammation.
2. The second and more common reason that doctors prescribe nature is that with the parasympathetic system (a set of nerves in your nervous system) happily activated, the outdoors becomes a perfect place to do beneficial things that we might not otherwise enjoy doing, like exercising.
Plants think too (and they're very sensitive)
Did you know that there is growing evidence that shows plants have a cognitive function. For example, plants can recognise whether nearby plants are the same species as them or not, and then adjust their foraging approach accordingly. When put with strangers the pale jewelweed will put its effort into growing leaves, not roots, so it can compete for sunlight. Then we have mouse-ear cress, which can pick up on the vibrations caused by caterpillars munching on it and then release oils and chemicals to ward them off.
Plants also have their own means of communication, the mycorrhizal networks of fungus that link up the root systems of multiple plants, like some plant-based internet. If you’re interested to read more we highly recommend the book The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. It is absolutely wonderful!
Getting in amongst the greenery
In Japan they put so much importance on being in nature it is considered a practice named Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing.
The concept started in the 1980s and was encouraged for two reasons. First, to offer a nature-based antidote to the tech-boom burnout people were experiencing. And, second, to inspire people to reconnect with and protect Japan's forests. Here’s how to do it according to Dr. Qing Li.
The key to unlocking the power of the forest is in the five senses.
Let nature enter through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands and feet.
Listen to the birds singing and the breeze rustling in the leaves of the trees.
Look at the different greens of the trees and the sunlight filtering through
the branches.
Smell the fragrance of the forest and breathe in the natural aromatherapy
of phytoncides (this basically means the smell of the forest).
Taste the freshness of the air as you take deep breaths.
Place your hands on the trunk of a tree.
Lie on the ground.
Drink in the flavor of the forest and release your sense of joy and calm.
This is your sixth sense, a state of mind. Now you have connected with nature.
