A case for urban nature
3rd July 2025
Our Science Coordinator, Guillemette Gandon, shares her experience connecting with a greenspace on her commute and makes the case for urban nature.
Why not take the longer path?
Concrete. Noise. Cars. Commuters. High buildings. The claustrophobic feeling of urban spaces. Most mornings, we walk through cities that feel cold and hurried.
Cities, then, become spaces to pass through and where time feels absent. It is easy to forget to pause.
But one morning, I did. I took a different route: a small unpaved path, narrow and lined with overgrown plants.
Checking on Google Maps, the app suggests to keep walking straight, since taking the little path would add five minutes to my commute. But this morning, I chose curiosity and quietness over convenience.
Birdsong. Butterflies. A river. Trees. Space. Peace. Instantly, the grey cloud in my mind dissolves in the wind. I forgot that I am commuting, I simply am, present in my space.
The leaves of the trees dance with the air, and a few of them drop on the ground, colouring the floor with shades of green, orange, red and yellow.
Urban spaces can be more than just convenient. By reintroducing nature, we can transform them into places that invite us to slow down, breathe.
And that is what we work to protect and create at Earthwatch Europe: through our Nature in Cities work.
Urban nature is under threat
In the UK and around the world, green spaces are shrinking. Urban development continues to grow, but our access to nature is falling behind.
Yet we know the science: spending time in nature improves mental and physical wellbeing, deepens our connection to the environment, and builds stronger communities.
Despite this, green spaces are often the last priority in public budgets. For example, the UK’s Nature for Climate Fund, which supports urban tree planting, is set to be withdrawn this year.
Local councils are also facing a £4 billion shortfall over the next two years, threatening the survival of parks and community green spaces, especially in underserved areas.
At the same time, global organisations like UNEP and the COP28 Urban Nature Programme are calling for more green investment.
The power of a Tiny Forest
At Earthwatch Europe, we are responding by bringing small but powerful natural solutions to urban spaces. One of these solutions is Tiny Forest.
A Tiny Forest is a dense, fast-growing native forest planted in an area the size of a tennis court, right in the heart of urban spaces.
These 200m² spaces may be small, but they are rich in wildlife: from butterflies and birds to fungi and ants. They provide cooling shade, clean the air, store carbon, and soak up rainwater runoff.
They are living infrastructure, 3D, provide multiple benefits for people and wildlife, and irreplaceable by concrete.
Look for a Tiny Forest near you with our online map.
Communities at the heart
Because we know that people and nature should only come hand in hand, our projects at Earthwatch Europe always include local communities.
From co-designing and planting to monitoring biodiversity (the variety of life in a habitat), people are central to every Tiny Forest project.
Every year, volunteers across the UK help us observe wildlife and measure tree growth. This work is part of a national scientific study to understand how Tiny Forests contribute to urban resilience.
We monitor Tiny Forests to gather crucial data on biodiversity, carbon capture, thermal comfort, water regulation, and how people feel when they spend time in these green spaces. The more we know, the better we can design urban nature-based solutions that really work.
Tiny Forest volunteers are trained as ‘citizen scientists’. Their efforts help us build a growing dataset of how nature behaves in cities, and how we can help it thrive.
Some people come for the science, others just to spend a quiet hour in nature. Either way, every observation counts.
One Sunday morning, I saw it in action: parents and children planting saplings, sipping coffee, and laughing. English oaks, hollies, limes, planted by hand in what was once empty grass.
These people weren’t just growing trees, they were also reclaiming their space, and reclaiming slowness, in an otherwise relentlessly fast-paced world.
Why slowing down matters
In our rush for convenience, speed, and productivity, we forget the value of slowness.
Taking a moment to walk off the pavement and into a greenspace might seem small, but it shifts how we feel, and how we act.
If more of us do this, more often, we will all slowly start building a connection with nature. And with this connection we can imagine, and even create, different kinds of cities. Cities that make room for life, for silence, for nature.
Join the movement for urban nature
By choosing to slow down and reconnect with nature, we plant more than just trees, we grow a new vision for our cities. Whether you are a curious commuter, a local volunteer, or someone who simply believes in a greener future, there is a place for you in this movement. Let’s make space for nature!
