Sometimes we want to get away from our everyday surroundings and go for a picnic, staycation or vacation because it makes us feel better. If this getaway is next to a beach, park or mountain it feels even better. The scenic beauty of nature, the fresh air and sunshine nourishes our body and soul and we feel relaxed, happier and healthier.
If we live away from home for long, we get homesick and want to get home soonest.
Both these examples are about personal environments that give us a sense of well-being. Our environment influences our wellness and we in turn influence our environment.
Environmental wellness is living in a place where your external environment has a positive effect on you and meets your needs while enabling you to take actions to maintain or enrich it.
To maintain environmental wellness, we have to be wary of UV radiation, noise, pollution and microbes so that these don’t have a detrimental effect on our health. We need to live in an environment that enhances our wellness. In turn, we have to make sure that our actions are not having a negative impact on our environment. For this reason, we need to protect our oceans and rivers, conserve our flora and fauna, reduce wastage of food, water and energy, recycle materials and reduce greenhouse gases.
When we take steps to protect our planet and increase environmental sustainability, our planet will continue to sustain us and we will have desirable external and personal environments.
