- Lifestyle
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Wildlife Trusts’ vice president is supporting a campaign to get us to connect with nature
Hannah StephensonMonday 24 November 2025 11:23 GMT
CloseDogs putting on weight in winter due to owner’s shirking walks in bad weather, study finds
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Working as a GP in inner-city Bradford, West Yorkshire, TV doctor Amir Khan understands the profound importance of stepping outdoors and embracing nature, even amidst a busy schedule.
The resident doctor on ITV’s Good Morning Britain and Lorraine makes a conscious effort to connect with the natural world daily.
x"It doesn’t matter how busy it is, I try and get outside over lunchtime, so I’ll eat my lunch outside and try to do that in a green place," says Dr Khan, who is also vice president of The Wildlife Trusts.
He is currently championing the charity’s annual '12 Days Wild' campaign, which encourages everyone to engage with nature daily over the Christmas period, from a simple winter walk to identifying local bird calls.
Dr Khan highlights the significant physiological benefits of spending time in nature, explaining that it can elevate serotonin and dopamine levels, which are crucial for relaxation and happiness, while simultaneously reducing the stress hormone cortisol.
"Being in nature is a proven way to improve your mental health. It’s not instead of medication or emergency services, but it’s as well as," he asserts.
For Dr Khan, integrating nature into his life is a daily practice. His own garden is a testament to his commitment to wildlife. "I’m a big wildlife gardener, so I’m really lucky to have a garden geared up for wildlife. Through spring and summer, it’s all about the plants and the pond, but over autumn and winter I do try to have some plants that might flower over that period."
He takes joy in the regular visits from various creatures. "I’m really lucky in that I put food out for the birds and there are gorgeous birds that come and visit us – woodpeckers, bullfinches, all sorts. It’s been unseasonably warm and we’ve got a family of hedgehogs that we feed every night which come into the garden. And of course we’ve got foxes as well. My main thing is making our garden as welcoming as possible for wildlife."
Beyond his garden, Dr Khan maintains an active outdoor routine. "I go for a run most days. Now, it’s in the dark because it’s before work, but on weekends when I’m not working, it’s a little bit later and I’m lucky enough to run through a woodland and a park and really be in nature for that."
He dismisses the notion of bad weather as a barrier. "There’s no such thing as the wrong weather. It’s just the wrong clothing. It (being outside) makes a massive difference to how I feel in the afternoon when I’m doing my afternoon surgery. From a health point of view, we all need exposure to natural light during the day to help with our circadian rhythm, our sleep and our hormones. In the winter it’s so easy to go to work in the dark, come home in the dark and never see the daylight."
While his wife assists with gardening, she draws the line at his early morning runs: "We tried that, it didn’t work out well for either one of us."
For those struggling to peel themselves away from the television during the festive season, Dr Khan offers several accessible suggestions:
Embrace the rain: "Even if it’s pouring with rain, if you stand at an open window or an open door and listen to the rain, that is actually being in nature as well. The sound of rain is soothing to us, and the smell of rain as it hits the ground, that petrichor smell as it comes up out of the ground, is fine."
Going for a walk in winter can be beneficial for the mind and body, says Dr Amir Khan (Amir Khan/PA)You don’t need to venture far: "What puts people off sometimes is that the idea of being in nature sounds like you have to go somewhere far away. You don’t have to go anywhere, even if you don’t have a garden. You can go out on to a road or a street and just listen for birdsong or look overhead and see what flies over – that is still being in nature.
“If there are any green spaces around you, even if it’s a grass verge or a tree that’s been planted in your street, go up to it and have a feel of it, touch it. That level of mindfulness is enough to calm your body. When you are looking at that tree, look at the intricacies of the bark and the branches and the wonderful patterns that happen. Those small things are really key."
Engage children: "I have nephews and nieces I take out in nature and the kind of questions I ask them are: Tell me five things that you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can smell, two things you can touch, whether it’s a leaf or whatever.
“Those kinds of things just help people concentrate on where they are, because you can be in nature and be on your phone and then you’ve no great benefits to being outside. But if you’re mindful and paying attention, that’s where the benefits really begin."
Provide for wildlife: "If you do have a garden just put some water out, whether it’s in a bowl, a dish or whatever. Something will come and either take a bath in it or drink it. And once they know it’s there they will keep coming back. If you put out bird seed, that will attract them, too."
Go for a walk: "We all over-indulge over Christmas. We’re all guilty of that in a nice way, and one of the ways you can really balance out your blood sugars after a heavy meal is to go for a walk, not sit on the sofa and watch Christmas telly, which you can save for later. Going out for a walk after a meal is a brilliant way to engage the family."
The free '12 Days Wild' campaign runs from 25 December to 5 January. Registration is open now, with further details available at wildlifetrusts.org/12dayswild.
