Green habitats can combat blue moods
A study published in People and Nature is the latest to suggest that visiting green habitats can help improve your mood.
The researchers analysed the vocabulary people used on Twitter after park visits, and found the ‘mood spike’ on social media was similar to that seen at Christmas.
The lift provided by visiting a green space lasted ‘like a glow’ for up to four hours afterwards.
‘Across all the tweets, people are happier in parks,’ Aaron Schwartz from the University of Vermont, who led the research, said. ‘But the effect was stronger in large parks with extensive tree cover and vegetation.’
Countryside humour at the Fringe
There’s a very Country Life feel to several of the best jokes at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year, with gags featuring vegetables, cows and horses.
The 2019 winner, a one-liner about cauliflower and broccoli fought off competition from gags about Brexit, maths and nepotism to be crowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s funniest joke.
The vegetable pun by Swedish comedian Olaf Falafel received 41% of the public votes: ‘I keep randomly shouting out “Broccoli’ and ‘Cauliflower” – I think I might have Florets.’
Are floating farms the future?
An experimental new farming method being trialled in Europe’s busiest port is hoped to provide a solution to the increasing demand for food in urban areas.
Dutch property company, Beladon, has opened Rotterdam's ‘floating farm’ in the city port. The man-made island houses 32 dairy cows who are milked by robots.
While the countryside may seem a more logical place to run a dairy herd, the floating farm promises to reduce transport pollution as it is situated within the highly-populated area that requires its produce.
On this day...
English pirate Henry Every was born (1659). He was famous for being one of few major pirate captains to escape with his loot without being arrested or killed in battle.
A good tern
Things are looking up for the UK’s second rarest seabird, the little tern, thanks to work to protect its nesting site.
The threatened species has been in serious decline since the 1980s, with fewer than 2,000 breeding pairs left in Britain, but 2019 has been recorded as its most successful season in almost 30 years.
This summer, 54 fledglings left the National Trust’s Long Nanny site in Northumberland to start their migration to West Africa. This is particularly welcome news after birds were forced to abandon their nests in the aftermath of last year’s Storm Hector.
And finally...
Queen Victoria’s ‘Erard’ piano has been heard for the first time outside Buckingham Palace at the BBC Proms.
Country Life Today: The surprising truth about cows breaking wind
This morning we look at why studying animals' noxious emissions can help us make the world a better place, celebrate
Country Life Today: The astonishingly simple solution to making our canals litter-free and beautiful
Today we look at why our canals have become rivers of plastic, but it needn't be that way; the scrapping
Country Life Today: The town-dwelling sheepdogs that end up needing counselling
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Nature and nurture in the gardens of Bramham ParkTim Richardson looks at the innovative and superbly maintained 18th-century landscape garden of Bramham Park in West Yorkshire, home of Nick and Rachel Lane Fox. Photographs by Paul Highnam.
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If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
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The brilliant tractor tribute to the NHS from a group of Warwickshire farmersPeople around Britain have been paying tribute to the efforts of our NHS workers at the time of the coronavirus pandemic — but few have been as creative and clever as this one.
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London's iconic red bus at risk and 6,000 year old chewing gum gives clues into our DNA historyCuts to industry subsidies and an increase in fares has left bus use at its lowest point ever, while DNA extracted from ancient 'chewing gum' allows scientists to decipher the genetic code of a Stone Age woman.
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90-million-year-old 'swimming dinosaur' skeleton found by dogs out walking in Somerset, and the nonchalant moths who don't bother fleeing enemiesA superbly intact dinosaur skeleton — described as being 'museum quality' — has been discovered on a beach in Somerset.
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Battle to ban 4x4s from the idyllic Lake District spot bequeathed by Beatrix Potter, eagle fights octopus and the 'snail's pace' climate talksThis morning we look at Little Langdale's fight for peace, reflect on the climate change talks in Madrid and discover the soundtrack for Brexit.
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Country Life Today: How Greta Thunberg shifted the dial on climate change — and the backlash shows just how muchThis morning we ponder whether Greta Thunberg is the Joan of Arc for the environmental movement, look at a key election — one from 19 years ago — and ponder the marvel of 'dad tidying'.
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Country Life Today: Great news for those who love our great country pubs — the years of decline are overThere is a great sign of health in the pub industry, we look back at Edward VIII's abdication message and fret about Greenland's melting ice.
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Country Life Today: Spain accused of being 'a deplorable choice' for UN climate conferenceA no-holds-barred assault on the Spanish fishing industry, Banksy raising awareness of the homeless and the woes of the Christmas jumper are in today's news round-up.
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Country Life Today: 'This is perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from the uncontrolled experiment humanity is unleashing on the world’s oceans'In today's round up, we examine why oxygen loss is putting oceans at risk, discover that action to cut air pollution brings almost immediate benefits to human health and find out which bird's arrival marks the start of winter in Gloucestershire.
