By Omar Tufayl, Volunteer community champion at Forestry Commission Scotland

THE innovative and vast technology of today is forever consuming our minds and our time. Whether adults or children, the alternate realities that we can step into when we pick up our mobile phones, tablets and game consoles can be all-consuming. As a computing science student at Glasgow University, I am passionate about modern technology and the benefits it can bring, such as advancing our own learning, keeping in touch with peers, sharing our experiences with others and improving efficiency in business, to name a few, however with its many advantages, also comes disadvantages: including the effect it has on our wellbeing and ability to absorb the real world around us.

One major effect is that it distracts us from spending time outdoors, potentially isolating us from the health benefits to be gained from being in nature. Most of us have experienced that short but intense feeling of excitement whenever we receive a message or that first photo like on social media,bringing a feeling of acceptance and approval. But what if there was something else we could experience that would essentially fulfil us with that same positive feeling?

Being in nature can make a positive difference to our physical and mental health and wellbeing. The woodlands are a great place for us to get more active and encourage a healthier lifestyle, as well as meet new people through activity groups. Nature can also be a form of healing and used as therapy for many conditions, including anxiety, stress, depression and sedentary lifestyles.

Being part of the Naychur at Andalus community group in Glasgow, which aims to raise awareness of the benefits of being in a natural environment for mental and physical health, I wanted to improve my learning on what Scotland’s woodlands have to offer. I therefore decided to take part in Forestry Commission Scotland’s Volunteer Community Champions (VCC) programme.

Now in its third year, the VCC programme enables volunteers from various backgrounds and community groups to undertake specialist training, including leadership and bushcraft courses, to help raise awareness of, and facilitate, local woodland events. Its primary aim is to break down barriers to accessing woodlands and encourage people to visit and make use of the green spaces in their local communities.

According to a recent survey, three-quarters of UK children spend less time outside than prison inmates and a fifth of these children don’t play outside at all on an average day. Whether this is due to distractions from technology or other reasons, it is important for us as VCCs to educate people on the benefits they can gain from being outdoors.

Over the last two years, 16 volunteers have completed the VCC programme, which has resulted in more than 1,300 individual visits from adults and children to the woodlands, with many stating they would return and make more use of local green spaces. This is a positive result for us that we hope will only increase as we strive to connect people with the great outdoors.

In my time as a VCC, I’ve uncovered a community of like-minded individuals all intent on exploring the outdoors and have learned a range of practical life skills. I’ve also learned that nature has much to offer, but we are often too distracted by our lifestyles today that we don’t stop to look, listen, feel and experience the beauty and lessons nature can teach us. The more time I spend being in and observing nature, the better I feel and the more grounded my sense of self becomes. There is so much beauty on our doorsteps, we need to get out and experience the benefits for ourselves.