What is Enviro Mentality?

A friend looking pensively out to sea, Morgan Bay, South Africa

Earlier this year, I gave my first public Enviro Mentality workshop. It couldn’t have been better received and, to my great delight, I was asked to write an article depicting the concepts of Enviro Mentality for a small newspaper, serving the local communities of Morgan Bay and Kei Mouth in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

This was my entry to the ‘MorKei Echo’.

By the end of Summer in 2020, my home of Australia’s South East had been on fire for 6 whole months. The fires raged so fierce that clouds of smoke travelled 12,000 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean to where I was staying in Chile. I could not escape it. Friends shared stories of being trapped indoors for days, struggling to breathe. I was gripped by pictures that looked like scenes straight out of Apocalypse Now – leaping kangaroos escaping monstrous flames and singed koala bears swathed in a thick, ominous, tangerine haze. The distance did nothing to diminish my fear and anguish at watching my home burn.

The only good thing to come of it was that it looked like we’d turned a corner. I was sure that both Governments and individuals alike would start taking climate change seriously. To my shock, everything quickly returned to business as usual and I was left with this aching question: How can so many of us stare climate chaos in the face and yet so few are making meaningful change? Why are we so paralysed when it comes to saving our very existence? Seeking the answers to this question led me on a path to finding myself, and ultimately to starting my project, ‘Enviro Mentality’.  
 

The journey began in South America once again, in January 2023, when I set off on another solo adventure from Colombia to Mexico. I spent my time volunteering for non-profits, living on organic farms and learning the meaning of life. A year later, I found myself on South Africa’s Eastern Cape volunteering at Khula Dharma, a farm that practises community living and permaculture. Through all of these experiences – embracing simplicity, living off the land and cultivating a deeper connection with nature – the answer to my burning question finally dawned on me. 


I realised that the problem humanity was facing was more than just a changing climate (occurring as a result of excess carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels) because even if we sucked all of the carbon out of the atmosphere tomorrow our air would still be polluted, our oceans full of plastic, our soils toxic, our water contaminated, our forests falling, our animals vanishing and our health declining.


No, climate change is merely a symptom of a much bigger problem, and the problem that humanity faces is disconnection. Specifically, disconnection as a result of dominant systems rooted in capitalism, imperialism and globalisation which prioritise profit over peace, self-interest over solidarity, consumption over connection and extraction over equilibrium. 


This ruthless world might be fine and dandy if humans had evolved to live under such harsh conditions but, unfortunately for us, we don’t fare well under these circumstances. We weren’t designed to be sedentary and hyper-focused for 8 hours, or to raise our children alone, or never speak to our neighbours. For 95% of our homo sapien existence we lived as nomadic foragers in close-knit communities, surrounded by nature, with constant physical activity and ample time for creative pursuits. It is only since the advent of agriculture in the last 10,000-odd years, followed by industrialisation and urbanisation, that our lifestyles underwent such dramatic change that led to this biological incongruence.

At its most basic level, this change in lifestyle has caused a myriad of the physical and mental health challenges that we face today, including anxiety, depression, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity and chronic stress. On a much deeper level, it’s caused us to numb, avoid, distract and medicate ourselves to cope with the pressure and, quite frankly, suffering which often accompanies our contemporary lifestyles. Too often we find ourselves struggling to keep up with the ever-expanding list of societal demands. We don’t have the time or space to meet our own needs, let alone the capacity to meaningfully contribute to the betterment of society. Ultimately, being stuck on the hamster wheel is what has led to our disconnection – from the earth, ourselves and each other. 

So if disconnection is the problem, what, then, is the solution?

Before we can move onto the obvious answer, being reconnection, there is an important myth I’d first like to dispel: That this crisis is your fault, and so is your lack of action.  

There is a pervasive belief that has plagued society for millennia that our species is innately selfish, competitive and destructive. As such, we’ve developed an assumption that ecological collapse is inevitable; an inescapable consequence of our inherent shortcomings as human beings. However, there is a growing body of evidence that this is not the full story. In his book Humankind (which I highly recommend), Rutger Bregman makes an excellent case that humans have instead thrived precisely because of our natural kindness, cooperativeness and concern for our surroundings - and that any deviation is not our natural disposition. 

So, nowadays we are burnt out, lacking the capacity to meaningfully engage and have been condemned to believe that we’re intrinsically flawed. How can we expect to effectively contribute to society under these conditions?

Well, I don’t believe that we can, which is why I advocate for reconnection to 3 main things – the earth (soil), ourselves (self) and each other (society). This path will help us to fill our own cup and remember our place as humble humans entwined in nature’s grand tapestry. 

Soil

In the modern world, spending time in nature has become a luxury that few can afford. Nowadays, it's often a quick trip squeezed in over a long weekend to feel the calming benefits of a beach holiday. For our ancestors, nature was home. For thousands of years we woke with the sun, navigated via the stars and healed through plants. We had deep, intimate relationships with the natural world because it was necessary for our means of survival. But…what if that remains true today?

That calming, rejuvenating feeling we get during our weekend away? It turns out that’s not just because we’re on holiday. Ecopsychology is a new branch of research, proving that contact with nature has an immensely positive impact on our mental and physical health. Walking amongst trees boosts immune systems, lowers blood pressure and stress hormones and can even lower our risk of cancer (Li, 2022). Residing near green spaces helps us live longer and even just having a view of nature can reduce crime and help us recover more quickly from illness (Rojas-Reuda et al, 2019; IFSEC Global, 2018; Ulrich, 1984).

The positive effects of nature on our wellbeing are significant, but the knock-on effects are even more profound. It’s been proven that once we begin to deepen our connection with nature – rely on it, understand it, are enraptured by its wonder and glory – we will naturally develop the urge to protect it. Science is reaffirming what is really common sense: We will fight to save the things that we love (Duke & Holt, 2023).

Self 

Do you truly know yourself? Answer this honestly. Are you fully aware of your likes, dislikes, desires and dreams? Do you know exactly how many hours of sleep you need or what foods make you bloated? Do you take time to rest and recharge, or to follow your creative passions? 

Too often, the answers to these questions are no. And little wonder; we live in a society that glorifies the grind. The harder we work the more “successful” we are in the eyes of capitalism, no matter the impact on our health and happiness. This pervasive culture plaguing Western society robs us of more than just our time and energy, but also our creativity, bodily autonomy and ability to truly rest. We are left feeling spiritually starved, with a gaping hole that we vainly try to fill with consumption.

I believe the antidote is to become so whole that we no longer need to turn to society's vices to fill the void. We need to walk the path back to our true selves and become so complete that we will naturally overflow with the energy required to make a positive impact.

Society

One of the biggest epidemics of our time is loneliness, affecting at least one third of the entire population (Statista, 2024). Just last year the World Health Organisation declared it a global health threat more deadly than smoking or obesity (Johnson, 2023). There couldn’t be more damning evidence that humans are social beings. For our entire existence we have needed one another, but for reasons far beyond purely survival. Humans need each other to feel loved, understood, nourished. To learn, play and grow. To help foster resilience and cognitive development. Connection to another fulfills a longing that exists deep in the core of our being.

Interconnectedness is not only vital for our personal wellbeing, but for the collective as well. Having strong social networks creates much of the framework required for a more sustainable future. For example, an integrated local community is more likely to join together and work towards a common goal. They might engage in a shared economy, trade skills and resources, or create a community garden.  This unity also strengthens their ability to form political advocacy groups and mobilize for collective action. Such collaboration is imperative as we move towards an uncertain future. 

In conclusion, it is my belief that the key to creating a kinder, cleaner, more joyous future is to address the root cause of our issues, which is disconnection. The depth of the crisis demands that we recalibrate ourselves by reconnecting to soil, self and society. As we begin to restore our inner landscapes, naturally our outer landscapes will follow. To me, this is the most important work of our lifetime, which is why it became the ethos for Enviro Mentality. If this speaks to you, and you'd like to learn more, please sign up to my newsletter and follow me on Instagram and Facebook.