今日是一年一度的世界地球日！為慶祝地球日50週年，今年以「氣候行動」為主題。受到新冠肺炎疫情影響，全球居民遵從減少外出及保持社交距離等指引共同抗疫。有說地球因此終於能呼吸一下，不如讓我們今天都一同深呼吸，在疫境中感謝地球給我們的禮物。
疫症爆發初期，不少香港人為了脫下口罩，吸一口新鮮空氣，紛紛三五成群郊遊行山。事實上，郊野公園及大自然是我們不可或缺的一部份，2019年「郊野公園使用情況與身心健康」的報告指出近一半受訪者（48.3%）認為：「風景優美及空氣清新」是到訪郊野公園的主要原因。超過六成受訪者（63.9%）表示曾於郊野公園行山或散步。疫情期間，衞生署衞生防護中心亦建議大家多做運動，維持一週最少5日、每次30分鐘以保持身體健康。
相信大部分TrailWatch的用戶都明白行山和大自然的好處，亦有不少研究顯示身處大自然可以幫助身心靈的健康。縱然現在大家都盡量減少外出，我們也可以藉此機會感謝大自然一直以來帶給我們的美好生活，因為能夠吸一口新鮮空氣，並不是理所當然的。
「越深入了解大自然，會令你更了解世事。」— 愛因斯坦
It’s Earth Day today! To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the theme this year is climate action. Under the outbreak of COVID-19, the whole world is practicing social distancing and staying at home as much as possible. Some say it gives the earth a time to breath, let us take a deep breath and appreciate the Earth and nature on this special day in this special year.
To get away from wearing masks, many people went hiking and tried getting fresh air in nature at the early stage of the outbreak of COVID-19. In fact, in the 2019 Country Parks Usage and Well-Being survey, the top reason why respondents (48.3%) visited country parks was for good scenery or fresh air. 47% and 16.9% of respondents respectively went hiking or walking in country parks. Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Prevention recommends maintaining regular exercise in this period of time. Regardless of this pandemic: “30 minutes of physical activity of moderate intensity a day on at least 5 days a week is good enough to provide health benefits and reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases.”
Like many TrailWatch users have been benefited over the years, many researches also indicate that spending time in nature, and exercising supports our physical, emotional and mental health. Although we are encouraged to stay at home for now, it gives us an opportunity to appreciate nature and earth for giving us fresh air and space to experience moments of joy and well being.
As Albert Einstein said, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”