Going Green: Walking is good for health and the planet

Jack Johnson. Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Firefly Music Festival

I want to do one thing that’ll help the environment, what’s the easiest thing I could do? Research suggests using renewable energy and getting rid of your car are the most important things as well, of course, voting for politicians who want to protect our future, but what is possible for you depends on where you live, and the changes you can make.

One thing we can all do is eat less meat and dairy products.

If you eat meat with every single meal, switching to a plant based diet one or two days a week could affect a huge change. If you have two diesel or petrol cars in your family then switching to an EV could make a huge change for you and help the planet.

If you own your home, then insulating your house will reduce, not only the amount you’re paying but carbon pollution from burning oil or gas.

Walking instead of driving reduces air pollution and carbon emissions. Photo: Adobe

However, I find one of the things across the board we can all do more of, is walking. Whether you take public transport to work or whether you drive, walking is really easy and great for you. It also costs nothing to start and requires no specialist equipment, so it’s not got the outlay of something like buying solar panels or an electric vehicle or a bike.

This month is National Walking Month too so as the weather improves, there’s never been a better time to get outdoors and make a start.

You can add walking into your everyday existence pretty easily too. It’s worth thinking about getting off public transport a stop or two early if that’s how you commute. Or if you drive, try parking further away from work and walking the last bit in.

While walking is great for mental and physical health, it’s also fantastic for the planet as it reduces air pollution and carbon emissions. Transport causes around 26 percent of greenhouse emissions, and cars are a huge contributor to that figure.

Swap packed fruit and veg for loose. Photo: Adobe

If we all walked 2km five times a week instead of using a car for the same journey, we’d decrease emissions by 86kg a year per person – think about that for a second – that’s a huge change and if you map that out across a workplace or a school, if everyone did it, we could really make seismic changes when it comes to reducing our carbon footprints and congestion.

Walking isn’t only great for the planet though, it’s great for mental health and time spent outside is hugely beneficial to our general health too – not to mention the fact walking instead of driving also reduces noise pollution.

If you’re not used to walking, it’s worth starting slowly and with shorter distances and you can build up from there. There’s a hashtag for National Walking Month which is #walkthismay so it’s really easy to get involved and see what other people are doing.

Living Streets is the UK charity for everyday walking too https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/get-involved/national-walking-month/ They’ve got plenty of information on how walking can benefit us all so whether you’re a regular walker or new to the idea, give it a go this May and you’ll help yourself and the planet too.