Nature is a Human Right is an international, intergenerational manifesto – an anthology of original writing from world-leading scientists, activists, artists and more.
Each contributor explores the significance of nature contact and threats of nature deprivation through a unique lens, from mental health to anti-racism, climate activism to disability.
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Essayists
Whether we’re looking at residents or visitors, "race" plays a huge part in the unequal access to the "great outdoors".
Louisa Adjoa Parker
Poet & Anti-Racism Expert
on Rural Racism
For some, drugs and guns are easier to access than green spaces.
Michelle Barrett
Writer & Charity Worker
on Economic Inequality
Gardening is your
pathway to freedom.
Ron Finley
The Gangsta Gardener
on Food Sovereignty
We need to put communities at the heart of urban greening.
Sharlene Gandhi
Journalist
on Placemaking
Nature is the necessary medicine, and more even than that: it is a human right, our birthright.
Jay Griffiths
Author & Activist
on Mental Health
There’s a real conversation to be had about gardening and horticulture being a necessity to survive rather than a luxury.
Tayshan Hayden-Smith
Footballer, Activist & Gardener
on Community Gardens
The structure of the law needs to be changed to encourage people to engage with nature.
Nick Hayes
Author, Illustrator & Activist
on Right to Roam
In fostering a connection to nature, we address the root causes of climate apathy, inertia and hostility.
Clover Hogan
Climate Activist & Researcher
on Psychoterratics
After apartheid, South Africa's "green spaces" are still "white" spaces.
Celine Isimbi
Climate & Anti-Racism Educator
on Apartheid
Pierre Bonnard’s claim that “Art will never be able to exist without nature” has scientific backing: nature makes us (more) creative.
Daisy Kennedy
Playwright
on Creativity
The most necessary component of all activism is forming community.
Noga Levy-Rapoport
Activist
on Activism
Exposure to nature is as vital to our well-being as regular exercise and a healthy diet.
Qing Li, MD, PhD
Scientist
on Forest Bathing
Ancient Latvian folklore and traditions ... like us, survived the Soviet concrete. Most are still being practised today, proving the importance of nature not only to our mental and physical well-being, but also to the identity of our small nation.
Linda Ludbarza
Designer
on Soviet Colonisation
We cannot continue to view “urban” and “wild” or “built” and “natural” as a binary, with wild spaces designated as pristine landscapes reserved for the few, while urban spaces are left to languish without access to green spaces.
Syren Nagakyrie
Activist & Writer
on Disability Inclusivity
So much of how I lead my life is rooted in what I’ve learned from composting. The process teaches us so beautifully about the interconnection of all things – we support the land, and the land supports us. It is a cycle of exchange.
Poppy Okotcha
Horticulturalist
on Composting
Just as much of the world needs protection from humanity’s insatiable appetite, it’s also true that much of humanity – isolated in hostile urban environments – needs protection from a severe lack of nature.
Daniel Raven-Ellison
Guerrilla Geographer
on National Park Cities
Intimacy with the more-than-human world is not just necessary for my well-being; it has been necessary for my survival.
Pınar Sinopoulos-Lloyd
Ecophilosopher & Tracker
on Ecological Co-Regulation
I have found deep attachment to, and even identity with, the animals and landscapes around me. My queerness—assumed by many to be a postmodern identity—may be as influenced by coyote and deer as by feminist theory.
So Sinopoulos-Lloyd
Ecophilosopher & Tracker
on Identity & Animism
In South Asia, colonialism and capitalism have operated on a much older, complex foundation of inequity. Caste draws visible and invisible limits. Its shadow still falls on access to all environmental resources.
Elizabeth Soumya
Journalist
on Caste
Like a true Earth Warrior, you can arm yourself with weapons of love, growth + beauty...
Bones Tan-Jones
Artist & Activist
on Seed Bombs
Poets
Wendell Berry ❋ Olafur Eliasson ❋ Shareefa Energy ❋ Linda Hogan
Rashmeet Kaur ❋ Hila "The Killa" Perry ❋ Erin Rizzato Devlin
Evie Shockley ❋ Dora Young ❋ Jan Wagner
Editor
Ellen Miles is an activist, writer and strategist from London. She founded the Nature is a Human Right campaign in April 2020, and has been progressing the movement ever since. In 2021, she founded Dream Green, a social enterprise that empowers people to become guerrilla gardeners.
Ellen has served as a board member for environmental charity Global Action Plan and is a fellow of the Year Here social enterprise programme.
In her spare time, she can often be found guerrilla gardening, manically hoarding and labelling refillable jars, or (honestly) scrolling through TikTok.
Our legislated human rights – intended to prevent injustice and inhumanity – need to adapt to reflect the evolving landscape of oppression. At present, a new form of oppression is growing: nature deprivation.
Ellen Miles
Activist & Writer