The importance of connecting with nature to improve mental wellbeing is being highlighted during Mental Health Awareness Week, starting today (Monday, May 10).

During this week, people are being invited to pay special attention to the benefits of spending time in the natural environment, and share their experiences on social media.

They are being asked to post images, videos or sound recordings, and say how it affected their mood, using #ConnectWithNature and #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek.

The Mental Health Foundation hopes to convince decision makers at all levels that access to and quality of nature is a mental health and social justice issue, as well as an environmental one.

The foundation's research on mental health during the Covid pandemic showed that going for walks outside was one of the top coping strategies, with 45 per cent of people saying that being in green spaces had been vital for their mental health.

Websites that showed footage from webcams of wildlife saw hits increase by over 2000 per cent.

For more information, visit the Mental Health Awareness Week website.