By Tom Hooper, Head of Marine Policy
The M5 in August should be proof enough that people like to spend their holidays by the seaside. Are we just following the same ruts that we have endured since childhood, or is their a deeper need within us to search for spiritual fulfilment on the coast?
Our health is important to us, and it is important to Government because they have to manage the costs of our ill-health. If the sea is helping people to stay physically and mentally healthy, then surely this is something that is we need to make sure is recognised and properly valued when it comes to decisions over how we use the sea.
It seems mercenary to even think about trying to quantify and qualify why we like spending time by the sea; but as a conservation organisation we are always looking to bolster our case for why stronger protection of the marine environment is essential. We are increasingly searching for better ways to help the natural world punch its weight in terms of quantifying what it does for humans for free. Talking about the intrinsic value (just because it’s there) or the bequest value (our environmental legacy to future generations) is clearly not yet convincing enough for action.
What we are not yet certain of is exactly why people are heading to the coast and the extent to which we rely on the sea for our wellbeing - is it the sound of the waves, the endless expanse of water or the excitement of seeing a dolphin break the surface, or a combination of many different things?
The answers to these questions are a focus of research as part of the Blue Gym Project at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health (www.bluegym.org.uk). Equally fascinating are the collection of short video clips being gathered by ‘Man on a beach’ (www.manonabeach.com). Asking the question ‘what does the beach mean to you?’ to people on beaches all around the UK, more than a third of his interviewees have highlighted nature and spiritual wellbeing elements as their primary motivation for being on a beach.
We sometimes need to see the cold, hard evidence to prove what it is we know already-that the sea is not just a watery backdrop, it is vital for our health and wellbeing.
St Ives beach: FreeFoto.com