Yesterday I read the obituary of a landscape architect, urban designer and environmental planner named John Hopkins. Unfortunately I was not aware of Hopkins before reading the sad farewell, but from the description of his life and work I learnt that he was responsible for designing the open spaces at the London 2012 Olympic Park.
Immediately I was transported back to those two weeks in London last summer when the city was alight with the sweeping euphoria of the Olympic Games. On one occasion I had disembarked from the Tube in East London, spirits lifted by the joyous anticipation of the crowd walking the long walk from the train station to the Olympic Park. We crossed the usual ugly railway lines and skirted the usual concrete slabs of buildings.
Then, the closer to the park we got, an expected and glorious landscape emerged: meadows of wildflowers. Fields of tall green grass dotted with red, yellow, purple and orange flowers flagged the pathways and surrounded the stadium. They were so charming that I couldn’t help but stop and admire them; my impatience to get to the park and our seats gave way to admiring the beautiful open spaces.
John Hopkins was responsible for creating this experience. He died suddenly on January 21 aged only 59. His obituary in The Daily Telegraph recounted his thoughts that the Olympic Park – in which 6,000 trees and 300,000 wetland plants were planted and habitats created for birds, bees, bats, frogs and toads – was a “demonstration that the power of good design solves so many problems … There is the ability through great design to weave together the needs of wildlife with the needs of people”. So true.
This made me think about the needs of people, and in particular how modern, city life often neglects the basic human need to be outdoors in nature, to feel natural light and breathe fresh air. So many of us spend most of our time indoors – in offices, in our houses, in our cars, or on transport. The BBC reported this week that more than half of workers eat their lunch at their desk, so we don’t even venture outside when we are given the chance.
I worked out that so far this week I’ve only spent about six hours outside, and that was during my commute to and from work. Yes, it’s about 4C outside and the wind is sweeping right off the Arctic, but surely this can’t be healthy, can it?
The neglect of ‘outside time’ is probably more acute for those living in a city like London than in a city in Australia. Here, there is less space to physically be outside, as backyards and personal gardens are few and far between. Parks and gardens become the centre of outdoor life, but willing yourself to get to them in winter is hard. Since injury forced me give up running last year, I currently have no activity that routinely takes me into the great outdoors.
Contemplating the legacy of John Hopkins has made me realise that I need to take more of my indoor life outdoors. Walking more places than catching the bus or taking the Tube is a good place to start. But will that be enough? Perhaps now is the time to dust off those golf clubs and finally take more seriously a sport that my husband returns from most Saturdays energised and happy – not because he’s played well (although he often does), but because he’s spent four solid hours outdoors. Whether golf is the answer I not, I’ve decided to add ‘spend more time outdoors’ to my resolutions for 2013.
This may just be the musings of a sun-starved Londoner willing herself through the final throes (hopefully) of winter, but thanks to John Hopkins, I’ve been inspired to make a more conscious effort to get outside enjoy the spaces where, as he put it, the needs of wildlife and the needs of humans collide.
(Written by Laura)