Second Nature featured in The Guardian

November 2025

Director of Science Erica Spotswood, and our recent publication on urban biodiversity and human health, are featured in an excellent article in The Guardian. 

"The diversity of life that surrounds us is linked to our own health...the greater the richness of species surrounding us, the more healthy microbes make their way to our bodies."

Journalist Phoebe Weston reviews some of the recent and original research about how exposure to nature improves the microbiome, including the amazing study in the 1980s about differences in allergies in Finnish and Russian Karelia, leading to the recognition that increasing isolation from nature in modern society is making us sick.

Fortunately designing nature back into our cities can make us healthy again, as our recent synthesis shows. As Erica concludes, “The potential for biodiversity and human health to benefit from taking action to green cities is huge.”