Olympic swimmer Bronte Campbell swaps the pool for trees as part of WWF Australia campaign

Dual Olympic gold medallist Bronte Campbell is slowing down the pace as she takes on a new initiative to find her inner Zen.

Olympian Bronte Campbell is used to swimming so fast that if you blink you’ll miss her.

But she will be slowing the pace by swapping the pool to reconnect with nature and trees as she helps to protect the world’s natural resources.

“The thing I love about trees is the juxtaposition they pose from my work in the pool,” Campbell, 28, says.

“My job comes down to 0.01 of a second … it’s all about time and things happening very quickly.

“Trees are the opposite. They take decades or years to develop and at each stage of their growth have a different role to play in the environment. Everything in a tree’s life happens so slowly, it’s very calming to think about and helps me create some perspective; not all good things have to happen quickly.”

Dual Olympic gold medallist Bronte Campbell.

The dual Olympic gold medallist reminisced on how coming fourth in the 100m freestyle at the 2016 Olympic Games taught her to appreciate every second.

“Being off the podium by such a small measure of time made me really think about how much of my life I spent thinking about those milliseconds,” Campbell says.

“It is a stressful and hectic pace of life when most of your energy is put into refining and obsessing about tiny pieces of time.

“After 2016 I had a few weeks off to reset and connect with nature. Through that time, I managed to find a lot more balance between focusing heavily on training, and finding ways to completely switch off from that pressure.”

After the 2016 Olympic Games Campbell took time off to reset and connect with nature.

As she begins training in hopes of participating at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Campbell will take part in Chats for Change, a new video series on WWF Australia’s Instagram page on Friday, where she will ask experts questions about the environment, nature and climate.

“We often forget how integral trees are to our lives, and the health benefits they hold,” Campbell says.

“I’ve been fortunate to speak to experts and share that knowledge, in the hope more Australians feel empowered to gain a greater understanding about the natural benefits trees have.”

NATURAL ATTRACTION

We’re a nation of nature lovers according to new research by the WWF-Australia, that shows more than 90 per cent of Australians would like to see more trees in their community.

Dr Stuart Blanch, a conservation scientist at WWF-Australia

About 82 per cent say they feel more calm, relaxed and at peace among trees, and 63 per cent say trees improve their mood and make them feel happier.

However, 39 per cent are not aware shade from trees can help lower surface temperatures by up to 25C.

Trees don’t just shield people from heat extremes through shade. Individual trees can transpire hundreds of litres of water per day which can cool the air.

“Heatwaves in Australia kill more people than all the other disasters combined,” says Dr Cybele Dey from medical group Doctors for the Environment Australia.

“Trees are one of the ways that we can really reduce people’s exposure to heat. In streets with a tree canopy, temperatures are significantly lower. During heatwaves people can suffer heart attacks, strokes, heat exhaustion, and complications with medication. This is happening at a much bigger scale than people realise.”

Dr Stuart Blanch, a conservation scientist at WWF-Australia, says there’s a growing demand for the land where trees and forests grow.

“Sadly, trees are often seen as not having any value when a decision is being made to bulldoze forests for other uses, such as agriculture, housing and infrastructure,” he says.

“We need to put a value on the things trees do for us, like making oxygen, storing carbon and beautifying the landscape.”

TIME FOR A TREE CHANGE

Blanch says trees are world-class multitaskers.

“They make the oxygen we breathe … they reduce sediment erosion into waterways and onto the Great Barrier Reef.

“They provide ingredients for medicines that benefit billions of people. And they teach us about how amazing nature is. We cannot live without trees.”

REAP THE BENEFITS

Enjoy the shade: Trees help to cool our cities. Shaded surface areas may be 11C-25C cooler than unshaded ones. Trees help protect us from heat stress which is often described as a silent killer, because the effects are not always obvious.

Appreciate nature’s bounty: Trees give us oxygen and clean our air. They help protect us from the harmful effects of pollution. Trees give us food. Fruits, nuts, leaves, bark and roots provide food for humans and animals.

Feel more happy: Spending time with trees makes us happier and reduces stress. Time in nature helps our mental health, lowers our blood pressure and is good for our hearts, lungs and brains. Trees are good for our kids. Playing in trees helps children develop strength and spatial awareness and is good for their cognitive development.

Source: Dr Kate Wiley, Doctors for the Environment Australia

Originally published as Olympic swimmer Bronte Campbell swaps the pool for trees as part of WWF Australia campaign