One of the things I enjoy most about my job is that I get to write about new things every day. Sometimes it’s a subject I have no experience of, or have never even heard of until I receive the brief, and those are my favourites.
If you’re writing for trade publications or white papers, you need a genuine in-depth understanding of the subject, and I can spend hours researching and talking to experts to make sure I have a strong grasp of all the issues so I can write a really good piece. I’ve written about everything from cladding and fixed wire testing, to neurology and vineyards.
Often, the people I speak to are really passionate and that can be infectious. You become really invested in the subject. That was the case this week when I threw myself in to the world of biophilia for a client.
If, like me, you hadn’t heard of it before, it is the fascinating concept that humans feel an innate connection to nature and living things. In a nutshell, feeling close to nature and being outdoors feeds our well-being and makes us happy.
I loved getting lost in this idea and researching how nature and plants affect us. This is how I came to buy my first pot plant. It isn’t actually my first, but it is the first time I’ve confidently known what plant I was buying (not just what looked the prettiest, or the one that came in a pot that matched my curtains) so it was a breakthrough.
It’s a fabulously named plant called Mother-in-Law’s Tongue (Sansevieria). Not only does it pull dust out of the air, leaving it cleaner and fresher, it removes 82% of toxins from the air too (proven by NASA, no less) and is one of the only plants to convert CO2 into oxygen at night. I’m now curating a list of other super plants I need for my home. I’m sold on biophilia.
I guess it’s a hazard of the job. You need to understand and believe in what you are writing. If you can’t convince yourself, you won’t convince anyone else either.
Thanks to the team at phs Greenleaf who inspired me!
