Nature’s stewards

Ben Goldsmith is the former chair of the Conservative Environment Network. He has worked in sustainable investing for two decades and is co-founder of Nattergal Ltd. Ben was a non-executive director of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2018 to 2022. He founded and chairs Conservation Collective, a network of locally-focused environment foundations.

It is interesting to see how people are willing to pay twice the amount for an apartment which overlooks a park, or a hotel room which has a sea view compared to one which doesn’t; or that people are drawn to urban green spaces like bees to a honeycomb as soon as the sun makes even the most cursory of appearances. In Britain, waiting lists for vegetable allotments are now decades–long. People love their cats and dogs to the point of absurdity. We humans seem to yearn for connection with the non–human world around us. The writer E.O. Wilson coined the term ‘biophilia’ to describe this universal phenomenon. And increasingly there is data to back the idea up.

The health benefits of time spent in nature are numerous. Improvements in mental and physical health, reduced loneliness and enhanced wellbeing are increasingly well documented. Activities such as community gardening, conservation volunteering, or nature walks have been shown to improve recovery rates following physical illness, and to lower stress, anxiety and depression levels.

Unsurprisingly, these positive outcomes have led to a growing emphasis on green social prescribing in the NHS. This is the practice of encouraging people to engage in nature–based activities to improve their mental and physical health. Initiatives like the £5.77 million Green Social Prescribing Programme, launched under the last government, have started to embed nature–based interventions in patient care. Doctors and link workers increasingly refer patients to these programmes, reflecting a shift toward holistic, non–clinical care to ease pressure on healthcare services. Similarly, prisoners are shown to be less depressed, less violent and less likely to reoffend if they are given the chance to spend a little time each week growing their own potatoes. And of course, anyone with experience of raising children knows that all problems vanish once you take them outdoors.

Children and adults alike are mesmerised by the natural world, whether they know it or not. Nature heals us, enlivens us, fills us with joy. The need we feel to be in nature is visceral. Which is why, throughout the great mosaic of human history, our bond with the natural world has been central to human existence. From the earliest times, throughout millennia of ancient shamanistic spirituality across the world, and within each of the major modern–day religions today, there is a common thread: humanity's role as stewards of Earth.

From Christianity to Islam, Hinduism to Judaism, there's a compelling narrative of guardianship of creation. Genesis 2:15 lays out the directive, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” It's not just labour; it's a sacred duty. The notion that Christians and Jews are mandated to exercise dominion over nature oversimplifies the scriptural context. Old Testament teaching advocates for nurturing and protecting nature, not asserting unchecked dominance over it. The Hebrew term “kabash” (subdue) and “radah” (rule) in Genesis suggest responsible management, not exploitative control. Furthermore, Leviticus 25:23– 24 frames land as God’s possession, with humans as temporary stewards tasked with preserving its goodness. “The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me. And in all the land of your possession you shall grant redemption of the land.” Similarly reverence for the environment can be found in the New Testament, albeit it placing Jesus Christ as an agent of the creation: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” These teachings advocate for the creation and environment to be honoured and respected by mankind.

In Islam, the Quran (6:165) positions humans as vicegerents of Allah on Earth, charged with its management and protection. Hinduism, through texts like the Bhagavad Gita, advocates for Dharma, which encompasses the duty to sustain nature. And in Judaism, the Torah repeatedly speaks of the land as God's gift, to be preserved for generations yet to come. This shared ethic across religions is a cultural unifier, breaching political, national and cultural divides, offering common ground where all people can agree: we are stewards, not owners.

The beauty of nature is a shared inheritance which matters deeply to people, individually and collectively. Nature is central to our own personal and collective sense of identity and meaning. As conservatives, our approach to the natural environment must, by definition, comprise core values of stewardship, responsibility and legacy. What could be more meaningful and joyful than restoring and protecting our most cherished and vital asset?

Translating this ancient wisdom into modern solutions must begin with redefining what progress really means. Progress need not simply be the process of exploiting nature, but of reinserting ourselves into the miracle and fulfilling our role as its guardians. Recognising our current impact is unsustainable, conservatives must advocate for policies that reduce pollution and waste, as our grandparents’ generation once did, promoting instead circular economic models. This doesn’t need to be at the expense of economic growth. Using resources more efficiently should naturally align with capitalism.

Instead of shovelling taxpayer subsidies into economically non–viable, environmentally–ruinous ways of producing food and other commodities often in the wrong places, conservatives should champion and incentivise new approaches which regenerate the natural systems on which we depend for everything we have and everything we do. We've disrupted ecosystems, for example by the removal of keystone predators such as wolves, leading to significant ecological disequilibrium. Wolves regulate prey populations, such as deer, preventing overgrazing and the loss of vegetation, as well as regulating disease in the deer themselves. Nothing could be more important now than putting the pieces back together.

Rewilding, bringing back nature and rehabilitating landscapes must be our most important legacy, ensuring our children inherit a world more vibrant than the one we’ve ourselves come to know. Education must integrate teaching about environmental stewardship from various perspectives, fostering a new generation that views environmental care as integral to their cultural and spiritual identity.

Our personal connection with nature is of profound spiritual importance, as anyone who has suffered – for example through grief – can confirm. Time spent close to nature fosters introspection, connection, and peace, elements which are so often missing from our urban lives.

For conservatives, for whom tradition and the past matter greatly, nature may elicit feelings of timelessness, and a link to a grander mystery. By encouraging nature experiences, we're not just promoting environmental awareness but also personal wellbeing. Nothing resonates more with the conservative values of community and self– reliance than being surrounded by beautiful nature in which everyone has a stake.

Policies which embody stewardship while upholding economic freedom, such as tax incentives for green practices and support for sustainable local industries, ought to be central to a conservative agenda today.

We must challenge the notion that only the Left cares for the environment. In fact, throughout modern history, the opposite has often been the case. By highlighting how conservation aligns with conservative principles such as family, legacy and responsibility, we can reshape public perception, as well as promote dialogues across faith lines, focusing on environmental ethics, using these platforms to inspire unity and action.

A new vision of conservative environmentalism has the potential to win hearts and minds by tapping into the spiritual roots of our caretaker role. By advocating for sustainable yet freedom–preserving policies, and recognising the spiritual healing nature offers, conservatives can once again lead in a global movement towards a balanced, respected and cherished world. Let this be our generation’s legacy.

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Views expressed in this chapter are those of the author, not necessarily those of the Conservative Environment Network.