@dandylover1@someplace.social
haha It's rare that I get to quote Captain Jesse, of all people, when discussing something modern. But I just did, and for a good reason. Not much is known about him, other than his fame at being the first true biographer of Beau Brummell. But he did love nature, as demonstrated by this quote. Here, then, is what I wrote, along with the quote itself. It was in relation to the allottments in the UK, but it's true everywhere.
This was written by Captain Jesse (as himself, not quoting anyone) in the biography of Beau Brummell, first published in 1844, and then revised by his son in 1886. In the prior section, he discusses the lives of the poor of the time, how they lived in small rooms and then worked in factories. But while that may have changed in the twenty-first century, this part is still true. I find it very sad that it should be when we have more than anyone of Brummell's or even Jesse's time could have imagined possible.
"To them, alas ! Nature
is unknown ; the carol of the lark, the call of the cuckoo, the cheerful hum of the bees returning from their toil, are sounds that the ears of many could not recognise ; of the colour of the harebell or the gorse, the smell of the honeysuckle or the new-mown hay, they are equally ignorant and the fresh air of the early morning in the spring has never fallen on their brow, to gladden their hearts, or invigorate their bodies and their minds. If the artificial state of society with us has created a population thus unhappily circumstanced, it surely is a duty imperative on those who profit by their misery, to alleviate it, and on the legislature of their country, to secure to them the enjoyments of these natural pleasures created by the Almighty to bless alike the rich and poor."