How ‘Green’ Active Aging Makes For A Longer, Healthier Retirement

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2nd of three articles in a series

There’s a well-documented upside to environmental action and getting outside in general. Going green can translate into living a healthier life well into retirement.

Engaged environmental volunteer Dale Shields observes that “being outdoors in the woods and prairies provides great stress relief and working with other people that also want to contribute to our stewardship of our urban and suburban open spaces establishes great friendships.”

Environmental activity is a grand slam for people of any age, especially those over 50. A study published by the National Library of Medicine found that older adults engaged in caring for a green space reported a higher “level of physical activity, subjective life satisfaction, and positive feelings.”

More importantly, the holistic benefits of engaging with nature are wide ranging. In a study published by the Aging and Climate Change Clearinghouse at Cornell University, “Research demonstrates that environmental activism specifically supports health and wellness later in life, even more so than other types of volunteer work.”

Why is environmental activity so beneficial? The Cornell group reported that:

Volunteering gets older people moving. Volunteer roles that involve physical activity, as does most environmental volunteering, offer significant health benefits to older people.
Time in nature improves health. Environmental volunteering typically leads to more exposure to nature. Research over the past several decades clearly demonstrates being in nature provides major health benefits to people of all ages, including older adults. For many volunteers, environmental volunteering continues a lifelong pattern of spending time outside.
Environmental activism promotes intergenerational relationships. Environmental organizations are age-integrated; that is, they bring together people of different ages in meaningful activities. Intergenerational relationships improve the mental health of older adults, build community, and help to prevent ageism.
Climate activism helps older people “give back.” Research further shows that older people experience a need for generativity, or the ability to preserve the world for future generations. Environmental volunteerism provides an avenue for older adults to make a real difference that will improve the world for years to come.

In addition to health benefits, another study from the University of Minnesota found that “natural environments are known to promote physical, mental, and spiritual healing. Now research shows that green and ‘blue’ spaces (environments with running or still water) are especially beneficial for healthy aging in seniors.”

In general, numerous studies that focused on just walking outside showed similar results for all age groups. Getting outside into parks, forest preserves and trails tended to make older adults happier and healthier.

The opportunities for older adults to engage in environmental activities are unlimited. Not only can they be environmental volunteers or just incorporate outdoor activities as part of their health regimen, they can engage in policymaking.

According to Danielle Arigoni, a former US EPA official and author of Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation (Island Press, 2023), “Older adults can be critical contributors to community resilience as a result of their volunteer efforts and their lifetime of expertise and insights.”

“This can be encouraged by ensuring that aging considerations are a requirement of any policy or program that affects community design, emergency preparedness, or resilience.”

Still, there’s little question the subject of climate change is a real downer for people of all ages. Yet social engagement may be a positive psychological tool in the underlying battle against despair, notes Lawrence MacDonald, author of “Am I Too Old to Save the Planet?: A Boomer’s Guide to Climate Action,” (Changemakers, 2023).

“Many people who have come to understand the extreme severity and urgency of the climate threat struggle with sadness and depression,” MacDonald says.

“Working with others to address the threat can help to relieve these feelings. If we try to ignore what we know to be true, we are living in a state of denial. We can only free ourselves from our climate culpability by acknowledging it and vowing to do all we can to repair or minimize the damage.”

In the following piece, I will profile how several groups are engaging older Americans in environmental action and why it matters.

This article was written with the support of a journalism fellowship from The Gerontological Society of America, The Journalists Network on Generations and The Silver Century Foundation.

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