We are thankful to Ms Marcia Francis, an executive at the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), for her recent testimony regarding the value of the natural environment including grass, trees, and flowering plants to people’s health and well-being.

In hailing the establishment of a “therapeutic space” at Ebenezer Rehabilitation Centre, just outside Mandeville, Ms Francis said: “This initiative serves as a poignant reminder that nature is not merely a backdrop to our lives, it is an essential partner in our well-being; a prescription for our wellness, hope, and renewal…”

Located beside the Manchester Infirmary, Ebenezer Rehabilitation Centre serves as a refuge of sorts for people challenged by mental problems as well as homelessness.

Currently home to 20 people, the centre is being expanded to accommodate more of those in need of psychological, emotional, and material help in Manchester and its surrounds.

Clearly, the SRHA and those in immediate charge of the Ebenezer centre are giving considerable thought to more than mere accommodation.

Hence the garden project — which, as we understand it, is still a work in progress — at the entrance to the centre and equipped with seating for those wishing to simply blend and relax with nature.

As explained by Ms Francis, “The Southern Regional Health Authority has recognised that one of the most effective remedies for our fast-paced, stress-filled lives, as well as the mental and physical health challenges we face, lies not in medication, but in the tranquillity of nature.”

And further, that: “The goal is to promote healing, reduce stress, and enhance the overall quality of life of our citizens…”

In truth, the thoughts espoused by Ms Francis are not new. Leadership at all levels have long recognised the value and relevance of a well cared for natural environment in support of mental health and well-being.

The big challenge has always been to do more than just talk.

As is the case right across Jamaica, Manchester has its fair share of mental health issues with tragic consequences on occasions.

And yet, Manchester, and more especially its capital Mandeville, is far better placed than many other places for the structured development of a therapeutic green space to meet the needs of its fast-growing population.

We were reminded of this earlier this year when an unseemly squabble involving Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and Mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell focused our attention on the underdeveloped 38-acre Brooks Park, just west of the Mandeville town centre.

We believe that, with thought, planning, and appropriate resource allocation, Brooks Park could become the envy of all Jamaica.

That’s in terms of a relatively large green space suitable for people to relax in sync with nature, as well as indulge in healthy physical exercise/recreation and competitive sport.

In communities across the country our leaders should be actively seeking to locate and develop similar spaces to “promote healing, reduce stress, and enhance the overall quality of life…”

It’s testament to misplaced priorities in this country that, so far as we can make out, such thinking holds little sway in the heated push towards the soon-coming parliamentary general election.