Understanding nature benefits
Research has shown that spending time in nature has health related benefits (e.g., cardiovascular, weight), including psychological benefits. Psychological benefits have been theorised to come from our innate need to connect with nature (biophilia hypothesis), lack of requirement to sustain direct attention (attention restoration hypothesis), or the stress-reducing effects of spending time in an unthreatening nature environment (stress reduction hypothesis). In addition to these hypotheses, researchers have been exploring how feeling connected to nature may be related to mental health and wellbeing benefits.
Our work explores the benefits of nature for developing stronger connections to nature, mental health and wellbeing, and feelings of restoration.
Interested in getting involved, contact Prof Dawn Watling.
Engaging with nature
Noticing nature
Spending time in nature
Engaging with Nature:
Working with schools
Hands on engagement with science benefits science learning, but also can boost engagement with nature, resiliency, and wellbeing. Schools are an untapped resource, many with spaces where we can create and monitor biodiverse habitats.
Dr Deborah Harvey developed a 21 week school-based biodiversity programme that engages children in outdoor activities to boost engagement with nature. Together, we sought to understand how engaging with nature could benefit children.
Using our senses…
Noticing nature
To understand what factors influence the benefits we get from being in nature, we have teamed up with Kew’s Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG), in a research collaboration as part of Wakehurst’s Nature Unlocked programme. We are focusing on what individuals notice in nature and how this affects changes in feelings of wellbeing and mental health,.
Senses capturing attention?
When in nature, what do you hear, see, smell, feel or taste? Close your eyes and try again…
What do you attend to with your eyes?
What captures your visual attention? What might you take a picture of?
What do you feel?
Do you feel changes within yourself, such as with your heart rate, muscle tension, focus?
In collaboration with Kew RBG, Wakehurst
We have been working to understand what captures people’s visual attention in the gardens and if what we attend to may be related to benefits in mood, wellbeing and a sense of connectedness to nature.
Children noticing nature: What is it with the meadows?
We evaluated improvements in connection to nature, wellbeing and mental health in 599 children before visiting and at the end of their visit to one of three biodiverse habitats: woodlands, wetlands, meadows.
Greater positive changes in connection to nature occurred for those children who visiting the meadows. We explored in this work individual predictors of change.
FEELING RESTORED…
Spending time in nature
363 visitors to Wakehurst (18-87 years) took part in a research study where their heart rate was monitored during a self-directed walk.
We found that mood improved and heart rate slowed.
In exploring feelings of restoration, these were stronger for individuals who had greater: