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Strategic Research Network for People and Nature. Round Up of Recent Research, Policy and Practice -  December 2019

Purpose: round up of recent and relevant evidence and reports, policy agenda developments, large scale delivery sector initiatives, resources and news items from the UK and abroad. This supports the Strategic Research Network for People and Nature to develop better coherence and collaboration in research and to improve links between research, policy and practice in these areas.

Key audience: Strategic Research Network members and increasingly colleagues across policy and delivery sectors too.

Collated and issued by the partnership of Natural England, The Council for Learning Outside the Classroom and Historic England on behalf of and for the Strategic Research Network.

Please continue to send items for the round up to martin.gilchrist@naturalengland.org.uk.
Please also contact Martin if you would like more information on the Strategic Research Network or would like advice from them.

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Strategic Research Network for People and Nature evidence round up  - December 2019
Welcome to the latest round up of information for December. Contributions featuring members of the SRN and direct recipients of this round up are highlighted in green below.

We are conscious that this is a long document as we have attempted to capture a wide range of information that may be of interest. We always welcome feedback on whether this is useful as a way of sharing information or whether it duplicates something that already exists? Any suggestions for improvements are welcome. 

If you have your own work or know of other papers that would be of interest please do send it to Martin Gilchrist, at any time for inclusion in the next round up. Thank you, as always, to those of you who have sent in contributions this month.

Many thanks
Martin Gilchrist, Sarah Preston and Anne Hunt   


This round up has the following sections

RESEARCH AND REPORTS
RESOURCES 

NEWS

CALLS
 

RESEARCH AND REPORTS

Nature and Wellbeing & Mental Health

Can a Green Care Informal Learning Program Foster Active Aging in Older Adults? Results From a Qualitative Pilot Study in Central Italy
S Santini, F Piccinini, C Gagliardi - Journal of Applied Gerontology
The aim of this pilot study was to develop new services fostering Active Aging dimensions by means of a 12-month green care informal learning program. The program improved the social participation and learning attitudes of community-dwelling older people and the perceived well-being and health of day care center users. Green care activities triggered an Active Aging virtuous spiral where learning new practical and relational competencies helped older people recognize their value.
 
Biocultural diversity (BCD) in European cities–interactions between motivations, experiences and environment in public parks
K Vierikko et al - Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
  • Motivations to use parks cantered around enjoyment of the environment.
  • Structural diversity of parks changed along the city gradient.
  • Structural diversity of parks enhanced diverse uses and enjoyments.
  • More visitors enjoyed nature in parks with high structural diversity.
 
Caring local biodiversity in a healing garden: therapeutic benefits in young subjects with autism
A Scartazza et al - Urban Forestry & Urban Greening
  • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) subjects were constituted as “Biodiversity Custodians”.
  • ASD subjects were involved in the care of landraces within an enabling garden.
  • Plant functional traits were determined for evaluation of landraces germplasm.
  • ASD subjects improved their independence, adaptive behaviour and interaction skills.
  • Caring of landraces promoted the role of ecosystem services in human well-being.
 
Characteristics of urban streets in relation to perceived restorativeness
J Zhao, J Wu, H Wang – Nature: Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology
This paper conducted an experiment to explore the relationship between restorative quality and streetscape characteristics, in which 30 photographs representing the various streetscapes in Xuzhou in eastern China, were used as stimuli, and the restorative qualities of these photographs were measured through online surveys. The results indicated that: (1) the streetscape with higher rate of plants in the view and diverse species of plants implied a high restorative capacity; (2) less non-motor vehicles and clear traffic signs painted on the streets are the other promoters of the restorative capacity of streetscapes.
 
Momentary mood response to natural outdoor environments in four European cities
MC Kondo et al - Environment International
  • Conducted ecological momentary assessment with residents of four European cities.
  • Positive mood improved within 10 min of natural environment exposure.
  • Findings varied by city, gender, age and residential green space exposure.
  • Negative mood declined within 10 min of natural environment exposure.
  • Weaker associations were found within 30 min of natural environment exposure
 
Wildness and Wellbeing: Nature, Neuroscience, and Urban Design
Z Myers – Book
Explores the dynamic relationships between urban nature and mental health, offering practical strategies for urban design. Mental health is a leading global issue and our urban environments can contribute to conditions such as depression and anxiety. Presenting the latest research, this book explores how neuroscience can offer new perspectives on the crucial role everyday
 
Physical Activity in Natural Settings: Green and Blue Exercise
Editors – Donnelly and MacIntyre - Book
Divided over four sections, the book assesses the current research landscape, explores the underlying psychological and physiological mechanisms of the benefits of green exercise, details applied examples of physical activity in natural settings, and suggests future directions for research and practice.
 
Economic value of protected areas via visitor mental health
Buckley, Brough, Hague, Chauvenet, Fleming, Roche, Sofija & Harris – Nature Communications
This paper evaluates methods to calculate the economic value of protected areas derived from the improved mental health of visitors. A conservative global estimate using quality-adjusted life years, is US$6 trillion p.a. This is an order of magnitude greater than the global value of protected area tourism, and two to three orders greater than global aggregate protected area management agency budgets.
 
Physical activity mediates the relationship between outdoor time and mental health
M Bélanger et al - Preventive Medicine Reports
  • Physical activity is positively related to mental health among adolescents.
  • Physical activity mediates the positive effect of outdoor time on mental health.
  • Outdoor time levels do not influence effects of physical activity on mental health.
 
Restorativeness in Natural and Urban Environments: A Meta-Analysis
E Menardo, M Brondino, R Hall, M Pasini - Psychological Reports
The research reported here uses a meta-analysis aimed at estimating how much natural environments are perceived as being more restorative than urban environments.  Results show that natural environments are perceived to be more restorative than urban environments. Significant heterogeneity between the study was found and variability within studies was very high..
 
One Health: The Well-being Impacts of Human-nature Relationships
Editors - Brymer, Richardson, Freeman
A free ebook on this research topic that aims to bring together cutting edge ideas and research from a wide set of disciplines with the purpose of exploring interdisciplinary or trans-disciplinary approaches to understanding the psychological health and wellbeing benefits of human-nature interactions.
 
Relationships between Exposure to Nature, Well-Being, and Demographic Variability
MI Schneider - PhD
This study examined relationships between exposure to nature and dimensions of psychological, physical, and transcendent well-being defined by specific domains of the Multidimensional Well-being Assessment (Harrell et al., 2013), and explored whether socioeconomic status and living in an urban environment influenced the relationships between exposure to nature and wellbeing.
 
Nature-Based Social Prescribing in Urban Settings to Improve Social Connectedness and Mental Well-being: a Review
MA Leavell et al - Current Environmental Health Reports
Screening for social isolation among at-risk populations and referring them to nature-based community services, resources, and activities through a social prescribing (SP) program may provide a way to connect vulnerable populations with the broader community and increase their sense of connectedness and belonging. In this review, we explore opportunities for social prescribing to be used as a tool to address connectedness through nature-based interventions.
 
Nature-Based Therapy for People Suffering from Post-Concussion Syndrome—A Pilot Study
SS Corazon, LJ Olsen, AM Olsen, U Sidenius - Health
The objective of the pilot study was to investigate whether a nature-based therapeutic (NBT) intervention would be suitable for ameliorating the symptoms experienced by people with PCS, especially mental fatigue. Results showed a significant decrease in mental fatigue and large effect size. The participants’ self-assessed health/ well-being on the analogue scale showed an increase from the beginning to the end of each session. The analysis of the interviews revealed that the participants experienced the sensory stimuli and exercises in the natural environment as motivating and meaningful, even when they were challenging. Further, they found the psycho-educational aspects transferable to everyday life.
 

Nature Connectedness

The good things in urban nature: A thematic framework for optimising urban planning for nature connectedness
K McEwan, FJ Ferguson, M Richardson, R Cameron - Landscape and Urban Planning
  • Adults (n = 228) used an app to notice the good things in green spaces.
  • Notes were thematically analysed producing ten themes.
  • Key themes were: wonder at wildlife, appreciating street trees, and awe at views.
  • There are implications for optimising city planning and green health interventions.
 
Examining connection to nature and mindfulness at promoting psychological well-being
T Huynh, JC Torquati - Journal of Environmental Psychology
  • Connection to nature was positively correlated with mindfulness.
  • Both connection to nature and mindfulness were significantly associated with psychological well-being.
  • Mindfulness significantly mediated the association between connection to nature and psychological well-being.
  • Connection to nature did not significantly moderate the association between perceived stress and psychological well-being.
  • Mindfulness significantly moderated the association between perceived stress and two indicators of psychological well-being
 
Fourth graders' connectedness to nature -- Does cultural background matter?
Frankel, Sellmann-Risse & Basten, Journal of Environmental Psychology
The study investigated factors that might influence connectedness to nature, including cultural background and time spent in a natural environment. Data for this study was based on 1458 fourth graders in Germany. Results showed that residential area (rural/urban) and cultural background had no effect on connectedness to nature as measured by the Inclusion of Nature in Self (INS) scale. Results also showed a positive link between time in nature and connectedness to nature.
 
Age and connection to nature: When is engagement critical?
Hughes, Rogerson, Barton & Bragg - Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
This research investigated how people’s connection to nature might differ at different ages. Results showed clear age-related patterns. Connection to nature was significantly lower among teenagers than in children under the age of 12. The lowest connection scores were among youth in their mid-teens. After that, there was a rise in connection to nature through the early 20s, at which time, connectedness tended to reach a plateau that lasted to the end of one’s life.


Childhood collecting in nature: Quality experience in important places.
Beery & Lekies, 2019. Children's Geographies
Survey responses from 380 university students representing 40 different major fields of study showed that collecting items from nature was a common childhood behavior. Most of this collecting occurred before the age of 8. Nearly half of the respondents remembered specific sites for collecting and shared details of these places. The extent of childhood collecting was positively associated with environmental connectedness.
 
Is school adjustment related to environmental empathy and connectedness to nature? Psychosocial Intervention
Musitu-Ferrer et al – Pyschosocial Intervention
Over 800 Spanish adolescents completed two assessments relating to their nature relatedness: (1) the Environmental Empathy Scale (EES) and (2) the Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS). Results linked to teachers’ assessments of the students’ adjustment to school showed that adolescents with higher school adjustment had more cognitive and emotional environmental empathy and more connectedness to nature than adolescents with low adjustment.


Do people who feel connected to nature do more to protect it? A meta-analysis.
Mackay & Schmitt - Journal of Environmental Psychology
A meta-analysis focusing on connectedness to nature and pro-environmental behaviors (PEB) analyzed data from 75 correlational and 17 experimental studies. The correlational studies provided “exceptionally good evidence for a strong association between nature connection and PEB.” The experimental studies showed a small, significant causal effect of nature connection on PEB.
 
A scoping review into the impact of animal imagery on pro-environmental outcomes
L Thomas-Walters, C McNulty, D Veríssimo - Ambio
We systematically screened existing studies on the use of animal imagery in conservation, identifying 37 articles. Although there is clear evidence that images of animals can have positive effects on people’s attitudes to animals, overall there is currently a dearth of accessible and comparable published data demonstrating the efficacy of animal imagery. Most existing studies are place and context-specific, limiting the generalisable conclusions that can be drawn.
 
Effects of Age on Connection to Nature and Positive Affect
AK Carney, J Patrick - Innovation in Aging
Analyses were conducted with a sample size of 152 participants between 18 -89. Age was significantly positively associated with CN. Additionally, an ANOVA showed that middle-aged to older adults reporting significantly higher CN than younger adults. These results may be indicative of socioemotional selectively theory, in that older adults were choosing connection to nature because it fulfilled more emotional activities/goals than the younger adults in the study.
 

Nature and Schools, Learning & Development

Teacher views on inquiry-based learning: the contribution of diverse experiences in the outdoor environment
T Tal, R Levin-Peled, KS Levy - Innovation and Education
This study looked at science teachers enrolled in professional development programs that consisted of three different inquiry-based learning experiences in the outdoors: ecology, sociology, and archeology. Qualitative content analysis was informed by the literature referring to procedural and epistemic aspects of inquiry-based learning. Other themes that emerged from the data included the place of collaborative learning, the use of technology, and the contribution of the outdoor environment. The teachers valued the outdoor environment highly for learning and provided interesting insights into how to integrate in-school and out-of-school learning.
 
The hidden value of in-between spaces for children's self-directed play within outdoor school environments
F Aminpour, K Bishop, L Corkery - Landscape and Urban Planning
  • The play value of in-between spaces in school grounds is poorly recognised.
  • In-between spaces help balance gender inequity for play in school grounds.
  • In-between spaces help children manage their own experience of outdoor school environments.
 
An application of measuring visual and non-visual sensorial experiences of nature for children within primary school spaces
PT To, D Grierson - Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research
Proximity to nature is essential to a child’s development. Well-designed educational environments are crucial to supporting this proximity, particularly in the early years of schooling. The purpose of this paper is to measure children’s experiences of nature within three primary school spaces at various locations in Glasgow, Scotland. The methodology for measuring children’s visual and non-visual sensory experiences is developed to evaluate the connection between naturalness values and spatial environmental qualities across varying “Child–Nature–Distance” ranges
 
Children and Nature – A research evaluation for the Wildlife Trusts
Sheldrake, Amos and Reiss
This study looked at the impact of Wildlife Trust events that involved children learning about nature while out of doors. The research surveyed 451 children before and after they undertook Wildlife Trust events, and also undertook observations of and interviews with children, teachers, and Wildlife Trust practitioners delivering the events. The quantitative analysis revealed increases over time for the children’s subjective well-being, nature connection, and pro-environmental values. These findings were supported through the children’s reflections on their own experiences, and through the observations and interviews.
 
Educator perceptions on the benefits and challenges of loose parts play in the outdoor environments of childcare centres
RA Spencer et al – Public Health
The purpose of this study was to identify the benefits and challenges of incorporating loose parts play into the outdoor environments of childcare centres, from the perspectives of educators who took part in the Physical Literacy in the Early Years (PLEY) project. Benefit themes included: loose parts enable children to take risks; loose parts spark creativity and imagination; loose parts contribute to problem-solving abilities; loose parts cultivate independence and confidence; and loose parts build relationships and leadership. Challenges included: apprehension of loose parts; loose parts as a novelty; sustainability of loose parts; and loose parts present challenges with storage.
 
The Design and Evaluation of the Physical Environment of Young Children's Learning Settings
E Matthews, PC Lippman - Early Childhood Education Journal
This paper reviews the extant literature on the connections between physical environment and children’s learning and development, and present evidence-based design and assessment principles for these educational settings, with practical applications for educators. It argues that discussions of educational quality are incomplete without addressing the built aspects of learning centres and provide practical guidance for evidence-based design of these environments.
 
Universal Design of Instruction and Social Justice Education: Enhancing Equity in Outdoor Adventure Education
RP Warner, C Dillenschneider - Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership
Given continued underrepresentation of non-dominant populations in outdoor adventure education, there is a clear need to create more welcoming environments, increase equity in programs, and empower all participants to become agents of change. Many of the current practices used to create equitable outdoor adventure education experiences are specific to organizations or programs and not universally applicable to other settings or the full spectrum of underrepresented populations. This paper discusses universal design of instruction and social justice education as potentially viable strategies for enhancing equity.
 
Quasi-randomized trial of contact with nature and effects on attention in children
SA Johnson, S Snow, MA Lawrence, DGC Rainham - Frontiers in Psychology
This study employed a quasi-experimental design and included a sample of typically-developing children to investigate performance on computerized endogenous and exogenous attention tasks before and after exposure to one of two interventions – a thirty-minute walk in either an urban or natural environment. Results support credible effects of the nature intervention on two measures of endogenous attention:
 
The impact of residential experiences on pupil progress and attainment in year six (10-11 year olds) in England: a Learning Away comparative research study
J Dudman, C Hedges, C Loynes – Learning Away Consortium Report
Findings include:
  • Pupils taking part in residential experiences prior to their SATs test progressed in reading, writing and maths more slowly than pupils who went on their residentials after their SATs tests. This result is regardless of gender, socio-economic background or ability and is consistent across all schools that provided progress data.
  • The residential experiences had a significant impact on a range of indicators associated with self-efficacy and locus of control. Six of these indicators were found to be significant and six showed an elevated trend towards significance.
               

Nature and Communities & Place

Placemaking Fundamentals for the Built Environment
Editors: Hes & Hernandez-Santin - Book
Based on case-studies, this book provides a series of chapters on the critical steps of placemaking, including governance and community engagement strategies, negotiation processes, place evaluation, integrating nature into place and the economics of place.
 
Nature affinity and willingness to pay for urban green spaces in a developing country
R Sabyrbekov, M Dallimer, S Navrud - Landscape and Urban Planning
  • Addition of non-monetary values can capture a wider array of urban stakeholders.
  • Migrants show higher nature relatedness but do not manifest the value through willingness to pay.
  • Nature connectedness does not converge with willingness to pay for urban green areas.
  • Elderly citizens’ and migrants’ values are not captured by standard economic valuation.
 
Are there sensitive neighbourhood effect periods during the life course on midlife health and wellbeing?
Stephen Jivraj, Paul Norman, Owen Nicholas, Emily T. Murray - Health & Place
  • Contemporaneous neighbourhood deprivation is most strongly related to mid life health and wellbeing.
  • There is evidence for sensitive periods of neighbourhood effects at or around age 30 on health and wellbeing at midlife.
  • It is important to take neighbourhood deprivation across the life course to determine the total effect.
 
Focus groups identify optimum urban nature in four Australian and New Zealand cities
L Taylor, EH Leckey, DF Hochuli - Urban Ecosystems
We investigated the relationship between human wellbeing and nature in the two most-populous cities of both Australia and New Zealand. Regardless of their nature value orientation, focus group participants were clear about needing nature in their city. All focus groups described the integrated design of urban and natural elements when discussing positive experiences of nature in cities and had persistent concerns about how natural spaces are managed. We argue that urban design has the potential to ensure that residents engage with and experience nature in cities, and that design practices and policies could support the successful human-nature integration.
 
Interactive soundscape augmentation by natural sounds in a noise polluted urban park
T Van Renterghem et al - Landscape and Urban Planning
People prefer balanced compositions of various types of natural sounds with a focus on bird songs.
Augmented natural soundscapes improve the environmental noise perception in a park.
Interactively composed natural soundscapes strongly mask road traffic noise.
An ICT based approach was presented to improve the perception of urban public spaces
 
Classification of soundscapes of urban public open spaces
Kang Sun et al - Landscape and Urban Planning
  • Soundscapes were classified based on their contribution to the overall perception of the environment.
  • Models were proposed to categorize soundscapes based on acoustical parameters.
  • An immersive audio-visual recording methodology for soundscape research and design was presented.
 

RESOURCES

Valuing and governing tree and forest ecosystem services
Forest Research Report
This on-going research programme provides new insights into how to recognise and understand the value of ecosystem services (the goods and benefits) provided by trees and forests. This work aims to inform policy-makers and practitioners, helping them make decisions about tree and forest management in urban and rural areas.
 
Nature Conservation Growing by Popular Demand
G Zimmerman – Article for Wyss Campaign for Nature
What explains the acceleration of nature conservation efforts around the world? The answer may be quite simple: popular demand. A review of public opinion research in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K—nations that have taken recent steps to expand protections for land or ocean areas, and where recent public opinion research is available—finds that overwhelming majorities of survey respondents in each country express a desire for stronger nature protections.
 
Children’s Access to Play in Schools: The Play-friendly School Label
Burton et al – A hand book for schools
The Play-friendly Schools handbook has been produced through the work of the European ‘Children’s Access to Play’ Project (CAPS). CAPS aimed to support schools to become more play-friendly. The project was a transfer of knowledge of two UK concepts: playwork, an approach to working with children to create and maintain spaces where they can play1, and the UK-based OPAL programme (Outdoor Play and Learning), a mentor supported school improvement programme.
 
Nature Connectedness YouTube videos
University of Derby
Introductory videos on Nature Connectedness, pathways to NC & noticing things in nature is good for you.
 
FFT Education Datalab article on education spending
 
DfE Character Education Framework Guidance
 
 

NEWS
 
School Travel Organiser article with Kate Humble on the importance of getting kids outdoors on school trips
 
New Chief Executive of Council for Learning Outside the Classroom is Anne Hunt
 

CALLS

Call for Papers- 19th Conference of the  European Institute for Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning. Conference-Theme: Childhood and Nature.
14th until 18th of October 2020 in Marburg/Germany
For further information please contact: europa@bsj-marburg.de
 
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