Pathways to nature connection
Research into how people become connected to nature was undertaken as part of a PhD. The project identified the five best routes (or ‘pathways’) to becoming connected:
- Contact (physically being in nature)
- Beauty (enjoying the aesthetic qualities in nature, eg shape, colour, form)
- Meaning (expressing ideas through nature)
- Emotion (as a result of engaging with nature)
- Compassion (seeing nature as part of oneself and caring about it)
It’s hoped that organisations will use these pathways to more effectively engage people in their work.
Developing a national indicator
The pathways have been used to develop an indicator that measures how connected to nature a person is. It’s hoped that this indicator will be adopted by national policy makers as a way of measuring the effects of interventions. The University led this work, alongside The Wildlife Trusts, National Trust, Natural England, RSPB, and Historic England.
30 Days Wild
University psychologists have also been working with The Wildlife Trusts on the Trusts’ 30 Days Wild campaign. This campaign encourages people to interact with nature every day for the month of June and it has attracted over 40,000 participants so far. The results from 6,000 survey responses have shown that those taking part had sustained increases in happiness, health, connection with nature and pro-conservation behaviours. This work is ongoing.
View the campaign
Trialling a daily dose of nature
Dr Richardson and his team also undertook a randomised controlled trial of a ‘daily dose’ of nature. They asked people to note down three good things in nature each day for five days. Participants showed sustained increases in nature connectedness and these were associated with better mental health. This experiment is now being expanded as part of a £1 million project focusing on Sheffield – Improving Wellbeing through Urban Nature (IWUN) – funded by the Valuing Nature programme. As part of the study, a smartphone app, which prompts people to notice nature, is being developed.
Impact on teaching and learning
Although still emerging, the findings from this research have led to the creation of a new pathway on the MSc Behaviour Change – Environment and Conservation. A number of PhDs and undergraduate dissertations are also focusing on elements of nature connection. The team is hoping to create a standalone Psychology and Nature module for third year undergraduates.
