Finding Nature

The human relationship with the rest of nature matters for our well-being, yet the climate and environment emergencies show that the human relationship with the rest of nature is broken. To fix it we need a new more connected relationship that recognises that we are part of nature. This is a relationship that will bring both pro-nature behaviours and improved mental wellbeing – a good life.

Sir Bob Watson was lead scientist of the IPBES landmark health-check of life on Earth – the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystems published this year. The report showed that nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history. In an interview earlier this year he said we need to ask how do we become more in tune with nature? What makes us happy? How do we relate to nature?

These are the right questions to ask as 2019 research provides evidence for a causal link between a close relationship with nature and pro-nature behaviours. The science of nature connectedness has delivered a number of key insights in 2019 and can help answer those questions:

• What makes us happy? Naturally, there are many things, but systematic review evidence from 2019 shows that nature connectedness brings two key types of happiness – feeling good and functioning well – to levels above accepted benchmarks.
• How do we become more in tune with nature? Here we could ask, how do we become more connected to nature? Our intervention research (again from 2019) shows we can tune in through simply noticing the good things in nature, through the senses. And doing so make us feel significantly better.
• How do we relate to nature? A connected relationship with nature is based upon finding beauty in nature, experiences in nature that evoke positive emotions and bring meaning, and activities that involve caring for nature – the pathways to nature connectedness.

We need a closer relationship with nature in order to save nature. A closer relationship with nature helps bring a happy and meaningful life. With these essential benefits should there be a basic human right to a close relationship with nature?

How to find a positive relationship with nature in the city?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights doesn’t mention nature or the environment. The first principle of the United Nations Rio Declaration on the Environemt (1992) states that “Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature”. The principle notes the human role in sustainability and ties human health to living in harmony with nature. Of course, productive living is a necessary part of life, but entitlement to a close relationship with nature is clear. The key is a sustainable balance between them. Something our pathways to nature connection research revealed – the activities in nature needed for a close relationship differed from those that have exploited nature, built our modern world and caused the environmental crisis.

A close relationship with nature requires a healthy natural world

In another 2019 paper, Jane Hurly and Gordon J. Walker from the University of Alberta have argued that the human need for nature connectedness is a basic psychological need. They reviewed the compelling evidence of the benefits of nature connectedness and examined if it met published criteria for basic psychological needs.

Also from 2019, Alexia Barrable from the University of Dundee argues that nature connectedness should be a distinct goal of early childhood education. Alexia notes the focus on learning about the natural environment and spending time outdoors, but that the distinct construct of nature connectedness has not been considered in detail. Further research from 2019 shows that it’s not just young children. Evidence from the UK, Canada and China shows that we know children’s relationship with nature breaks down from 10 years of age, taking 20 years to recover. This suggests that nature connectedness, living in harmony with nature for a sustainable future, should be a goal of educational institutions from early childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood.

So if there were a basic human right to a closer relationship with nature how we would get there? We’ve often thought of our pathways to nature connectedness in terms of activities for individuals and small groups, but recently we’ve been thinking about how the pathways can inform societal changes that could allow and prompt the types of activities and values linked to a closer relationship with nature.

Another 2019 paper starts to consider this issue. As an editorial for a special issue, it’s limited in scope, but the recommendations give a flavour of thinking that we’re currently developing in other work. Our Frontiers special issue, One Health: The Well-being Impacts of Human-Nature Relationships,  responds to two interrelated issues confronting humanity today: the health and well-being of populations and the state of the natural environment.

We discuss the ways to improve the human-nature relationship through interventions, campaigns, activities, curricula, green infrastructure and urban design. Bringing together artists, planners, designers, and researchers to create places that afford a connection to nature. There’s scope across the full range of policy areas and at various leverage points, for now examples are provided in the recommendations distilled from the research in the special issue:

• Everyday experiences of nature matter. Provide green spaces, close to home and work, with opportunities and prompts for people across the lifespan to notice nature and its beauty.
• Encourage a broader range of seasonal experiences in nature, of various durations, at various times and calling on insight from a range of approaches to human-nature relationships (e.g., Stoic and Buddhist Traditions; nature connectedness).
• Provide habitats for a variety of wildlife. Biodiversity matters for human health. Micro-variables such as birds, plants, wildlife, and native species create a bond between people and natural places.
• Provide nature based therapeutic environments.
• For those with limited access to nature, provide imagery and VR alternatives.

2019 has seen some breakthrough nature connectedness research and as a measurable psychological construct it provides a great focal point – a basic psychological need that captures the human-nature relationship. Especially as we have pathways and interventions that can improve nature connectedness – with causal links through to pro-nature behaviours and mental well-being.

So, should there be a basic human right to a close relationship with nature? The evidence is clear; the well-being of future populations and the planet depends on closer, positive and sustainable human-nature relationships. We also need a new concept of what constitutes a good life, one that recognises the vital role of nature to human life. The first principle of the United Nations Rio Declaration (1992) already captures that need for harmony, but human rights don’t seem to cover the human relationship with the natural world – despite nature being essential for human life. And of course, a right to a close relationship with nature would require a healthy natural world.

Hurly, J., & Walker, G. J. (2019). Nature in our lives: Examining the human need for nature relatedness as a basic psychological need. Journal of Leisure Research, 1-21.

Barrable, A. (2019). The Case for Nature Connectedness as a Distinct Goal of Early Childhood Education. International Journal of Early Childhood, 6(2), 59-70.

Mackay, C. M., & Schmitt, M. T. (2019). Do people who feel connected to nature do more to protect it? A meta-analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 65, 101323.

McEwan, K., Richardson, M., Sheffield, D., Ferguson, F. J., & Brindley, P. (2019). A Smartphone App for Improving Mental Health through Connecting with Urban Nature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(18), 3373.

Pritchard, A., Richardson, M., Sheffield, D., & McEwan, K. (2019). The relationship between nature connectedness and eudaimonic well-being: A meta-analysis. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-23.

Richardson, M., Hunt, A., Hinds, J., Bragg, R., Fido, D., Petronzi, D., … & White, M. (2019). A Measure of Nature Connectedness for Children and Adults: Validation, Performance, and Insights. Sustainability, 11(12), 3250.

Brymer, E., Freeman, D. E. L., & Richardson, M. (2019). One Health: The wellbeing impacts of human-nature relationships. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1611.

Krettenauer, T., Wang, W., Jia, F., & Yao, Y. (2019). Connectedness with nature and the decline of pro-environmental behavior in adolescence: A comparison of Canada and China. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 101348.

The link between nature connectedness and human well-being has been made in a couple of systematic reviews, most recently in our paper, published in the Journal of Happiness Studies. Now we have a meta-analysis showing the link between nature connectedness and pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs). This was published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology (PDF version).

Caroline Mackay and Michael Schmitt from Simon Fraser University in Canada gathered together 92 research studies involving over 27,000 people and found “compelling evidence for a strong and robust association between nature connection and PEB”. Adjusting for publication bias, they also found a significant causal effect of nature connection on PEB. They concluded that nature connection is a promising avenue for promoting PEB.

So, we now have good evidence that nature connectedness is a route to both human and nature’s wellbeing – and remember nature connectedness is the strength of a person’s relationship with nature, it’s not simply visiting and being in nature. At the University of Derby we’ve developed specific interventions to improve nature connectedness and the pathways framework to help people design their own, moving beyond traditional knowledge and learning focussed approaches.

Mackay and Schmitt’s research had robust inclusion criteria and defined nature connection as the sense of “oneness” with nature and the studies included in the analysis used standard nature connectedness scales and related emotional connection scales. They defined PEB as actions that would likely benefit the environment, measured by self-reports of PEB, intentions to engage in PEB, or observed behaviour recorded in a laboratory. They also coded private or public sphere behaviours, together with the different measures of PEB, including observed behaviour – the results provide good evidence that nature connection relates to actual behaviour.

The correlational part of the study could not provide evidence of a causal effect of nature connection on behaviour, so they also looked at empirical manipulations too. They found a publication bias in favour of studies with larger and more positive effects. However, they addressed this bias by including unpublished studies. They still found a significant causal effect of nature connectedness on PEB.

The causal effects in the analysis of experimental studies were weaker than expected given the relatively large effect sizes in the correlational data. The authors explain this through the discrepancy between how nature connectedness is measured and how it is manipulated. The experimental manipulations of nature connectedness often focussed on contact with or exposure to nature, yet from our pathways to nature connectedness we know it’s more than exposure – it is increased through sensory contact, meaningful experiences involving emotions, beauty and care for nature – this can be achieved by simple noticing the good things in nature.

Pro-nature Behaviour

It’s interesting to note that there’s no discussion of the difference between PEB and pro-nature conservation behaviours – that is positive actions with impact on local wildlife versus PEBs that are often positive inactions that indirectly impact wildlife via reduction of carbon footprint and resource use. There is a huge disparity in awareness, coverage and psychological research into climate change and biodiversity loss. Yet, “Only by addressing both ecosystems and climate do we stand a chance of safeguarding a stable planet for humanity’s future on Earth,” Prof Johan Rockström, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. In some on-going work we know pro-environmental and pro-nature conservation behaviours are related, but different from a behavioural perspective. Surprisingly, given the crisis of biodiversity loss we’ve been unable to find a scale focussed on pro-conservation behaviours, so we’ve developed one – the Pro-Conservation Behaviour Scale (ProCoBS) – which we’ll aim to publish and make available soon.

In sum, the Mackay and Schmitt research fills a key gap in the evidence to support the importance of nature connectedness through finding a significant causal effect of nature connection on PEB. It shows that nature connectedness is a route to nature’s wellbeing and  we have access to interventions and approaches to improving nature connectedness.

Mackay, C. M., & Schmitt, M. T. (2019). Do people who feel connected to nature do more to protect it? A meta-analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 65, 101323.

Climate change and biodiversity loss suggests a failing relationship between people and the rest of nature. There is a need for a new and sustainable relationship, one that benefits the natural world, but can also benefit human well-being. Given the apparent benefits to well-being and the influence on pro-nature behaviours, nature connectedness is emerging as an important construct that can help develop a more sustainable relationship with the natural world. Importantly, nature connectedness is defined, can be measured and increased through large-scale campaigns. Our latest paper in the journal Sustainability reports on our new population measure of nature connectedness (the NCI) and the insights it has provided. This blog provides a brief summary.

With the need for a new human relationship with the rest of nature and growing interest in a policy context (e.g. the 25YEP), population measures of nature connectedness are needed. Although a range of measures for nature connectedness are available, none of these measures would be suitable for use in a national survey context due to the number, length, and complexity of item wording. Nor are these measures suitable for use with both adults and children, which would be necessary to allow patterns across the lifespan to be monitored and offer the potential for longitudinal research. To meet the need for population level data on nature connectedness, a collaboration of partners developed a short, simple measure suitable for use with both children and adults. The new measure, the Nature Connection Index (NCI), was developed and tested through use in the existing omnibus survey the MENE survey, which has accredited National Statistic status in the UK.

During development of the Nature Connectedness Index (NCI) item selection considered people’s affective and experiential relationship with nature. A framework to inform the item themes within the NCI was provided by the pathways to nature connectedness: emotion, beauty, contact, meaning and compassion.  A weighted points index was developed so that the index ran from zero to a maximum score of 100 in line with expectations for a national indicator approach. This improved dispersion, producing more even percentiles and differentiation in the middle range. A spreadsheet that converts raw scores to the weighted index is avialable via the link below. More detail of the development process is available in the paper.

The six items of the NCI (answered on a 7-point response scale, “completely agree” to “completely disagree”) – full PDF version with scoring spreadsheet:

1—I always find beauty in nature

2—I always treat nature with respect

3—Being in nature makes me very happy

4—Spending time in nature is very important to me

5—I find being in nature really amazing

6—I feel part of nature

The MENE data included responses from 3568 adults aged 16 to 95 years (mean age was 49.98 years; SD = 20.05; 1826 female respondents and 1742 male respondents) and 351 children aged 7 to 15 years with 177 female respondents and 174 males. Females scored significantly higher (64.21, SD = 27.36) than males (57.96, SD = 28.08). The mean NCI for the non-Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population was 60.60 (SD = 27.81; n = 2761) and 63.06 (SD = 28.06; n = 807) for the BAME population.

The data revealed the NCI worked as a measure of nature connectedness for both children and adults and revealed some key insights. Firstly, the mean level across the population (61) and a sharp dip in connection with nature into the teenage years, with a slow recovery to the adult population mean at around 30 years old – see the chart below. This is significant as a great deal of focus is on children’s disconnect from nature, we now know when that begins and how long the recovery takes.

Mean nature connectedness scores across the lifespan

The size and suddenness of the drop in levels of nature connectedness from 10 to 15 years of age is notable. Although cross-sectional, rather than longitudinal, it seems likely that the profile represents developmental changes or situational factors, rather than transitory events affecting children born between the years 2000 and 2008. Adolescence is a time of many developmental changes, the development of self-identity and the emotional regulation required for successful social relationships. The self is a key aspect of nature connectedness and lower nature connectedness is related to difficulties in emotional regulation. Identity formation sees childhood characteristics merge with emerging adolescent traits, and is theorized to consist of a series of stages alongside coping with, for example, physical growth, group acceptance, love, and career choices. It may be that during this time, nature and one’s connection with nature, may lose relevance and importance. We know that greater interest in the self, e.g. through ‘selfie taking’ is linked to lower nature connectedness. At a time of disconnect, perhaps schools should be sharing the 5 Ways to Natural Well-being and how moving beyond ones self and tapping into the secret network of nature can help manage emotions in order to feel good and function well. With the added bonus of bringing about increases in pro-nature behaviours.

How do teenage kicks relate to the teenage dip?

Moving on to situational factors, children within the UK sample are also subject to external changes, such as the move from a primary to secondary school environment. This transition matches the timing of the drop in nature connectedness well. At secondary school there is a swift focus on GCSE grades and the ‘core’ academic subjects such as English, maths and science. Science can bring about an abstraction of nature as its parts become labels, functional units within processes to be learnt. Research shows that a science and knowledge based relationship with nature is not a pathway to connectedness. Nature, and critically the human relationship with it, needs to be core within the curriculum, through science, humanities and the arts. Finally, outside of school, children change their use and requirements of nature and natural spaces as they grow older. For example, natural environments such as woodlands can provide opportunities for developing a sense of identity, but this is can be poorly understood and tolerated by the local community, landowners and managers.

Further research is required to identify the factors found to be associated with the adolescent disconnect. This will inform efforts to prevent the decline or facilitate re-connection. Such efforts to improve nature connectedness can be based on activities that operationalise the pathways to nature connectedness, such as our ‘3 Good Things in Nature’ intervention. It has been found nature connectedness can be increased by including affective elements in outdoor education programs (Braun & Dierkes, 2017), whereas a more traditional outdoors adventure program did not increase nature connectedness (Williams et al., 2018). The drop in nature connectedness cannot be solely addressed by occasional education programs though, given the climate emergency the solution needs to be a core and everyday topic delivered within greener school grounds designed to create habitats for connection. Given the recent school strikes for climate regular follow-up surveys can help track changes in the profile across the lifespan.

The research also provides insight into how strong nature connectedness needs to be to deliver the pro-environmental benefits required for a sustainable future. The table below shows the most straightforward behavior, recycling, is associated with a relatively modest NCI of 63, just above the population mean. Whereas the NCI of the 5% of people giving up their time to volunteer to help the environment is 76. The correlation between percentage of participation in the ten behaviors and the NCI of those participating was 0.97. This suggests that the behaviors requiring greater commitment (resulting in less participation) are strongly associated with greater NCI.

Mean NCI and participation in pro-environmental behaviors captured by MENE.

Differences between yes and no responses were all significant – meaning those involved in pro-environmental behaviours have a significantly closer connection with nature. Finally, those that strongly agree with the statement “I am concerned about damage to the natural environment” scored a mean NCI of 76. Finally, those with the maximum NCI score of one hundred were significantly happier, more satisfied with life, and less anxious, than those scoring below the maximum.

In sum, the research found the NCI to be a reliable and valid scale that offers a short, simple alternative to other measures of nature connectedness, particularly for populations including both children and adults, measured face to face or online. The utility of the NCI for exploring key issues for a sustainable future is also supported by the associations with various pro-environmental behaviors. Importantly, the NCI also provides a tool that can be used to reveal changes in nature connectedness across the lifespan. With the critical global issues of climate change and biodiversity loss symptomatic of human disconnection with nature, there is a growing interest in understanding and improving people’s connection to nature. As always more research is required, but time is tight. For now the data suggests a mean NCI above 70 is a minimum required to help deliver a sustainable future. That’s at least 15% above the current mean level of 61, with a 25% increase to 76 associated with the meaningful attitudes and behaviours that would make a sustainable future more acceptable and likely. Increases of this magnitude have been delivered (using the NCI and other measures) through 30 Days Wild, the engagement campaign run each June by the Wildlife Trusts. This approach delivers the best results for those that start out with lower nature connectedness, but they are less likely to take part. With the right approach, nature connectedness can be increased, but ways to reach none nature lovers are urgently needed.

Project partners: Natural England, Historic England, National Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and The Wildlife Trusts.

Richardson, M., Hunt, A., Hinds, J., Bragg, R., Fido, D., Petronzi, D. Barbett, L., Clitherow, T. and White, M. (2019). A Measure of Nature Connectedness for Children and Adults: Validation, Performance, and Insights. Sustainability. 11(12), 3250; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11123250

The role of nature in the regulation of emotions is often overlooked despite evidence that people seek out nature for the regulation of emotions and evidence that restoration-based accounts do not explain all the well-being benefits derived from nature. My latest paper considers how nature helps manage our emotions for wellbeing and what it means for urban design. The paper was published recently in the journal Ecopsychology and the final version is available from the journal, or the pre-review version is available here for free. If you don’t fancy reading all 5000 words and the wider evidence to support the account of health and well-being benefits of nature through balancing emotions, this blog provides a brief introduction.

To help deliver programmes to improve well-being through nature there is a need to understand the mechanisms for the benefits. This allows various stakeholders to understand and promote the well-being benefits of nature and develop effective interventions such as green and social prescriptions. More widely, in the context of the crisis in biodiversity, it is important to provide narratives that show that nature matters for human well-being. To complement restorative theories and to aid the understanding and dissemination of nature’s role in the successful regulation of emotions required for well-being, the article provides an account of the health benefits humans derive from the natural world based on maintaining well-being through emotional balance.

It’s important to remember that emotions aren’t just feelings and by-products of life, they are fundamental features of human function. Features of our nervous system, heart and brain. As different emotions come and go, they shape and direct what we do. Regulating emotions is a very important and almost constant function of human life. It helps us respond to and deal with everyday demands in an appropriate way. Research shows that our ability to keep our emotions regulated is important for well-being.

The three-circle model of emotion regulation (see below) was developed by Gilbert (2005; 2014). As a model, it is a simplification of complex physiological processes, but it is useful to explain how the regulation of emotions are related to well-being. Given the context of wellbeing and the wider natural world, the model has been adapted with elements of nature used to represent both the three types of emotion (see drive, contentment and threat below) and the emotions nature may evoke. This is intended to provide an accessible model that helps explains how exposure to, and a connection with the natural world affects our emotional regulation and mood.

The three dimensions of our emotion regulation system are represented by 3 circles. Described below by a falcon for drive. A bird at rest for calm. And a wild boar for threat. Each day we can experience threat (the boar), drive (the falcon) and contentment (the bird). Each circle brings different feelings such as anxiety (the boar), joy (the falcon), and calm (the bird). Each circle also brings different motivations such as avoid (the boar), pursue (the falcon) and rest (the bird). The circle of arrows represents the interplay between the emotions. The arrows to the side summarise how the model can explain the positive physiological responses found from exposure to nature. Namely, measured responses to forest bathing, awe inspiring natural beauty, and viewing beautiful roses.

For wellbeing we need a balance between the three circles. Feeling good and functioning well comes through balancing threat, drive and contentment. Sometimes theses emotions become unbalanced. Perhaps if we’re constantly driven and pressured to do well at work or school, with little time for calm, rest and connection with friends. This can reduce our positive emotions and our threat response can become overactive. We can become anxious when simply receiving an email from the boss for example. Many of us know that time in nature after a difficult day is beneficial.

Through helping balance our moods, nature helps maintain positive emotions through greater resilience and enhanced immune function, therefore also providing a mechanism to explain the long-term benefits of nature exposure.  The model, and underpinning research, also highlight the interconnectedness between people and the rest of nature, fitting a wider narrative about human embeddedness in the ecosystem.

In an increasingly urban world with growing demands on health services, public health can be improved through relational thinking about people and nature. With policies on green prescriptions and improving urban green infrastructure for well-being, it is important to provide explanatory mechanisms that can inform policy and planning. Theories of well-being based purely on restoration can suggest short-term public health interventions and the provision of pockets of green space  to enable urban dwellers to receive a dose of nature. This can result in the continuation of a culture of occasional visits to special green spaces and traditional relationships with nature that have failed and seen a decline in the state of nature – rather than developing a deeper, more sustainable, relationship with nature.

Understanding how exposure to nature impacts our bodies and how this links through to mental well-being helps establish the types of activities in nature that are most beneficial. Exposure to nature is emotional – emotion is the constant companion of sensation with feelings, rather than thoughts coming first when we encounter it. Such knowledge and models can guide us, for example in the types of natural spaces we provide for people – moving from green spaces, to green places where a soothing contentment in nature can be found. Realising we can move beyond identifying nature to finding joy and calm – and balance in nature.

The paper suggests that there is a need for regular and sustained engagement with nature within biodiverse spaces to maintain well-being and resilience. This has wider implications, from the need for networks of green corridors to help reverse the decline in biodiversity to cultural aspects of green cities, such as moving beyond exposure to purposefully engaging with nature (e.g. urban equivalents of forest-bathing and symbolic celebrations of nature across the seasons).

Further still, this approach can inform well-being beyond cities, the importance of beautiful and awe inspiring landscapes, and their role in emotional regulation and wellness. As an established model, the three-circle based account provides a convincing, yet easily accessible narrative, to help influence decision makers and inform practitioners of the longer-term benefits of nature and human interconnectedness with nature. Given the crises in both mental well-being and planetary health, narratives that show nature matters are important as we seek to develop a new relationship between people and the rest of the natural world.

PS – There is also a story of our evolution to be told. The branches of the nervous system can be linked to different evolutionary responses. For example, visceral reptiles simply responding to threats and opportunities to the more evolved self-soothing and social behaviours of mammals. This provides a link between time in nature, physiological state, emotions, psychological experience and social behaviour.

Gilbert, P. ed. (2005). Compassion: Conceptualisations, research and use in psychotherapy. Routledge, Hove.

Gilbert, P. (2014). The origins and nature of compassion focused therapy. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 53, 6-41.

Our 5th Interdisciplinary Conference, Nature Connections 2019 takes place Tuesday 2 July 2019 at the University of Derby and the NCx2019 Draft Programme is now available. Thirty talks and a range of posters will share the latest projects involved with engaging people with nature and present research evidence on the links between nature connectedness, well-being and pro-nature behaviours. These will include important findings from a large scale population survey and a world first for pro-nature conservation behaviours! Key themes will include:

• Nature connection in practice
• Lifespan and Children’s Connection
• Connecting with Nature through Art
• Mental health and well-being
• Tools and Policy

Our keynotes speakers are Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE and Marian Spain, Interim Chief Executive of Natural England. We then move into a couple of key talks, the first sharing results from a large scale national survey which shows how nature contact and nature connectedness differ, but work together to bring health, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours.

Given the positive news about the benefits of nature connectedness we’ll move onto the next step, improving people nature connection with a talk from the National Trust about applying the University of Derby’s pathways to nature connectedness. This will show how nature-based activities can be designed and delivered to improve nature connection for different types of people, in different types of spaces, and in different contexts.

The draft programme is subject to change, but at present the first of two parallel sessions will consider a key emerging topic, nature connection through the arts. From nature-based art interventions for engaging the public to how drawing can improve nature connectedness. This session will also include the role of technology and of museums in nature connectedness and living and ageing well before travelling the linescapes of Britain with Hugh Warwick.

The second parallel session will consider nature connectedness in children and across the lifespan. It opens with more detail from the Nature Connection Index project, including the dramatic  ‘teenage dip’ in nature connectedness. A topic expanded on by the RSPB’s Joelene Hughes and co-authors. We’ll then hear from a large scale evaluation of a green space educational programme and how nature connection and wellbeing can be delivered to children in an urban environment. This will be complemented by an extended framework for practitioners before closing by considering how age and gender affect nature connections and pro-environmental behaviours of urban youth.

One session will cover tools delegates may find of use and a world first! A new scale to measure pro-nature conservation behaviours – amazingly all existing scales look at carbon footprint focussed pro-environmental behaviours, so a great addition as the scale of biodiversity loss becomes more apparent. They’ll also be Greenkeeper – an online toolkit for valuing the multiple benefits of urban green spaces and more on standardising images for nature related research. The RSPB will also share their work on ENACT, a tool for evaluating nature activities for connection.

After the lunchtime poster session, one parallel session will consider young people’s engagement with a semi-wild, disused space and an ethnographic study of a fast-track nature reconnection practice. Prof. Helen Lomax then considers farmers and families connections to landscapes. Finally, there are talks on rewilding people and places, and how nature work develops interconnectedness, compassion, cooperation, and responsibility.

The second parallel session covers mental health and well-being. Delegates will hear how the nature connectedness intervention of noticing the good things in nature can improve wellbeing and mood in people recovering from depression and anxiety. Potential mechanisms for those benefits, namely managing our moods, will then be considered. Dr Rachel Bragg will talk about the growing care farming project – nature connection and green care in policy. We then move onto mindfulness and whether the natural environment enhances its effectiveness for stress reduction. Finally, the relationship between psychopathic traits and nature connectedness will be introduced.

The final parallel session covers the value of NHS green space for workplace wellbeing and nature connection, mental health, and environmental sustainability mind-sets in West Wales. Prof Marcus Grace will introduce the “wonder of nature” project which blended cognitive and emotional approaches to engagement before a post-qualitative narrative of (co) emergence.

As ever, it’s a full and fast moving programme, with plenty of breaks and opportunities to catch-up with speakers and other delegates. If you want to know what nature connectedness matters and how to improve it, book a place at Nature Connections 2019!

A guest blog by Alison Pritchard – Nature Connectedness Research Group PhD Student

We have all, at times, felt different emotions when we get close to nature. Depending on our circumstances, and the types of places we visit, our relationship with nature can make us feel happy and joyful, contented and thoughtful, or overawed and full of wonder. Or any mixture of these! But how often do we consider the possibility that, as well as making us feel good, nature may also be important for our psychological functioning?

Our latest paper, just published in the Journal of Happiness Studies provides a review of 50 research studies, involving 16,396 people and the links between their connection with nature and two types of happiness – feeling good and functioning well.

Positive emotions are a reflection of what is known as ‘hedonic wellbeing’, which relates to feeling good, the pleasantness of our experiences, and the extent to which our desires are fulfilled.  Also important for our wellbeing is our ability to function well psychologically – which is often referred to as ‘eudaimonic wellbeing’.  Eudaimonic wellbeing includes factors such as autonomy, self-acceptance, meaning and purpose in life, and personal growth.

We know that eudaimonic wellbeing is related to, but distinct from, hedonic wellbeing (eudaimonia and hedonia tend to be associated with different motives, behaviours and experiences), and both types of wellbeing are important: people with high levels of both types of wellbeing are considered to be flourishing.  Understanding how these different types of wellbeing relate to nature connection is important if we are to gain a complete picture of any possible causal mechanisms involved.

Our recent meta-analysis (Pritchard et al 2019) has shown that connection to nature in adults is associated with higher levels of eudaimonic wellbeing. Thus, individuals who are connected to nature are more likely to be flourishing and functioning well psychologically. Although it is not possible to infer causation from the results of a meta-analysis, this finding may help guide us towards possible mechanisms involved.  For example, nature connection may benefit eudaimonic wellbeing because it provides a route through which basic psychological needs – such as autonomy, competence and relatedness – can be met.  In this way the basic psychological need for relatedness could be met by being with nature, which in turn is known to increase feelings of connectedness to nature.

In relation to the need for autonomy, nature could be a route through which individuals are enabled to express their personal distinctiveness, and not feel constrained by external influences such as the values imposed by society.  Ridder’s (2005) concept of a ‘nature-inspired autonomy’ describes the importance of recognising the value of naturalness as a means of gaining a personal sense of freedom and escaping from the dissatisfaction caused by extrinsic influences of society.

Competence needs could be met through learning about natural environments and ecosystems, as well as through enhanced self-knowledge and self-development gained from being connected to nature.  Outdoor learning, outdoor play and wilderness expeditions have all been linked with improved well-being, cognition, personal, social and emotional development, as well as higher achievement and increased motivation to learn

In the meta-analysis, one aspect of eudaimonic wellbeing – personal growth – appeared to have a significantly stronger relationship with nature connectedness than the other types of eudaimonic wellbeing (e.g purpose in life and autonomy).  What are we to make of this finding? If nature connectedness in adults is associated with their personal growth, how much more important could nature connection be for children’s growth and development?  It has been speculated that there may be a window of opportunity in childhood for connecting to nature, similar to the window of opportunity for language development.  If this is the case, the consequences for nature disconnection in childhood could be long-term, and not easily repaired by experiences in adulthood. Kellert (2002) lamented the possibility that we live in “a society so estranged from its natural origins that it has failed to recognise our species’ basic dependence on nature as a condition of growth and development.”

How could we explain a relationship between nature connection and personal growth? Personal growth is concerned with self-realisation and is akin to Maslow’s concept of self-actualisation and self-transcendence. The uplifting experiences we experience in nature do not leave us unchanged: emotions such as awe and wonder, which are often associated with transcendent experiences, could be a key influence in the relationship between nature connection and personal growth. Awe has been defined as ‘an emotional response to perceptually vast stimuli that overwhelm current mental structures, yet facilitate attempts as accommodation’ (Shiota et al. 2007, p 944). Thus, the sense of awe felt in nature could lead to an expansion in individuals’ mental structures and frames of reference, as well as an expanded sense of self, and so foster personal growth.

Kellert, S. R. (2002). Experiencing nature: Affective, cognitive and evaluative development in children. In P. H. Kahn, & S. R. Kellert (Eds.), Children and nature: Psychological, sociocultural, and evolutionary investigations (pp.117-151). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Pritchard, A., Richardson, M., Sheffield, D., & McEwan, K. (2019). The Relationship Between Nature Connectedness and Eudaimonic Well-Being: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-23.

Ridder, B. (2005). Reorienting environmentalism to nature-inspired-autonomy. Griffith Journal of the Environment, 1, 1–26.

Shiota, M. N., Keltner, D., & Mossman, A. (2007). The nature of awe: Elicitors, appraisals, and effects on self-concept. Cognition and Emotion, 21, 944-963.

Last week saw the publication of a landmark health-check of life on Earth. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystems. It was compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries over the past three years, with inputs from another 310 contributing authors. The report assesses changes over the past five decades based on the systematic review of around 15,000 scientific and government sources. The report contains many findings about the decline of the natural world, for example:

• Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history.
• One million species are threatened with extinction with ‘grave impacts on people around the world now likely’.
• Three-quarters of the land-based environment and about 66% of the marine environment has been significantly altered by human actions.
• Plastic pollution has increased tenfold since 1980.
• Human actions threaten more species with global extinction now than ever before.

The report notes that “nature is essential for human existence and good quality of life. That most of nature’s contributions to people are not fully replaceable, and some are irreplaceable.” Yet, nature has been significantly exploited by people and the drivers of change have accelerated over recent decades, “with the great majority of indicators of ecosystems and biodiversity showing rapid decline”. Clearly, the dominant human relationship with nature has been one of utility and control; food and homes are needed for a rapidly growing population. We have exploited the natural world to build our modern world, but nature is essential for life and is in decline. The report notes that nature is declining less rapidly in the land of indigenous peoples, those with a closer connection to the natural world perhaps.

The goals for conserving and sustainably using nature cannot be met with the existing relationship with nature. Transformative changes are required across economic, social, political and technological factors to develop a new relationship. To foster transformative change towards sustainability the report notes (Section D3: Summary for policy makers) that efforts need to be directed at key leverage points – where these efforts can yield exceptionally large effects. These key levers are:

• visions of a good life
• total consumption and waste
• values and action: unleashing existing widely held values of responsibility to effect new social norms for sustainability, especially by extending notions of responsibility to include impacts associated with consumption
• inequalities
• justice and inclusion in conservation
• externalities and telecouplings
• technology, innovation and investment
• Education and knowledge: promoting education, knowledge generation and maintenance of different knowledge systems, including the sciences and indigenous and local knowledge regarding nature, conservation and its sustainable use.

Nature connectedness, and the work of the Nature Connectedness Research Group at the University of Derby, can inform several of these key efforts. Nature connectedness helps describe our current relationship with nature and the social context. We can measure it. We’ve developed interventions to improve it. We know it’s associated with a good life. It’s associated with values and actions that link through to consumption and waste. It can help examine the value-action gap. It’s inclusive and accessible across the population. It can inform innovative new approaches to urban infrastructure. To foster nature connectedness research shows that the focus of education needs to change.

In a recent interview on BBC Radio 4’s Costing the Earth, Sir Bob Watson, lead scientist of the report, said we need to ask how do we become more in tune with nature? What makes us happy? How do we relate to nature? How do we enjoy nature? The science of nature connectedness can help answer these questions. We know that the ‘pathways to nature connection’ developed at Derby can help people tune in. As can our ‘3 Good Things in Nature’ intervention. We know from our work on the 30 Days Wild campaign and on the Improving Wellbeing through Urban Nature project that improved nature connectedness brings happiness – two types of happiness, both feeling good and functioning well as shown in our recently published systematic review. Our research has also shown that increased nature connectedness is associated with pro-nature behaviours. Were developing the first measure of pro-nature conservation behaviours. The work of others has shown that nature connectedness explains 30 times more pro-nature behavior than knowledge based environmental education. We need to live and foster a closer relationship, a new relationship, a tuned in and happier relationship with the rest of nature.

Our new relationship with nature needs to recognize that we are incredibly integrated into the ecosystems and connected to the secret network of nature. We can’t survive without it. We’re happier when tuned in to it. We need to accept that we have destroyed much of the natural world and that the dominant exploitative relationship with nature has failed. The answer lies, not in looking back, but forward to a new relationship with nature incorporated into decision-making, business, agriculture, social and cultural life – into every part of our lives because it is our lives. A new social norm of deep nature connectedness based on tuning in with the senses, letting nature manage our emotions and well-being, cultural celebrations of the meaning and beauty of nature – and above all treating nature with respect. Research shows that these are the pathways to nature connectedness, the types of relationship needed for nature’s recovery.