Finding Nature

The Tune into Nature Music Prize is back for 2026. With a first prize of £500, the prize aims to encourage submissions of original music from young musicians aged 18 to 30 that celebrate the human-nature relationship and showcase the inclusion of sounds of the natural world.

You can find out all you need to know about the prize, new partners, opportunities for winners and judges on the new website: https://www.tuneintonaturemusicprize.info/

Last year’s joint winners were 23-year-old Josephine Illingworth, whose track titled ‘Dawn’ was made from sounds collected from mountain huts across the Dolomites, while the lyrics were taken from entries in the guestbooks from visitors.

The second winning track, Nightingale by Wildforms, aka Dan Cippico, turned bird song into a drum and bass track. The winners were featured on BBC Radio and in The Guardian.

Nine other artists were shortlisted for the Prize, including a range of genres from Hip Hop, Rock and Pop to Jazz, Folk and Classical, showing the universal appeal and relevance of nature as a source of inspiration and connection. Here’s a playlist of their and the winners’ tracks.

The 2026 winner will have the option of their track being released on NATURE’s profile across major streaming platforms as part of the Sounds Right initiative, benefiting from significant promotion and marketing, and featured on a special playlist to raise funds for nature restoration and protection.

From Louis Armstrong to Louis VI, a Tune into Nature play list on Spotify provides inspiration, with lyrics and sounds that celebrate the natural world. The playlist also include previous winners Ceitidh Mac, Girl Next Door  and Caslean.

Alongside the University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group, the competition is backed by a collaboration of recognised environmental-loving organisations including Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Voice for Nature, EarthPercent and Sounds Right.

In the face of climate change and biodiversity loss, IPBES has called for transformative change—a deep shift in how societies relate to nature. One of the most powerful levers for that change is nature connectedness: the extent to which people feel emotionally and cognitively part of the natural world. But what are the societal factors that shape our relationship with nature?

Our latest research, published in Ambio and reported in The Guardian, takes a unique global perspective to help answer that question. Based on an analysis of data from over 60 countries and nearly 57,000 people (an impressive feat by the BINS survey team) it reveals that many nations are falling short. Nature connectedness isn’t just low in a few places; it’s systematically lower in wealthier, more urbanised, and business-oriented societies. And that matters, because nature connectedness is linked to our wellbeing, pro-environmental behaviour, and ultimately, the health of our planet.

To understand why this disconnect exists, we examined a wide range of macro-level factors—both tangible objective indicators (like urbanisation, biodiversity, and ease of doing business) and cultural subjective values (like spirituality, attitudes toward science, and views on societal change). The analysis combined statistical modelling, network analysis, and theoretical interpretation to identify which societal conditions and shared values are most strongly associated with nature connectedness. The results offer a compelling picture of how modern life shapes our relationship with nature—and where we might intervene to restore it.

What Shapes Our Relationship with Nature?

The findings show that urbanisation and ease of doing business are the strongest negative predictors of nature connectedness. These factors reflect a societal orientation toward efficiency, growth, and infrastructure—often at the expense of nature contact and biodiversity.

On the other hand, spirituality and a belief that society relies too heavily on science over faith emerged as the strongest positive predictors. These values suggest that nature connectedness flourishes where people seek deeper meaning and maintain a sense of reverence or emotional resonance with the natural world.

Interestingly, environmental organisation membership had little impact. This points to a deeper issue: nature connectedness is not just about what we do, but how we feel, think, and value our place in the living world.

A Global Pattern: The Disconnect of the Developed World

The rankings below tell a clear story. Countries like Nepal, Iran, and South Africa top the list for nature connectedness. Meanwhile, many affluent nations—including Germany, Canada, Japan, and the UK—sit near the bottom. The UK ranks 55th out of 61.

Nature Connection Rankings

This isn’t just about geography or climate. It’s about culture, values, and systems. The global north tends to prioritise economic growth, technological advancement, and urban living—factors that, while hugely beneficial in many ways, appear to erode our relationship with nature.

So, what can we do about it?

Introducing the ‘X’ Model: Four Forces to Target for Change

To help make sense of these findings, I developed a new conceptual framework—shaped like an ‘X’—to represent the key macro-level influences on nature connectedness. Each point of the X reflects a distinct force:

1. Urban Nature: The impact of urbanisation and access to biodiversity. Cities often reduce direct contact with nature, but thoughtful design can restore it.
2. Socio-economics: The influence of business systems, economic structures, and societal priorities. Ease of doing business was the strongest negative correlate—suggesting that pro-business regulations may come at the cost of ecological balance.
3. Spirituality: The human search for meaning and connection beyond the material world. Countries with higher spiritual values tend to have stronger nature connectedness.
4. Sci-tech Attitudes: The cultural balance between science and faith. A society that leans too heavily on technical solutions may overlook the emotional and existential dimensions of our relationship with nature.

The ‘X’ Model: Four Dimensions of Nature Connection

These forces interact in complex ways. The top half of the X—Urban Nature and Socio-economics—represents the outer world of infrastructure and policy. The bottom half—Spirituality and Sci-tech Attitudes—represents the inner world of values and beliefs.

Beyond the X: Towards Integration and Meaning

 Tangible Systems, Intangible Needs

The ‘X’ Model highlights four macro forces shaping our relationship with nature—but the real challenge lies in how we integrate them. Urban Nature and Socio-economics reflect the tangible systems we build. Yet these systems often lack space for the intangible: spirituality, reverence, and meaning.

Sacred Urban Nature

Urban design must move beyond access to nature and toward nature-based neighbourhoods that bring engagement and meaning. This raises a deeper question: can urban nature be sacred? We respect cemeteries as places of rest, yet rarely extend that reverence to the places where nature lives. Initiatives like the Rights of Nature, which grant legal personhood to ecosystems, offer one way to bridge this divide—embedding spiritual and ethical value into the very fabric of urban planning.

Nature in Economic Systems

This also invites a rethinking of business and economics. If ease of doing business is a key factor in disconnection, then models that integrate nature into decision-making—such as biodiversity net gain or nature representation on company boards—can help shift the system. These approaches begin to treat nature not as a resource, but as a stakeholder.

Techno-Spiritual Futures

Sci-tech Attitudes and Spirituality pose a different challenge. As science and technology become ever more embedded in our socio-economic and urban systems, they increasingly shape how we live, think, and relate. But will they become a powerful source of meaning far removed from the natural world? How might spirituality evolve in a world of artificial intelligence and synthetic biology?

Reimagining Science and Spirit

This is not about choosing between science and spirit, but about reimagining their relationship. A techno-spiritual synthesis could help societies reconnect with nature—not by retreating from progress, but by infusing it with purpose. Concepts like sacred ecology, embodied design, and relational technologies may offer pathways forward—where innovation is guided not just by efficiency, but by empathy and reverence.

Rethinking Metrics and Meaning

The study also found that Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) scores are negatively correlated with nature connectedness. That’s a problem. If our sustainability metrics are anthropocentric and don’t reflect a relationship with nature, they are missing a crucial point.

A Framework for Thinking Differently

The ‘X’ Model offers a starting point. It’s not a final answer, but a framework for thinking differently.

Richardson, M., Lengieza, M., White, M. P., Tran, U. S., Voracek, M., Stieger, S., & Swami, V. (2025). Macro-level determinants of Nature Connectedness: An exploratory analysis of 61 countries. Ambio.

We often hear that spending time in nature is good for our mental health. But in our quest to quantify the natural world—counting trees and measuring canopy cover—we may be missing something vital. Our latest research paper published in People and Nature suggests that it’s not the number of trees that matters most, but how we feel about them. People who perceived their local treescapes as rich and varied reported better wellbeing and less psychological distress, regardless of how many trees were actually there. In our urge to measure and count, we often overlook the immeasurable—our feelings, perceptions, and connections with nature. We become so focused on the trees, we miss the wellbeing in the woodland.

This research goes beyond the usual “access to more green is better” message by showing that it’s not just the number of trees or hedgerows that matters, but how people experience and relate to them. It’s both opportunity to access and orientation to engage that matter. This has important implications for how we plan, protect, and talk about our local green spaces.

What Did the Study Do?

We surveyed over 1,300 adults living near three major treescape initiatives in the UK: The National Forest, The Mersey Forest, and Brecon Beacons National Park. Participants were asked about their mental wellbeing, life satisfaction, happiness, stress and anxiety. They were also asked how rich they thought their local treescapes were—whether there were many trees and hedgerows, a variety of species, and different sizes and ages of trees.

To complement these perceptions, the team used satellite data to measure actual tree cover and hedgerow length around each person’s home. A statistical model was then built to explore how these objective and subjective measures of treescapes related to mental health, while also considering other factors like nature connectedness, satisfaction with the local environment, and how often people visited nature.

Key Findings: Perception Is Powerful

The headline finding? People who felt their local treescapes were richer—more trees, more variety—had better wellbeing and lower psychological distress. And this wasn’t just a vague association. The perception of treescape richness had significant positive effects on all four measures of positive mental health (wellbeing, life satisfaction, happiness, and eudaimonia) and on measures of distress (depression/anxiety/stress and anxiety alone).

Interestingly, the actual number of trees or hedgerows nearby didn’t have the same consistent impact. Objective measures like tree cover density and hedgerow length were only weakly linked to mental health, and mostly through indirect pathways.

How Do Trees Help? Through Connection and Experience

The study found that perceptions of treescape richness influenced mental health through three key pathways:

1. Nature Satisfaction – People who saw their treescapes as rich were more satisfied with the natural environment near their homes.
2. Nature Visits – They were more likely to go out and spend time in nature.
3. Nature Connectedness – They felt more emotionally connected to nature.

Each of these experiences was linked to better mental health. For example, higher nature satisfaction was associated with greater happiness and lower anxiety. More frequent nature visits were linked to lower levels of depression and stress. And while nature connectedness was generally positive, the study did find a surprising twist: it was also associated with slightly higher levels of distress, possibly because people with anxiety or depression may well seek out nature more often as a coping strategy. Afterall, we know nature helps manage our emotions.

Childhood Nature Exposure Matters Too

We also looked at whether growing up around nature made a difference. It did. People who had more contact with trees and nature as children tended to have better mental health as adults. But again, this effect was mostly indirect—through their adult experiences of nature and how they perceived their local treescapes.

Implications: Planning for Perception

So, what does this mean for how we manage our neighbourhoods and treescapes? It means we need to think beyond planting more trees. Yes, tree cover matters—but how people perceive and relate to those trees matters more for mental health. A single, well-loved tree might do more for wellbeing than a dozen unnoticed ones. Variety, visibility, and emotional connection are key.

This has implications for urban planning, community engagement, and even how we talk about trees. Local authorities should consider not just the ecological value of trees, but their social and psychological value. That means involving communities in decisions about tree planting, protection, and removal. It means recognising that treescapes are not just green infrastructure—they’re part of our emotional landscape.

A Rich Treescape Is a Healthy One

Ultimately, this study adds weight to the idea that nature isn’t just something we visit—it’s something we live with, something we feel and ultimately something we’re part of. Our relationships with trees are personal, emotional, and deeply connected to our wellbeing. A rich treescape isn’t just about biodiversity—it’s about people flourishing as part of that ecology.

So next time you walk through your neighbourhood, take a moment to notice the trees. Their presence, variety, and beauty might be doing more for your mental health than you realise.

Back in 2012, I came up with the idea of Three Good Things in Nature (3GTiN)—a nature-based twist on the popular positive psychology intervention Three Good Things (3GT). Since then, several papers have explored its benefits, but our latest study, published in the International Journal of Wellbeing, offers the most comprehensive comparison yet – plus some unexpected benefits.

We ran a preregistered study with 330 participants, randomly assigning them to either the standard 3GT or the nature-focused 3GTiN intervention. For one week, participants noted three good things each day—either general good things (3GT) or good things noticed in everyday nature (3GTiN). We measured a range of wellbeing and nature-related outcomes before and after the intervention.

The headline result? 3GTiN was statistically equivalent to 3GT in boosting emotional balance and life satisfaction. That’s important—it means that simply noticing good things in nature is just as effective as the well-established 3GT intervention in improving these core aspects of wellbeing.

Plus, as expected, engagement in 3GTiN also increased nature connectedness, which emerged as a strong predictor of intention to engage in pro-environmental behaviour. This matters. While traditional wellbeing interventions focus on personal benefit, 3GTiN offers a pathway to planetary wellbeing too. It’s a regenerative approach—supporting both people and the planet.

But what’s even more compelling are the additional benefits of 3GTiN.

Participants in the 3GTiN condition only reported significantly greater ‘transcendent connectedness’—a sense of being connected to nature, but also other humans and to life itself. This is a powerful finding. In a world where disconnection is increasingly common, especially in urban and digital environments, a simple daily nature noticing practice can help people feel more part of something bigger.

Those in the 3GTiN group also experienced more elevation—a composite emotion that includes feeling deeply appreciative, profoundly touched, and morally uplifted. These kinds of self-transcendent emotions are linked to greater pro-social and pro-environmental motivations. In other words, noticing nature doesn’t just make us feel good—it can make us better people.

Interestingly, these benefits weren’t due to participants spending more time in nature. The gains came from simply paying attention to the nature already present in their daily lives. This aligns with our earlier work showing that moments, not minutes, in nature are what matter most for wellbeing.

When we looked at what participants actually noticed in nature during the 3GTiN intervention, the richness of everyday nature stood out. Across more than 5,000 entries, people highlighted flora—trees, flowers, and leaves—over 1,100 times, closely followed by wildlife, such as birds. Weather was another frequent source of joy, with mentions of rain, breezes, and snowfall appearing over 1,000 times. The sun and sky were celebrated too, from warm sunlight to cloud patterns and starry nights. These themes show that nature’s “good things” are everywhere, even in ordinary settings, and noticing them can spark appreciation and wonder. It’s a reminder that connection doesn’t require wilderness—just attention to the life around us.

In the 3GT group, most people mentioned nature at least once in their responses, but overall 88% of the good things were not nature related. The dominant themes—making up over 70% of responses—were work or study, food, socialising, entertainment, daily living, and physical activity. So, while socialising was a popular topic, it didn’t translate into feeling more connected to others. This contrast highlights a key finding: simply listing good things from our more human lives doesn’t foster the deeper sense of connection that noticing nature does.

In sum, 3GTiN is a simple, accessible intervention that boosts wellbeing, deepens connection, and nudges people toward caring for the natural world. It’s a small daily act with big potential. As one participant put it, “The more I was asked to think about the good things in nature, the more I had intentions to protect the environment.”

That’s the kind of shift we need.

Following our previous handbooks, which offer an introduction to connecting people with nature, and helping organisations and communities connect with nature, we are delighted to launch our newest guide – Nature Connection in Schools, a comprehensive and practical resource designed to help educators foster meaningful relationships between children and the natural world.

In a time of rising childhood mental health challenges and environmental crises, this guide offers a hopeful and evidence-based response. It draws on the latest research to show how nature connection can support emotional wellbeing, resilience, and pro-environmental behaviours in children. More than just outdoor play, nature connection is about cultivating a deep, emotional bond with the natural world—one that enhances both personal and planetary health.

The handbook is tailored for teachers, school leaders, governors, and early years practitioners. It provides:

• A clear explanation of what nature connection is and why it matters.
• Practical steps and activities for embedding nature connection into school life.
• Insights from the UK’s first biophilic school.
• Evidence-based principles for fostering nature connectedness across age groups.

Central to the guide is the concept that connection is about moments, not minutes, and feeling, not facts. It introduces the “Pathways to Nature Connectedness”—senses, emotion, beauty, meaning, and compassion—as a framework for designing impactful nature-based experiences. From sensory walks and nature art to student-led environmental campaigns, the guide offers adaptable activities for both primary and secondary settings.

Importantly, the handbook also explores how nature connection can be embedded into school policies, culture, and physical environments. It includes practical tips for creating nature-rich spaces, even in urban schools, and highlights how small changes—like seasonal celebrations or biophilic design elements—can make a big difference.

Whether you’re starting from scratch or building on existing initiatives, Nature Connection in Schools is a valuable tool for anyone looking to enrich children’s lives through nature. By helping young people build lasting relationships with the natural world, we can nurture happier, healthier students—and a more sustainable future.

Richardson, M., Barnes, C. & Owen, K. (2025). Nature Connection in Schools. University of Derby.