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Affective Reactions to Losses and Gains in Biodiversity: Testing a Prospect Theory Approach
Figure 1. Prospect theory predictions applied to reports of biodiversity change in the current studies. Recent reports have presented evidence of dramatic biodiversity declines. Despite the threat posed by such losses we know little about people’s reactions to such information, or rarer ‘bright spot’ stories of localised recovery. We explored these issues through the lens of prospect theory, testing three aspects: a) reference dependence, b) loss aversion, and c) diminishing sensitivity. Study 1 (n = 393) presented US participants with a hypothetical ecological survey reporting changes in bird species at a key site between 1996 and 2016 using a 2 (Baseline species richness: Low/high) x 2 (Change direction: Loss/gain) x 4 (Change magnitude: 5/10/15/20 species) between-participants design. Study 2 (n = 570) used the same design but focused on marine species richness among a UK sample. Responses were measured using a version of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience. Both studies found evidence of reference dependence, but not loss aversion. In fact both studies found that reactions to biodiversity gains were stronger than equivalent losses; gains ‘loomed larger’ than losses. There was little evidence of diminishing sensitivity; scope insensitivity was the predominant pattern for losses and gains across both studies. Although those high in nature relatedness reacted more strongly to losses and gains, relatedness did not moderate any effects. Results suggest that communicators should not be surprised if reports of biodiversity declines do not have the impact they hoped, and that weaving in ‘bright spot’ stories may help people engage with the broader issues.
Read moreClosing the Gap Through Rewilding, Interacting, and Overcoming
The Research Handbook on Childhoodnature provides a compilation of research in Childhoodnature and brings together existing research themes and seminal authors in the field alongside new cutting-edge research authored by world-class researchers drawing on cross-cultural and international research data. The underlying objectives of the handbook are two-fold: Opening up spaces for Childhoodnature researchers; Consolidating Childhoodnature research into one collection that informs education. The use of the new concept ‘Childhoodnature’ reflects the editors’ and authors’ underpinning belief, and the latest innovative concepts in the field, that as children are nature this should be redefined in this integrating concept. The handbook will, therefore, critique and reject an anthropocentric view of nature. As such it will disrupt existing ways of considering children and nature and reject the view that humans are superior to nature. The chapter “Closing the gap through rewilding, interacting, and overcoming” (pages 391-394) is co-authored by Peter Kahn, a Nature and Health researcher.
Read moreFocusing Attention on Reciprocity Between Nature and Humans can be the Key to Reinvigorating Planetary Health
In industrialized and urbanized societies, medical science focuses primarily on trauma and diseases, and most environmental work attempts to remediate natural and anthropogenic degradation. This essay raises the importance of shifting individual and societal attention to preventive and precautionary measures to maintain human and ecological health. It points to the growing body of research that nature (wilderness to green and blue space) is necessary for people’s physical, mental, and emotional health. Such evidence should persuade the public and policymakers to proactively conserve ecosystems, reducing the need to rescue depleted species or repair and restore their degraded habitats. This paper also describes the creative tension between the need for evidence-based research to demonstrate the health benefits of nature, which can lead to public health policies that make nature exposure widely accessible, and the need to ensure that nature is not viewed merely as a ‘‘service provider’’ from which humans can continue to extract health benefits. The author suggests that a drastic change is needed in the prevailing attitude of dominance over nature. This essay concludes with a plea for focused attention on reciprocal healing of both nature and humans, which can occur only if our interaction with nature—be it wilderness, an urban park, or a garden—is sustained and respectful. The author suggests that the nature-and-health paradigm may be the game-changing strategy needed to sustain grassroots awareness for halting and hopefully reversing the trajectory of decline in planetary health.
Read moreNext-Generation Visitation Models using Social Media to Estimate Recreation on Public Lands
Figure 1. Locations of geotagged social media posts made by visitors to public lands in WWA and NNM. Points represent the latitude and longitude where a Flickr photograph (purple) or tweet (green) was created. For Instagram, points represent places to which images were assigned by users (blue). Larger points represent a greater number of Instagram images from the location. Study sites are contained within the management units (shaded grey). Figure created using R48 version 3.5.3. Outdoor and nature-based recreation provides countless social benefits, yet public land managers often lack information on the spatial and temporal extent of recreation activities. Social media is a promising source of data to fill information gaps because the amount of recreational use is positively correlated with social media activity. However, despite the implication that these correlations could be employed to accurately estimate visitation, there are no known transferable models parameterized for use with multiple social media data sources. This study tackles these issues by examining the relative value of multiple sources of social media in models that estimate visitation at unmonitored sites and times across multiple destinations. Using a novel dataset of over 30,000 social media posts and 286,000 observed visits from two regions in the United States, we compare multiple competing statistical models for estimating visitation. We find social media data substantially improve visitor estimates at unmonitored sites, even when a model is parameterized with data from another region. Visitation estimates are further improved when models are parameterized with on-site counts. These findings indicate that while social media do not fully substitute for on-site data, they are a powerful component of recreation research and visitor management.
Read moreOde’imin Giizis: Proposing and Piloting Gardening as an Indigenous Childhood Health Intervention
Figure 1. Gardening by the moons as digitally interpreted by RICH Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. LaPensee, who worked with local tribal members. The Research for Indigenous Community Health Center and the American Indian Housing Organization sought to reduce obesity among Indigenous children and families in a Northern Midwestern urban community who are at risk for homelessness by piloting a gardening health intervention. This community-based participatory research, mixed-methods study examined the feasibility of gardening as an obesity intervention among a school-aged Indigenous population at risk for homelessness through using focus groups, key informant interviews, and valid health measures. The program was found highly feasible and fulfilled a critical need among Indigenous youth and their families, who reportedly suffered from food insecurity and access. This intervention increased healthy food awareness and perceptions, cultural resources, and ancestral food knowledge skills through activities, mentorship, and multigenerational engagement. This study augments the literature on the feasibility of using tribal ecological knowledge and the environment in designing culturally appropriate health interventions.
Read morePlanetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves
Human health depends on the health of the planet. Earth’s natural systems—the air, the water, the biodiversity, the climate—are our life support systems. Yet climate change, biodiversity loss, scarcity of land and freshwater, pollution and other threats are degrading these systems. The emerging field of planetary health aims to understand how these changes threaten our health and how to protect ourselves and the rest of the biosphere. Planetary Health: Protecting Nature to Protect Ourselves provides a readable introduction to this new paradigm. With an interdisciplinary approach, the book addresses a wide range of health impacts felt in the Anthropocene, including food and nutrition, infectious disease, non-communicable disease, dislocation and conflict, and mental health. It also presents strategies to combat environmental changes and its ill-effects, such as controlling toxic exposures, investing in clean energy, improving urban design, and more. Chapters are authored by widely recognized experts. The result is a comprehensive and optimistic overview of a growing field that is being adopted by researchers and universities around the world. Students of public health will gain a solid grounding in the new challenges their profession must confront, while those in the environmental sciences, agriculture, the design professions, and other fields will become familiar with the human consequences of planetary changes. Understanding how our changing environment affects our health is increasingly critical to a variety of disciplines and professions. Planetary Health is the definitive guide to this vital field.
Read moreProtecting Health in Dry Cities: Considerations for Policy Makers
Water has always been essential for cities to survive and thrive. The earliest cities, from 4000 BC, were founded near water sources. Conversely, water scarcity might have contributed to the demise of ancient cities such as Tikal in present day Guatemala and Angkor in present day Cambodia. Water deprivation was also used as a weapon in ancient times; when Sennacherib of Assyria ransacked Babylon in 689 BC, he destroyed the city’s water supply. Dry cities present complex challenges in a dynamic world. The supply of water in many cities will increasingly fall short of demand, with diverse and potentially severe effects on health. In a world of pervasive inequalities, water scarcity is likely to hit the most vulnerable hardest. The challenge of achieving health in dry cities is intensified in the setting of resource scarcity, state and societal fragility, and weak institutions. The inter-relation between human health and the environment needs to be central to planning and management of both water and health systems. Promoting health and wellbeing in dry cities is essential to achieving the sustainable development goals. Innovation will be key to progress; it requires foresight, strong institutions, and action from many people. Today’s global population is increasingly urban, and the world is increasingly hot, with dry regions becoming drier. Dry cities have scarce water relative to demand. An estimated 150 million people live in cities that have perennial water shortage. Some cities are dry because of their location in arid environments, with low levels of fresh water, precipitation, or both. In the year 2000 about 27% of the world’s urban area was in drylands. Many of the world’s most water stressed countries are in the Middle East and North Africa. Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai in the Gulf region, and desert cities, including Cairo (Egypt) and Windhoek (Namibia), Antofagasta (Chile), Trujillo (Peru), Phoenix, and Las Vegas (United States) are widely recognized as “dry cities.” Other cities are dry because of a temporary scarcity of water, or drought, influenced by factors including local hydrology, climate, and human activities. Semi-arid regions may have dry cities if drought strikes, if demand grows much faster than supply and/or if the city cannot keep pace owing to poor governance or inadequate infrastructure. Such cities include Cape Town (South Africa) and Gaborone (Botswana). Other cities, such as São Paulo (Brazil) and Chennai (India), historically have had ample water supply, but have recently confronted scarcity. Still others, such as Los Angeles (US) and Bangalore (India), are forecast to become short of water in coming years.
Read moreRelatively Wild Urban Parks can Promote Human Resilience and Flourishing: A Case Study of Discovery Park, Seattle, Washington
Human interaction with nature is vital for physical health and mental well-being, and positions a community to be resilient to urban stressors. Yet urban development continues to put pressures on natural areas within urban boundaries. As a case in point, Seattle’s largest park, Discovery Park, of over 500 acres, is often under threat of some form of development. The central question of this study was whether the benefits to visitors of Discovery Park depend, in no small measure, on the park’s very size and relative wild landscape. Toward addressing this question, 320 participants provided written narratives (through our web portal) about the meaningful ways in which they interacted with nature at Discovery Park. Each individual narrative was then analyzed and coded using an Interaction Pattern (IP) approach, which provides characterizations of human-nature interaction that have ontogenetic and phylogenetic significance. Results revealed 520 Interaction Patterns (IPs). The most frequently occurring IPs clustered under the keystone IPs of Encountering Wildlife (27%), Following Trails (14%), Walking to Destination Spots in Nature (8%), Gazing out at the Puget Sound or Mountains (6%), Walking Along Edges of Beach or Bluffs (5%), and Walking with Dogs (4%). Results also revealed that visitors’ meaningful interactions with nature in Discovery Park depended on the park’s relative wildness. For example, (a) 77% of participants’ IPs depended on Discovery Park’s relative wildness; (b) of the participants who specified an especially meaningful experience with nature, 95% of them had an interaction that depended on Discovery Park’s relative wildness; and (c) of the participants whose IPs were linked to other aspects of the nature in the park or to their own positive mental states, 95 and 96%, respectively, had an interaction that depended on Discovery Park’s relative wildness. Discussion focuses on how human interaction with large and relatively wild urban parks helps reverse the trend of environmental generational amnesia, and a domination worldview, and thus should be prioritized in urban planning.
Read moreResearch Note: Residential Distance and Recreational Visits to Coastal and Inland Blue Spaces in Eighteen Countries
Figure 1. Given residential locations (correct to three decimal degrees) of the 15,216 respondents included in analysis. The map of Spain includes respondents resident in the autonomous city of Melilla. Respondents resident in the Canary Islands, Azores, and Madeira are not displayed. Varied categorisations of residential distance to bluespace in population health studies make comparisons difficult. Using survey data from eighteen countries, we modelled relationships between residential distance to blue spaces (coasts, lakes, and rivers), and self-reported recreational visits to these environments at least weekly, with penalised regression splines. We observed exponential declines in visit probability with increasing distance to all three environments and demonstrated the utility of derived categorisations. These categories may be broadly applicable in future research where the assumed underlying mechanism between residential distance to a blue space and a health outcome is direct recreational contact.
Read moreResults From an 18 Country Cross-Sectional Study Examining Experiences of Nature for People with Common Mental Health Disorders
Figure 1. Estimated anxiety (unstandardized coefficients, 95% Confidence Intervals) during last nature visit as a function of perceived social pressure for each CMD group. Estimates are based on models controlling for: sex, age, perceived financial strain, employment status, marital status, number of children in household, having a long-term limiting illness, smoking status, alcohol use seasonal wave and country; and visit-related factors, number of companions, presence of dog, transport mode, travel time, visit duration, and anxiety ‘yesterday’. Exposure to natural environments is associated with a lower risk of common mental health disorders (CMDs), such as depression and anxiety, but we know little about nature-related motivations, practices and experiences of those already experiencing CMDs. We used data from an 18-country survey to explore these issues (n = 18,838), taking self-reported doctor-prescribed medication for depression and/or anxiety as an indicator of a CMD (n = 2698, 14%). Intrinsic motivation for visiting nature was high for all, though slightly lower for those with CMDs. Most individuals with a CMD reported visiting nature ≥ once a week. Although perceived social pressure to visit nature was associated with higher visit likelihood, it was also associated with lower intrinsic motivation, lower visit happiness and higher visit anxiety. Individuals with CMDs seem to be using nature for self-management, but ‘green prescription’ programmes need to be sensitive, and avoid undermining intrinsic motivation and nature-based experiences.
Read moreReturning to our Roots: Tribal Health and Wellness Through Land-Based Healing
Figure 1. Uma Hochokma Framework. Background Settler colonialism has severely disrupted Indigenous ancestral ways of healing and being, contributing to an onslaught of health disparities. In particular, the United Houma Nation (UHN) has faced large land loss and trauma, dispossession, and marginalization. Given the paucity of research addressing health for Indigenous individuals living in Louisiana, this study sought to co-identify a United Houma Nation health framework, by co-developing a community land-based healing approach in order to inform future community-based health prevention programs. Methods This pilot tested, co-designed and implemented a land-based healing pilot study among Houma women utilizing a health promotion leadership approach and utilized semi-structured interviews among 20 UHN women to identify a UHN health framework to guide future results. Results The findings indicated that RTOR was a feasible pilot project. The initial themes were Place Environmental/land trauma Ancestors Spirituality/mindfulness Cultural continuity Environment and health The reconnection to land was deemed feasible and seen as central to renewing relationships with ancestors (aihalia asanochi taha), others, and body. This mindful, re-engagement with the land contributed to subthemes of developing stronger tribal identities, recreating ceremonies, and increased cultural continuity, and transforming narratives of trauma into hope and resilience. Based on these findings a Houma Health (Uma Hochokma) Framework was developed and presented. Conclusions Overall, this study found that land can serve as a feasible therapeutic site for healing through reconnecting Houma tribal citizens to both ancestral knowledges and stories of resilience, as well as viewing self as part of a larger collective. These findings also imply that revisiting historically traumatic places encouraged renewed commitment to cultural continuity and health behaviors—particularly when these places are approached relationally, with ceremony, and traumatic events tied to these places, including climate change and environmental/land trauma, are acknowledged along with the love the ancestors held for future generations.
Read moreSustaining Life: Human Health–Planetary Health Linkages
Our beautiful planet has been profoundly altered by human activities. Climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, land use changes, and disrupted cycles of water, nitrogen, and phosphorus, to name several alterations, in turn have far-reaching impacts on human health, especially targeting the most vulnerable. Planetary Health approaches the health of people and the health of the planet as inextricably linked. This chapter introduces the Planetary Health framework by exploring four examples: climate change, chemical contamination, land use changes, and biodiversity loss. It concludes by considering innovative ways of thinking, and novel ethical considerations, raised by the current crisis of planetary degradation.
Read moreThe Affective Benefits of Nature Exposure: What’s Nature Got to Do with It?
Figure 1. Hypotheses & analyses overview for study 2. Nature interactions have been demonstrated to produce reliable affective benefits. While adults demonstrate strong preferences for natural environments over urban ones, it is not clear whether these affective benefits result from exposure to nature stimuli per se, or result from viewing a highly preferred stimulus. In one set of studies (Study 1 and 2), state affect before and after image viewing was examined as a function of both preference level (high, low, very high, or very low aesthetic value) and environment type (nature or urban). When aesthetic value was matched, no differences in affect change were found between environments. However, affect change was predicted by individual participants’ ratings for the images. The largest affective benefits occurred after viewing very high aesthetic nature images, but Study 2 lacked an equivalently preferred urban image set. In a second set of studies (Study 3 and 4), new sets of very highly preferred images in categories other than nature scenes (urban scenes and animals) were employed. As before, individual differences in preference for the images (but not image category) was predictive of changes in affect. In Study 5, the nature and urban images from Study 1 were rated on beauty to assess whether the stimuli’s preference ratings were capturing anything other than simple aesthetics. Results showed that beauty/aesthetics and preference (‘liking’) were nearly identical. Lastly, a replication of Study 2 (Study 6) was conducted to test whether priming preference accounted for these benefits, but this was not the case. Together, these results suggest that nature improves affective state because it is such a highly preferred environment.
Read moreUses and Limitations of Social Media to Inform Visitor Use Management in Parks and Protected Areas: A Systematic Review
Figure 1. Papers published by year (n = 58). These are papers published through April 2020, so the number of papers in 2020 only represents 4 months Social media are being increasingly used to inform visitor use management in parks and protected areas. We review the state of the scientific literature to understand the ways social media has been, and can be, used to measure visitation, spatial patterns of use, and visitors’ experiences in parks and protected areas. Geotagged social media are a good proxy for actual visitation; however, the correlations observed by previous studies between social media and other sources of visitation data vary substantially. Most studies using social media to measure visitation aggregate data across many years, with very few testing the use of social media as a visitation proxy at smaller temporal scales. No studies have tested the use of social media to estimate visitation in near real-time. Studies have used geotags and GPS tracks to understand spatial patterns of where visitors travel within parks, and how that may relate to other variables (e.g., infrastructure), or differ by visitor type. Researchers have also found the text content, photograph content, and geotags from social media posts useful to understand aspects of visitors’ experiences, such as behaviors, preferences, and sentiment. The most cited concern with using social media is that this data may not be representative of all park users. Collectively, this body of research demonstrates a broad range of applications for social media. We synthesize our findings by identifying gaps and opportunities for future research and presenting a set of best practices for using social media in parks and protected areas.
Read moreCoding Manual for “The Nature Voices of People Who Visit Discovery Park: An Interaction Pattern Approach”
Chris TarnawskiDiscovery Park Lighthouse. Credit: Chris Tarnawski. Interaction with nature is vital for human physical health and mental well-being, yet urban development continues to put pressures on natural areas that allow for essential forms of human-nature interaction. Discovery Park, the largest park within Seattle—with over 500 acres and almost 12 miles of walking trails—is a case in point insofar as some Seattle constituents would like to develop some of its open space. The goal of this research is to give voice to how visitors of Discovery Park interact with nature at the park. To accomplish this, we applied an Interaction Pattern Approach, where “interaction patterns” are defined as fundamental ways of interacting with nature that are characterized abstractly enough such that many different instantiations of each pattern can be engendered. After their visit to Discovery Park, participants were asked to access our website (what we called “the Nature Language Website”) to write a few sentences or paragraphs that described a meaningful experience they had interacting with nature in the park. Participants were also asked a few demographic questions. This technical report provides our coding manual—our systematic method to code the qualitative data—of people who visited Discovery Park, and who wrote of how they interacted with nature in the park. This technical report thereby provides open access to our core intellectual qualitative work on this project. It can be used by others to conduct related research on how people interact with nature, and especially natural landscapes.
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Health Benefits of Contact With Nature
Sara Perrins and Dr. Gregory Bratman of the University of Washington, College of Forest Resources, prepared this report for the Recreation and Conservation Office. This study was directed by the Washington State Legislature in Section 304 (3) of the 2018 operating budget, as stated: Section 304 (3) $125,000 of the general fund—state appropriation for fiscal year 2019 is provided solely for the board to conduct or contract for a study of the economic and health benefits of trail-based activities, including hiking, walking, and bicycling. The information gathered will assist in decision-making regarding the allocation of dedicated resources and investment in Washington’s trail networks. Additionally, the information will aid in increasing and leveraging economic benefits in the development of public-private partnerships aimed at stewardship and growth connected to Washington’s trail networks. The study may include, but is not limited to, analysis of the number of people in the state who hike, bike, and walk annually, economic contribution, environmental and social benefits, and mental and physical health outcomes. The study may also include regional case studies. As appropriate, the analysis must incorporate data from the state comprehensive outdoor recreation plan and federal initiatives to integrate outdoor recreation into GDP accounting. To allow for a collaborative process, the board must create an advisory committee of appropriate agencies and stakeholders, including hiking and bicycling groups. The board must report the results of the study to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the legislature by October 1, 2019. This specific look at health effects and nature contact accompanies an economic study conducted by EcoNorthwest in 2019 titled Economic, Environmental, and Social Benefits of Recreation Trails in Washington State.
Read moreIllnesses and Injuries at Nature Preschools
A binder with a larger version of the log shown above, with spacing set for eight children on each page, was provided to preschool teachers participating in this study. The log was created to enable teachers to systematically and easily record absences due to illness and injuries occurring during the preschool day. All preschool teachers received a 15 to 20 min training on how to use the log prior to the start of the study. Nature preschools, where children spend the entire school day outdoors, are increasingly popular, but their health consequences have not been well researched. This study tested the hypothesis that nature preschools and conventional preschools differ in their illness and injury incidence, by comparing observed illness and injury occurrence in the two types of schools. For 14 weeks, teachers at five nature preschools and four conventional preschools in Seattle, Washington logged absences due to illness. Two nature preschools and three conventional preschools also logged injuries that occurred during the school day. There was no difference in illness incidence by preschool type, and no serious injuries were reported in either setting. Overall, the study found that nature preschools are a healthy and safe child-care model.
Read moreManaged Retreat as a Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation in Small Communities: Public Health Implications
Table 1. Characteristics of selected case studies of managed retreat in small communities In coming decades, sea level rise associated with climate change will make some communities uninhabitable. Managed retreat, or planned relocation, is a proactive response prior to catastrophic necessity. Managed retreat has disruptive health, sociocultural, and economic impacts on communities that relocate. Health impacts include mental health, social capital, food security, water supply, sanitation, infectious diseases, injury, and health care access. We searched peer-reviewed and gray literature for reports on small island or coastal communities at various stages of relocation primarily due to sea level rise. We reviewed these reports to identify public health impacts and barriers to relocation. We identified eight relevant small communities in the USA (Alaska, Louisiana, and Washington), Panama, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Affected populations range from 60 to 2700 persons and are predominantly indigenous people who rely on subsistence fishing and agriculture. Few reports directly addressed public health issues. While some relocations were successful, barriers to relocation in other communities include place attachment, potential loss of livelihoods, and lack of funding, suitable land, community consensus, and governance procedures. Further research is needed on the health impacts of managed retreat and how to facilitate population resilience. Studies could include surveillance of health indicators before and after communities relocate due to sea level rise, drought, or other environmental hazards. Lessons learned may inform relocation of both small and large communities affected by climate change.
Read moreNature and Mental Health: An Ecosystem Service Perspective
Figure 1. A conceptual model for mental health as an ecosystem service. A growing body of empirical evidence is revealing the value of nature experience for mental health. With rapid urbanization and declines in human contact with nature globally, crucial decisions must be made about how to preserve and enhance opportunities for nature experience. Here, we first provide points of consensus across the natural, social, and health sciences on the impacts of nature experience on cognitive functioning, emotional well-being, and other dimensions of mental health. We then show how ecosystem service assessments can be expanded to include mental health, and provide a heuristic, conceptual model for doing so.
Read moreSocial-Ecological and Technological Factors Moderate the Value of Urban Nature
Figure 1. Actions lead to changes in the value of urban ecosystem services, defined by a change in human well-being, which may be different for different groups of people, hence the importance of considering equity. The relationships between actions and value are moderated by social, ecological or technological factors. For each action that leads to a change in value, there may also be co-benefits (for example, positive impacts on other sustainability goals) and disservices (for example, unintended negative consequences). Finally, decision-makers require the ability to compare the net value of urban ecosystem services relative to substitutes or alternative interventions designed to meet the same goals. Urban nature has the potential to improve air and water quality, mitigate flooding, enhance physical and mental health, and promote social and cultural well-being. However, the value of urban ecosystem services remains highly uncertain, especially across the diverse social, ecological and technological contexts represented in cities around the world. We review and synthesize research on the contextual factors that moderate the value and equitable distribution of ten of the most commonly cited urban ecosystem services. Our work helps to identify strategies to more efficiently, effectively and equitably implement nature-based solutions.
Read moreSparking Interest: A Design Framework for Mobile Technologies to Promote Children’s Interest in Nature
Can a mobile app engage children in explorations of the natural world and promote their interest in nature? Drawing on theory related to interest development and research on mobile learning technologies, we derived a set of four design principles to support the development of children’s personal interest in nature. We co-designed with 7 children ages 7–12 a set of interest-centered design strategies to implement each of the following principles: (1) personal relevance, (2) focused attention, (3) social interactions, and (4) opportunities for continued engagement. We applied these strategies to design NatureCollections, a mobile application that allows children to build, curate, and share nature photo collections. We conducted an in-situ case study with 18 children ages 7–11 years who used the NatureCollections app to take pictures of their natural surroundings. Qualitative indicators suggest NatureCollections succeeded in directing children’s attention to and promoting close observation of the natural elements in their surroundings, and prompted playful, nature-related conversations with peers and parents.
Read moreAre California Elementary School Test Scores More Strongly Associated With Urban Trees Than Poverty?
Figure 1. Model selection results for several common variables for student test performance on a sample of California fifth grade classes. Effect sizes (A) were significant for urban/rural location, % minority representation and % student body on free and reduced lunches. Minority representation (B) showed the strongest signal, with a two SD difference in minorities associated with a 100 point difference in overall test scores. Unprecedented rates of urbanization are changing our understanding of the ways in which children build connections to the natural world, including the importance of educational settings in affecting this relationship. In addition to influencing human-nature connection, greenspace around school grounds has been associated with benefits to students’ cognitive function. Questions remain regarding the size of this benefit relative to other factors, and which features of greenspace are responsible for these effects. We conducted a large-scale correlative study subsampling elementary schools (n = 495) in ecologically, socially and economically diverse California. After controlling for common educational determinants (e.g., socio-economic status, race/ethnicity, student teacher ratio, and gender ratio) we found a significant, positive association between test scores and tree and shrub cover within 750 and 1000 m of urban schools. Tree and shrub cover was not associated with test scores in rural schools or five buffers closer to urban schools (10, 50, 100, 300, and 500 m). Two other greenspace variables (NDVI and agricultural area) were not associated with test performance at any of the analyzed buffer distances for rural or urban schools. Minority representation had the largest effect size on standardized test scores (8.1% difference in scores with 2SD difference in variable), followed by tree and shrub cover around urban schools, which had a large effect size (2.9–3.0% at 750 and 1000 m) with variance from minority representation and socioeconomic status (effect size 2.4%) included. Within our urban sample, average tree-cover schools performed 4.2% (3.9–4.4, and 95% CI) better in terms of standardized test scores than low tree-cover urban schools. Our findings support the conclusion that neighborhood-scale (750–1000 m) urban tree and shrub cover is associated with school performance, and indicate that this element of greenspace may be an important factor to consider when studying the cognitive impacts of the learning environment. These results support the design of experimental tests of tree planting interventions for educational benefits.
Read moreBuilding Healthy Community Environments: A Public Health Approach
A framework for improving community health through better environment decision making. The current state presents baseline health and defines built environmental challenges. The desired state presents public health and environmental goals for a healthy community. The core components of the public health approach are shown indicating the path toward the desired state. Adapted from the World Health Organization. Bulleted items may differ for various communities and applications. Environmental quality has a profound effect on health and the burden of disease. In the United States, the environment-related burden of disease is increasingly dominated by chronic diseases. At the local level, public health practitioners realize that many policy decisions affecting environmental quality and health transcend the authorities of traditional health department programs. Healthy decisions about the built environment, including housing, transportation, and energy, require broad collaborative efforts. Environmental health professionals have an opportunity to address the shift in public health burden toward chronic diseases and play an important role in the design of healthy communities by bringing data and tools to decision makers. This article provides a guide for community leaders to consider the public health effects of decisions about the built environment. We present a conceptual framework that represents a shift from compartmentalized solutions toward an inclusive systems approach that encourages partnership across disciplines and sectors. We discuss practical tools to assist with environmental decision making, such as Health Impact Assessments, environmental public health tracking, and cumulative risk assessment. We also identify priorities in research, practice, and education to advance the role of public health in decision making to improve health, such as the Health Impact Assessment, as a core competency for environmental health practitioners. We encourage cross-disciplinary communication, research, and education that bring the fields of planning, transportation, and energy in closer collaboration with public health to jointly advance the systems approach to today’s environmental challenges.
Read moreGeolocated Social Media as a Rapid Indicator of Park Visitation and Equitable Park Access
Figure 1. Alignment of Census block group, park and park buffer boundaries. The block group boundary in which Central Park is contained includes residential areas bordering the park. When population density within the 400m buffer is averaged over Census block groups, density of the residential areas bordering the park are underestimated due to the inclusion of the park’s area. Understanding why some parks are used more regularly or intensely than others can inform ways in which urban parkland is developed and managed to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding urban population. Although geolocated social media (GSM) indicators have been used to examine park visitation rates, studies applying this approach are generally limited to flagship parks, national parks, or a small subset of urban parks. Here, we use geolocated Flickr and Twitter data to explore variation in use across New York City’s 2143 diverse parks and model visitation based on spatially-explicit park characteristics and facilities, neighborhood-level accessibility features and neighborhood-level demographics. Findings indicate that social media activity in parks is positively correlated with proximity to public transportation and bike routes, as well as particular park characteristics such as water bodies, athletic facilities, and impervious surfaces, but negatively associated with green space and increased proportion of minority ethnicity and minority race in neighborhoods in which parks are located. Contrary to previous studies which describe park visitation as a form of nature-based recreation, our findings indicate that the kinds of green spaces present in many parks may not motivate visitation. From a social equity perspective, our findings may imply that parks in high-minority neighborhoods are not as accessible, do not accommodate as many visitors, and/or are of lower quality than those in low-minority neighborhoods. These implications are consistent with previous studies showing that minority populations disproportionately experience barriers to park access. In applying GSM data to questions of park access, we demonstrate a rapid, big data approach for providing information crucial for park management in a way that is less resource-intensive than field surveys.
Read moreInequality in Access to Cultural Ecosystem Services From Protected Areas in the Chilean Biodiversity Hotspot
Figure 1. Conceptual framework linking ecosystems as service providing areas, cultural ecosystem services and human benefits as supply and demand sides in human–environmental systems (adapted from (Burkhard et al., 2012; Cord et al., 2017). The green and red arrows represent the potential forms of access of the population in the region to the protected areas that we predict will vary according to their socioeconomic characteristics (the thick of the arrow represent population size and the length of the arrow represent the distance travelled along the road network). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.) Experiences with nature through visits to protected areas provide important cultural ecosystem services that have the potential to strengthen pro-environmental attitudes and behavior. Understanding accessibility to protected areas and likely preferences for enjoying the benefits of nature visits are key factors in identifying ways to reduce inequality in access and inform the planning and management for future protected areas. We develop, at a regional scale, a novel social media database of visits to public protected areas in part of the Chilean biodiversity hotspot using geotagged photographs and assess the inequality of access using the home locations of the visitors and socio-economic data. We find that 20% of the population of the region make 87% of the visits to protected areas. The larger, more biodiverse protected areas were the most visited and provided most cultural ecosystem services. Wealthier people tend to travel further to visit protected areas while people with lower incomes tend to visit protected areas that are closer to home. By providing information on the current spatial flows of people to protected areas, we demonstrate the need to expand the protected area network, especially in lower income areas, to reduce inequality in access to the benefits from cultural ecosystem services provided by nature to people.
Read moreModeling Child–Nature Interaction in a Nature Preschool: A Proof of Concept
This article provides a proof of concept for an approach to modeling child–nature interaction based on the idea of interaction patterns: characterizations of essential features of interaction between humans and nature, specified abstractly enough such that countless different instantiations of each one can occur – in more domestic or wild forms – given different types of nature, people, and purposes. The model draws from constructivist psychology, ecological psychology, and evolutionary psychology, and is grounded in observational data collected through a time-sampling methodology at a nature preschool. Through using a nature language that emphasizes ontogenetic and phylogenetic significance, seven keystone interaction patterns are described for this nature preschool: using one’s body vigorously in nature, striking wood on wood, constructing shelter, being in solitude in nature, lying on earth, cohabiting with a wild animal, and being outside in weather. These 7 interactions patterns are then brought together with 13 other patterns published elsewhere to provide a total of 20 keystone interaction patterns that begin to fill out the model, and to show its promise. Discussion focuses on what the model aims to be in terms of both product and process, on what work the model can currently do, and how to further develop the model.
Read moreRecreational Use in Dispersed Public Lands Measured Using Social Media Data and On-Site Counts
Figure 1. MBSNF (boundary in gray) in western WA. Left: The 15 trail areas observed in this study are dispersed across 4 ranger districts (MTB: Mt. Baker, DAR: Darrington, SKY: Skykomish, SNO: Snoqualmie). Right: Geotagged Flickr photos (purple points) taken in and around the MBSNF. Sources: USFS and Flickr. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.) Outdoor recreation is one of many important benefits provided by public lands. Data on recreational use are critical for informing management of recreation resources, however, managers often lack actionable information on visitor use for large protected areas that lack controlled access points. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential for social media data (e.g., geotagged images shared on Flickr and trip reports shared on a hiking forum) to provide land managers with useful measures of recreational use to dispersed areas, and to provide lessons learned from comparing several more traditional counting methods. First, we measure daily and monthly visitation rates to individual trails within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (MBSNF) in western Washington. At 15 trailheads, we compare counts of hikers from infrared sensors, timelapse cameras, and manual on-site counts, to counts based on the number of shared geotagged images and trip reports from those locations. Second, we measure visitation rates to each National Forest System (NFS) unit across the US and compare annual measurements derived from the number of geotagged images to estimates from the US Forest Service National Visitor Use Monitoring Program. At both the NFS unit and the individual-trail scales, we found strong correlations between traditional measures of recreational use and measures based on user-generated content shared on the internet. For national forests in every region of the country, correlations between official Forest Service statistics and geotagged images ranged between 55% and 95%. For individual trails within the MBSNF, monthly visitor counts from on-site measurements were strongly correlated with counts from geotagged images (79%) and trip reports (91%). The convenient, cost-efficient and timely nature of collecting and analyzing user-generated data could allow land managers to monitor use over different seasons of the year and at sites and scales never previously monitored, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of recreational use patterns and values. Related News Univ. of Washington program Nature and Health studies link between environment and well-being (December 30, 2021)
Read moreTechnological Nature and Human Well-Being
In terms of physical and psychological well-being, does it matter that on a worldwide level we are replacing interactions with actual nature with technological nature—technologies that mediate, simulate, and augment the natural word? Research from three forms of technological nature are reviewed: a technological nature window, robot pets, and a telegarden. Results suggest that while interacting with technological nature is better than nothing, it is not as good as interacting with real nature. A concern with accepting technological nature is that it can shift the baseline downward for what counts as optimal well-being, as people across generations lose experiences with healthy baselines, a process referred to as environmental generational amnesia. One result is that we ask too little of the idea of urban sustainability, confusing biological living with human flourishing.
Read moreTrends and Knowledge Gaps in the Study of Nature-Based Participation by Latinos in the United States
Figure 1. Cumulative studies (n = 108) by publication year that relate to participation in nature-based activities by Latino communities. Studies include those that focused solely on Latino populations as well as cross-ethnic comparisons that included Latinos. Mounting evidence supports health and well-being benefits associated with nature experiences, while also highlighting race- and class-based inequalities in access and exposure. We synthesized the literature on nature contact by Latinos in the United States to assess the state of knowledge and strategically identify research needs to improve outcomes and reduce health disparities for this rapidly growing ethnic group. Our systematic review revealed 108 articles with a notable increase in number of papers over the past 3 decades. We noted that the body of research is focused on certain demographic targets (adults in urban areas) with a relative dearth of knowledge for others (children, seniors, and rural areas). Our analysis also revealed strong compartmentalizing of studies into research “clusters” based on nonoverlapping topics and types of outcomes that are measured. Although one-third of studies explored health outcomes, these studies rarely examined other outcomes or research topics. Moreover, less than 7% of studies reported on interventions. Given the potential for nature contact to enhance health and well-being, there is substantial need for multidisciplinary research that explores interactions between social, cultural, and economic factors, and how those ultimately relate to nature contact and outcomes for Latinos in the United States.
Read moreUsing Social Media to Understand Drivers of Urban Park Visitation in the Twin Cities, MN
Figure 1. Distribution of urban park and green space polygons in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, MN, USA. Green space and parks in urban environments provide a range of ecosystem services and public benefits. However, planners and park managers can lack tools and resources to gather local information on how parks are used and what makes them desirable places for recreation and a wide variety of uses. Traditional survey methods to monitor park use and user preferences can be costly, time consuming, and challenging to apply at scale. Here, we overcome this limitation by using geotagged social media data to assess patterns of visitation to urban and peri-urban green space across park systems in the metropolitan area of the Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA. We find that parks with nearby water features, more amenities, greater accessibility from the presence of trails, and that are located within neighborhoods with higher population density, are associated with higher rates of visitation. As cities grow and shifts in demographics occur, more responsive management of public green space will become increasingly important to ensure urban parks provide ecosystem services and meet users’ needs. Using social media data to rapidly assess park use at a lower cost than traditional surveys has the potential to inform public green space management with targeted information on user behavior and values of urban residents.
Read moreCo-Engagement with the Natural World through an Interactive Mobile Application
Figure 1: Screens of the NatureCollection app 1: Onboarding “What are your interests?” 2: Homepage 3: My Collections 4: Classification 5: Challenges As part of our research, we are studying the potential for interactive technologies to create opportunities for children to connect with nature. We developed a beta version of a mobile application, NatureCollections, that was co-designed with KidsTeam UW, that aims to engage young children (ages 7-12) in an exploration of the natural world. The app allows children to build, curate and share photo collections through individual challenges and simple photo classification walkthroughs. The app will also seek to facilitate collaborative play through team scavenger hunts and photo challenges. We piloted an app evaluation with 8 children in a botanic garden. Initial qualitative observations suggest promising results for the effectiveness of NatureCollections to draw children’s attention to their natural surroundings and spark playful social interactions. In the upcoming months, we plan to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the app’s ability to motivate children to spend more time outside. Later, we plan to deploy the app to evaluate its effect in increased connectedness to nature in situ. We believe the Workshop on Playing Together: the importance of joint engagement in the design of technology for children will be an excellent venue to discuss our design work and pilot results. We are also excited to learn from other real world case studies presented at the workshop on how we could focus our app interactions on co-engaging children with the natural context around them.
Read moreNatural Outdoor Environments and Mental Health: Stress as a Possible Mechanism
Fig. 1. Adjusted models for exposure to NOE (both residential availability and contact with NOE) and average evening week values of mental health. Note: Linear regression models (coefficient and 95% CI reported) for all the outcomes with the exception of sleep quality that was modelled as a Poisson model (IRR and 95% CI reported). Models include neighbourhood socioeconomic status, city, gender, age and education level as covariates. Estimates in italics indicate that contact with NOE is statistically significantly associated to the outcome in the expected direction. * Statistically significant associations (p-value≤ 0.05). NOE for Natural Outdoor Environments. Introduction: Better mental health has been associated with exposure to natural outdoor environments (NOE). However, comprehensive studies including several indicators of exposure and outcomes, potential effect modifiers and mediators are scarce. Objectives: We used novel, objective measures to explore the relationships between exposure to NOE (i.e. residential availability and contact) and different indicators of mental health, and possible modifiers and mediators. Methods: A nested cross-sectional study was conducted in: Barcelona, Spain; Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom; Doetinchem, Netherlands; Kaunas, Lithuania. Participants’ exposure to NOE (including both surrounding greenness and green and/or blue spaces) was measured in terms of (a) amount in their residential environment (using Geographical Information Systems) and (b) their contact with NOE (using smartphone data collected over seven days). Self-reported information was collected for mental health (psychological well-being, sleep quality, vitality, and somatisation), and potential effect modifiers (gender, age, education level, and city) and mediators (perceived stress and social contacts), with additional objective NOE physical activity (potential mediator) derived from smartphone accelerometers. Results: Analysis of data from 406 participants showed no statistically significant associations linking mental health and residential NOE exposure. However, NOE contact, especially surrounding greenness, was statistically significantly tied to better mental health. There were indications that these relationships were stronger for males, younger people, low-medium educated, and Doetinchem residents. Perceived stress was a mediator of most associations, and physical activity and social contacts were not. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that contact with NOE benefits mental health. Our results also suggest that having contact with NOE that can facilitate stress reduction could be particularly beneficial.
Read moreNature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda
Figure 1. A spectrum of forms of nature contact. Background At a time of increasing disconnectedness from nature, scientific interest in the potential health benefits of nature contact has grown. Research in recent decades has yielded substantial evidence, but large gaps remain in our understanding. Objectives We propose a research agenda on nature contact and health, identifying principal domains of research and key questions that, if answered, would provide the basis for evidence-based public health interventions. Discussion We identify research questions in seven domains: a) mechanistic biomedical studies; b) exposure science; c) epidemiology of health benefits; d) diversity and equity considerations; e) technological nature; f) economic and policy studies; and g) implementation science. Conclusions Nature contact may offer a range of human health benefits. Although much evidence is already available, much remains unknown. A robust research effort, guided by a focus on key unanswered questions, has the potential to yield high-impact, consequential public health insights.
Read morePhotos, Tweets, and Trails: Are Social Media Proxies for Urban Trail Use?
Figure 1: Maps of annual average daily trail traffic (AADTT), annual average photo-user days (AAPUD), and annual averageTwitter-user days (AATUD) Decision makers need information on the use of, and demand for, public recreation and transportation facilities. Innovations in monitoring technologies and diffusion of social media enable new approaches to estimation of demand. We assess the feasibility of using geo-tagged photographs uploaded to the image-sharing website Flickr and tweets from Twitter as proxy measures for urban trail use. We summarize geo-tagged Flickr uploads and tweets along 80 one-mile segments of the multiuse trail network in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and correlate results with previously published estimates of annual average daily trail traffic derived from infrared trail monitors. Although heat maps of Flickr images and tweets show some similarities with maps of variation in trail traffic, the correlation between photographs and trail traffic is moderately weak (0.43), and there is no meaningful statistical correlation between tweets and trail traffic. Use of a simple log-log bivariate regression to estimate trail traffic from photographs results in relatively high error. The predictor variables included in published demand models for the same trails explain roughly the same amount of variation in photo-derived use, but some of the neighborhood socio-demographic and built-environment independent variables have different effects. Taken together, these findings show that both Flickr images and tweets have limitations as proxies for demand for urban trails, and that neither can be used to develop valid, reliable estimates of trail use. These results differ from previously published results that indicate social media may be useful in assessing relative demand for recreational destinations. This difference may be because urban trails are used for multiple purposes, including routine commuting and shopping, and that trail users are less inclined to use social media on trips for these purposes.
Read moreThe Importance of Children Interacting with Big Nature
Figure 1. A smoggy day in Beijing. The problem of environmental generational amnesia is that nature gets increasingly diminished and degraded, but children of each generation perceive the environment into which they are born as normal. Thus, across generations, the baseline shifts downward for what counts as healthy nature. One solution is to broaden and deepen children’s interactions with nature, and whenever possible, with big nature. To convey how this solution looks in practice, we draw from our observational data of children in a forest nature preschool to identify patterns of interaction with nature and illustrate how these interaction patterns may help children develop environmental capabilities, values, knowledge, intimacies, and relationships.
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