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“And They Are Still the Guardians of These Sacred Waters …”: Land as a Process of Reconciliation.
Given that Indigenous Peoples in Canada continue to face health disparities as a result of ongoing colonial attempts at genocide, reconciliation requires using a decolonized health framework that identifies oppression and marginalization while seeking to improve Indigenous Peoples’ health and facilitates a shared understanding of well-being. Community and land-based interventions hold promise in providing insight into how the reconciliatory process can occur and have been shown to successfully address the health disparities experienced by Indigenous Peoples by connecting participants to their kin, culture, and identity. However, the impact of these interventions on facilitators, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, is lesser known. This qualitative study explores the reconciliatory effects of a decolonized framework on 10 Indigenous and ally community-engaged facilitators during a land-based healing lodge using semistructured pre- and postinterviews. Findings indicate that engaging with the land as an equitable research partner while being reflective allows facilitators to develop a decolonized relationship with the place an intervention is being held, themselves, and effectively engage with the partner community. Furthermore, by implementing a decolonized approach to culturally centered interventions, several facilitators’ perspectives of healing transitioned from understanding healing as an outcome to a holistic process that engages place and the broader ecology. These findings signal a need for those working toward reconciliation (e.g., researchers, evaluators, health and health-allied professionals) to consider the influence of Indigenous ways of knowing and being on both Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals involved in the healing process.
Read moreA Review of the Effects of Climate Change on Visitor Use in US Public Lands and Waters
Figure 1. A conceptual diagram of how climate change is affecting visitor use in public lands and waters, and how changes to visitor use can affect operations of public lands and waters. NPS Climate change is affecting recreational visitor use in U.S. public lands and waters, causing changes to visitation levels, timing of trips, activity participation, and visitor safety. This report reviews the literature on how climate change is influencing visitor use in the United States and how visitor use may be affected in the future. Our goal is to provide the current state of the literature for managers of public lands and waters and provide foundational information for the development of a climate change vulnerability assessment methodology for visitor use within the National Park Service (that may be applicable to other federal lands and waters). Specifically, we investigate how seven different climate change factors may affect visitor use on public lands and waters. These factors consist of increasing temperatures; flooding, drought, and increased variability of precipitation; decreasing snowpack and earlier spring runoff; wildfires, smoke, and air quality; coastal hazards: hurricanes and sea level rise; harmful algal blooms (HABs); and zoonotic and vector-borne disease. The current research indicates that these factors are already affecting visitors to public lands and waters and continued effects in the future are likely as the climate warms. Additionally, we summarize existing research on how visitors to U.S. public lands and waters are adapting to climate change. Throughout the review, we note where there are substantial gaps in the literature and more research would help managers respond to the effects of climate change on visitor use.
Read moreAdapting Visitor Use Management Under a Changing Climate Across the U.S. National Park System Author Links Open Overlay Panel
Research shows that climate change is already affecting both resources and visitors in U.S. National Parks. We sought to better understand if and how park staff across the National Park Service are adapting to climatic changes that affect visitor use, as well as barriers and challenges to adaptation and information needs. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 63 staff from 31 representative national park units across the United States. We qualitatively coded interviews for themes using deductive and inductive coding approaches. Results indicate that park staff are already taking action to adapt to changes that are affecting visitor use, including efforts to increase resiliency of infrastructure and to support the health and safety of visitors (e.g., increased communication, preventative search and rescue, changes to programming). Common barriers and challenges include institutional factors (such as funding, staffing capacity, and shifting priorities), uncertainty about future conditions, and difficulties with prioritizing climate adaptation. Park staff relayed varied needs for data, tools, and information, but commonly indicated a need for social science data and tools to help synthesize, standardize, and translate climate information. These results provide insights into current actions park staff are taking to adapt to climate change and what resources may be helpful in the future to lower the challenges and barriers to adaptation. Highlights Climate change is affecting visitor use in U.S. National Park Service (NPS) units. NPS staff are taking actions to respond and adapt to the effects on visitor use. Actions are related to visitor infrastructure, safety, and services, among others. Challenges to visitor use adaptation include funding, staffing & future uncertainty. Staff report needing social science data and tools to translate data to action.
Read moreCharacterizing Social and Ecological Values Expressed in US Forest Service Public Comments Using a Computational Approach
Addressing social and ecological values is a central aim of democratic environmental management and policymaking, especially during deliberative and participatory processes. Agencies responsible for managing public lands would benefit from a deepened understanding of how various publics value those lands. Federal land management agencies receive millions of written comments from the public on proposed management actions annually, providing a unique source of insights into how the public assigns value to public lands. To date, little attention has been directed towards methods for analysing the public’s comments to understand their expressed values, in part because the volume of comments often makes manual analysis unworkable. This study introduces and applies a novel computational approach to inferring values in written text by using natural language processing and a method that combines a lexicon with semantic embedding models. We developed embedding models for four types of values that are expressed in public comments. We then fit models to 409,241 public comments on actions proposed by the United States Forest Service from 2011 to 2020 and regulated by the National Environmental Policy Act. The embedding model generally outperformed the lexicon word-count, particularly for value types with shorter lexicons, and, like human evaluators, the embedding models performed better for more evident values and were less reliable for more abstract or latent values. By applying the resulting model, we furthered our understanding of how the public values National Forest lands in the United States. We observed that aesthetic and moral values were expressed more often in comments for projects that received more public interest, as gauged by the number of comments a project received and in comments for projects addressing recreational management. Related Media Plain Language Summary: A computational approach for characterizing values for nature: A case study with US Forest Service public comments. (May 5, 2025)
Read moreCharting a Path to Health for All at Net-Zero Emissions
Climate change is the defining health challenge of the 21st century, with record-breaking temperatures and extreme weather events already exacting an unprecedented toll on human health and wellbeing. Scientific consensus is clear: rapid and deep reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 are needed not only to reduce the risks of exceeding climate tipping points beyond which irreversible damage occurs to natural systems, but also to safeguard human health, wellbeing, and equity. Despite growing awareness of the climate–health nexus, climate interventions often fail to consider opportunities to maximise co-benefits.
Read moreCoding Manual for Adolescent-Nature Interactions at a Youth Group Home
This technical report provides our coding manual – our systematic method to code qualitative photovoice data – from a study of nature interactions supporting coping and resilience among adolescents with histories of trauma living in a youth group home. Using the interaction pattern method detailed in this coding manual, we coded interview data from 12 adolescents about their meaningful nature interactions. A total of 1212 (Level 1) IPs were coded in these data from the participant’s interviews and categorized into 62 Level 3 IPs such as viewing nature from a different vantage point, moving along the edges of nature, foraging or harvesting edibles to eat or drink, experiencing periodicity of nature, or experiencing nature with others. Related Media Q&A: UW Researchers Examine Mental Impact of Girl Scouts’ Interactions With Nature (April 21, 2025)
Read moreForest Terpenes and Stress: Examining the Associations of Filtered vs. Non-filtered Air in a Real-Life Natural Environment
Human health may benefit from exposure to a class of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) consisting of isoprene units, known as terpenes. In this double-blind, randomized crossover trial, participants sat in a forest for two 60-min sessions, one in which terpenes were filtered out of the ambient air they breathed, and another in which they were not, separated by a minimum of an eight-day washout period. The primary outcome was the high frequency (HF) component of heart rate variability (HRV; measured continuously). Secondary outcomes included skin conductance levels (SCL) (measured continuously), self-reported stress and affect (measured every 20 min), blood pressure, heart rate, cortisol and inflammatory cytokines (measured before and after sessions). Serum concentrations of terpenes (measured before and after sessions) were also assessed to investigate the association of absorbed dose with these outcomes. We did not observe a significant association of filter condition with most outcomes; although the trends for affect, systolic blood pressure, cortisol, TNF-α, and CRP were all in the hypothesized direction. We did observe a significant association with interleukin-6, which was −0.19 pg/mL lower in the terpenes-on vs. terpenes-off condition, adjusted for baseline (95 % CI: −0.35, −0.03); and SCL over the session as a whole. A sensitivity analysis of the subset of data from participants who completed both conditions supports these findings and revealed additional significant associations with SCL (95 % CI: −1.87, −0.05); and TNF-α (95 % CI: −2.63, −0.10). To our knowledge, this is the first RCT to filter terpenes from ambient air during forest contact. Highlights Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) helmets filtered terpenes from forest air. Psychophysiological and immunological correlates of stress were assessed. IL-6 serum levels lower after sessions with terpenes-on vs. terpenes-off filter. Skin conductance levels (SCL) lower across time with terpenes-on vs. terpenes-off. All other outcomes not significant, but many trended in the hypothesized directions. Keywords Terpenes; Forest; Nature; Health; Stress
Read moreGreenspace Proximity in Relation to Sleep Health Among a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Cohort of US Women
Sleep is essential for overall health. Greenspace may contribute to sleep health through, for instance, improving mood, reducing sleep disruptors (e.g., poor air quality), and promoting physical activity. Although greenspace likely differs across populations, few studies have included diverse populations. To investigate greenspace-sleep health associations, overall and by age, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, we used data collected at enrollment (2003-2009) from women in the Sister Study (n=1,612 Hispanic/Latina, n=4,421 non-Hispanic (NH)-Black, and n=41,657 NH-White). Participants’ geocoded home addresses were linked to NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data (250m resolution) to capture greenspace tertiles (further categorized as low/moderate vs. high). Participants reported seven sleep dimensions, which we assessed individually, along with a multidimensional sleep health measure (categories: favorable, moderate, poor). Adjusting for individual- and environmental/neighborhood-level characteristics, we used Poisson regression with robust variance to estimate prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals (PR[CI]). We tested for interaction and estimated age-, race and ethnicity-, and educational attainment category-specific associations. Among participants (mean±SD age=55.7±9.0 years), those with low/moderate vs. high greenspace had a lower prevalence of favorable sleep (58% vs. 66%). After adjustment, low/moderate vs. high greenspace was associated with a 32% higher prevalence of moderate (PR=1.32 [1.27-1.38]) and 12% higher prevalence of poor (PR=1.12 [1.07-1.16]) vs. favorable sleep health. Magnitudes of associations were higher among NH-White women vs. minoritized racial-ethnic groups and women with higher vs. lower educational attainment. Higher greenspace was associated with favorable sleep, with stronger associations among groups with more social advantages. Highlights Few prior studies of greenspace and sleep included socially diverse samples. We investigated associations between greenspace proximity and sleep among US women. Effect modification by age, race-ethnicity, and socioeconomic status was assessed. Low/moderate greenspace proximity was associated with poorer sleep health. Associations were strongest among women with more social advantages.
Read moreLeveraging Digital Mobility Data to Estimate Visitation in National Wildlife Refuges
Figure 6. Predictive power (R2) of nine different visitation models. The first (Mobility + Refuge) is the combined model that uses all the digital mobility data and a fixed effect for refuge. The second (Mobility) uses all the digital mobility data but does not include an effect for refuge. Each bar shows the amount of variability that is explained by each predictor in that model, calculated as the General Dominance. The other columns are the total R2 values of simple linear regression models which regressed a single predictor against observed visits. They are named for the model predictor. The US Fish and Wildlife Service manages over 500 National Wildlife Refuges and dozens of National Fish Hatcheries across the United States. Accurately estimating visitor numbers to these areas is essential for understanding current recreation demand, planning for future use, and ensuring the ongoing protection of the ecosystems that refuges safeguard. However, accurately estimating visitation across the entire refuge system presents significant challenges. Building on previous research conducted on other federal lands, this study evaluates methods to overcome constraints in estimating visitation levels using statistical models and digital mobility data. We develop and test a visitation modeling approach using multiple linear regression, incorporating predictors from eight mobility data sources, including four social media platforms, one community science platform, and three mobile device location datasets from two commercial vendors. We find that the total number of observed visitors to refuges correlates with the volume of data from each mobility data source. However, neither social media nor mobile device location data alone provide reliable proxies for visitation due to inconsistent relationships with observed visitation; these relationships vary by data source, refuge, and time. Our results demonstrate that a visitation model integrating multiple mobility datasets accounts for this variability and outperforms models based on individual mobility datasets. We find that a refuge-level effect is the single most important predictor, suggesting that including site characteristics in future models will make them more generalizable. We conclude that statistical models which incorporate digital mobility data have the potential to improve the accuracy of visitor estimates, standardize data collection methods, and simplify the estimation process for agency staff.
Read moreNational Park Service Staff Perspectives on How Climate Change Affects Visitor Use
Three bikers traveling through the Swan Lake area at Yellowstone National Park in the spring. As temperatures increase due to climate impacts, shoulder seasons in parks may allow for more warm-weather activities. Credit: NPS / Jacob W. Frank. Many public lands, including those managed by the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), have the purpose of conserving natural and cultural resources and providing opportunities for visitors to recreate in and enjoy these areas. Achieving this mission becomes more challenging as drought, flooding, increasing temperatures and other climatic change effects are impacting NPS lands and visitors and affecting factors such as visitation, recreation access and health and safety among other aspects of park operations. However, the literature lacks insights from staff dealing with on-the-ground climate impacts to visitor use. To address this gap, we held semi-structured interviews with 63 staff from 31 NPS units across the United States (U.S.) to better understand the effects of climate change on visitor use. We qualitatively analysed the interviews using both deductive and inductive methods to identify key themes. Interview participants consistently noted that climate change is already affecting visitor use at their parks. For instance, increasing temperatures are negatively affecting both staff and visitor safety at parks nationwide, whereas all coastal parks within our sample are already experiencing impacts from sea-level rise or more frequent and severe coastal storms and hurricanes. Other impacts include reduced recreational access, damaged infrastructure and cultural resources and diminished visitor experiences due to fire and smoke. Similarly, concerns about future impacts often revolved around the health and safety of visitors and staff—particularly related to wildfire and smoke, water quality and availability, and increased heat—and climate change forever altering parks. Our research shows staff in parks and protected areas are noticing effects of climate change on visitor use; some of these impacts have not been previously documented in the scientific literature. Study results highlight future visitor use management research needs and key topics to consider for visitor use planning processes.
Read moreNature Contact and Health Risk Behaviours: Results From an 18 Country Study
Emerging evidence suggests that residential greenspace is associated with a lower prevalence of health risk behaviours, but it remains unclear whether these effects are generalizable across countries or different types of nature contact. Using representative cross-sectional samples from 18 countries/regions, we examined the associations between two types of nature contact (greenspace, nature visits), current smoking and everyday drinking. After controlling for a range of covariates, greenspace was inversely associated with current smoking and everyday drinking. Visiting natural spaces at least once a week was linked to a lower prevalence of current smoking, but unrelated to everyday drinking. Increasing residential greenspace could be a promising strategy for reducing multiple health risk behaviours, whilst visit-based interventions may be a more appropriate target for smoking cessation. Highlights Examined the links between nature and health-risk behaviours in 18 countries. Greenspace predicted lower current smoking and exceeding alcohol guidelines. Weekly nature visits were associated with a lower prevalence of current smoking. Greenspace-behaviour associations were largely consistent between countries.
Read moreParks and Social Capital: An Analysis of the 100 Most Populous U.S. Cities
Figure 1. 2024 ParkScore methodology. Each city receives two values in the ParkScore index: a rating on a scale of 100 points (100 is high) and a ranking, with each city ranked on a scale of 1–100 (1 is high), regardless of the magnitude differences among rating scores. In recent years, much attention has focused on strategies to reverse the decline of social capital in the United States. Increased social capital, which includes both intergroup contact and civic engagement, has many important benefits. For low-income individuals, friendships with high-income individuals (“economic connectedness”, a measure of inter-group contact) are one of the strongest predictors of their ability to escape poverty and gain increased life opportunities. Volunteering, a measure of civic engagement, is hypothesized to be key in building trust among neighbors. Urban parks are often thought to be a ‘third place’ that may increase social capital within a community through both increased “mixing and mingling” and increased civic engagement. This study finds that residents of cities with better quality park systems (as measured by the ParkScore® index) are more socially connected and engaged with their neighbors (as measured by the Social Capital Atlas) than are residents of cities with lower-ranking park systems. Relative to the bottom 25 ranked cities, the top 25 ParkScore cities had 26 % more social connections between different income groups, 61 % more volunteers per capita, and 45 % more civic organizations per capita. These patterns held after controlling for other factors such as education, race/ethnicity, poverty, and family structure. These other factors often had stronger associations with the social capital indicators, suggesting park systems are an important, but not primary, driver of a community’s social capital. People living in cities with more parks and recreational opportunities may be more likely to realize these important benefits. Highlights Residents of cities with highly-ranked park systems are more socially connected than those in lower-ranked cities. Park systems are an important, but not primary, driver of a community’s social capital. Social capital has important benefits e.g. economic mobility for low-income individuals and increased trust among neighbors.
Read morePlanning for Your CANOE (Circumspect Awareness and Navigation of Outcomes and Expectations) Journey in Community-Engaged Research With Indigenous Communities
Community engagement has long been recognised as necessary for working with Indigenous communities. Although many researchers are excited to engage with communities and many articles describe the process of community engagement in research, almost none have addressed the foundational question of whether researchers should engage with Indigenous communities for research. In this Viewpoint, we will discuss the Circumspect Awareness and Navigation of Outcomes and Expectations (CANOE) approach, which describes what should be considered before embarking on a community-engaged research journey with Indigenous communities. We build on existing literature regarding understanding the need to recognise positionality, practise reflexivity, assess personal strengths and weaknesses, and consider abilities and skills that can be offered or promised to Indigenous partners. Our goal is to provide principles of being reflexive, intentional, and careful before launching into research with Indigenous communities. Drawing from our combined decades of experience as Indigenous, community-engaged scientists leading national and international community projects, we draw from the extant literature and lessons learned in the field to provide a guiding CANOE approach for community-engaged research. This Viewpoint provides researchers interested in community-engaged projects with the information they need to consider before embarking on their research journey. We provide a set of CANOE self-assessment questions designed to evaluate a researcher’s preparedness, suitability to invest in a research partnership, and adaptability to navigate a research journey with Indigenous communities. Not only should relationships be properly developed and nurtured, but researchers need to fundamentally understand their ability to develop research partnerships that prioritise Indigenous cultural worldviews and protocols in research design, development, testing, and implementation.
Read morePsychological Ecosystem Services
The nonmaterial benefits of Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) include categories that are related to personal and community identity, recreation, cultural diversity, heritage, support of knowledge systems, spiritual experiences, and well-being. In many ways, Psychological Ecosystem Services (Psych ES) are a type of CES, though the fields from which this research come differ somewhat with respect to epistemological foundations. Psych ES include the diverse ways in which nature contributes to the mental and emotional well-being of individuals and communities, and encompass the psychological benefits derived from interactions with natural environments. Some CES approaches and outcomes include nonmaterial benefits that are only indirectly related to Psych ES, while others are directly overlapping and use terms that are explicitly included within the scope of Psych ES. A distinction between them lies both in how the outcomes are typically measured and in what the measures and operationalizations of these outcomes are. We discuss these points in detail throughout this chapter.
Read moreSafeguarding Nature and Cities in a Burning Country
Raging fires around Los Angeles are another stark reminder of how deeply our lives are intertwined with nature. Fires in the western USA — as with fires around Athens, Sydney or Valparaiso — expose not only the vulnerability of urban communities but also the neglect and overexploitation of the natural systems that sustain us and protect cities. As flames consumed forests, homes and infrastructure in Los Angeles in early 2025 (destroying 16,000 buildings, with thousands more facing continued risk), the controversies around fire prevention and management are likely to burn through political opportunities to build a common vision for a resilient and sustainable future in and around urban areas. Although the Los Angeles fires and political shifts in Washington cast attention on the USA, recent climate emergencies and political transitions to the right or extreme-right internationally call for invoking shared values in the management of the climate crisis and the protection of natural resources.
Read moreThe Importance of (Not Just Visual) Interaction With Nature: A Study With the Girl Scouts
This study investigated whether children’s nature interactions that are embodied (versus only visual) would be associated with a state of being highly aware without thought, including being in “the present moment,” and/or feeling connected to something beyond the self. We refer to this state of being as Presence in nature. Using an interaction pattern approach, we coded written narratives from 127 Girl Scouts (8-11 years old) about a recent meaningful nature experience and, through a questionnaire designed for the study, assessed the degree to which participants experienced Presence in that nature experience. Exploratory analyses indicated that participants who enacted embodied interactions with nature (e.g., “making snowman,” “wrapping arms around tree,” “talking to chickens”) reported a greater sense of Presence in nature than participants whose interactions relied solely on vision (e.g., “seeing snow,” “seeing moss,” “watching pileated woodpecker”). Discussion focuses on the implications of Girl Scouts’ embodied nature interactions for environmental education. Related Media Q&A: UW Researchers Examine Mental Impact of Girl Scouts’ Interactions With Nature (April 21, 2025)
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The Psychological Benefits of Open-Water (Wild) Swimming: Exploring a Self-Determination Approach Using a 19-Country Sample
A growing body of qualitative and quantitative research has explored the potential benefits to mental health and well-being of open-water or “wild” swimming. To date, most studies have used small samples in specific locations, limiting generalisability, and have not distinguished open-water swimming from other forms of outdoor swimming, such as in open-air pools, raising questions about any additional benefits of wild swimming over and above swimming outside per se. Using survey data from n =1,200 recently recalled outdoor swimming visits across 19 different countries, we compared self-reported well-being outcomes for swims in either open-water (wild) locations or open-air pools. Additionally, we explored the degree to which satisfaction of the motivations identified by self-determination theory (i.e. autonomy, relatedness, and competence) may explain any differences. Swimming visits in both locations were associated with high levels of positive, and low levels of negative, well-being, as well as high levels of autonomy, relatedness and competence. Open-water swimming was, nonetheless, associated with significantly higher positive well-being than open-air pool swims, with mediation analysis indicating that feelings of greater autonomy and competence (but not relatedness) primarily accounted for the difference. Results for anxiety were more nuanced, perhaps because more competent swimmers were more likely to swim in less safe, more anxiety inducing, places. Results re-iterate, help explain, and support the generalisation of previous research reporting potential benefits of open-water swimming for mental health and well-being, and highlight the need to support further safe access to high quality open-water locations.
Read moreWhole-Earth: A Conservation-Planning Paradigm for a Changing Climate
Figure 1: Framework for successful biodiversity conservation in the face of climate change. Conservationists have called for conserving 30%–50% of the earth’s surface to address the ongoing biodiversity and climate crises. To be successful, such an expansion of the global reserve network must meet climate-intensified challenges of species movements, ecological transformations, increasing human needs, and environmental injustices. These challenges will not be overcome by simply doubling or tripling the footprint of protected areas. Instead, successful biodiversity conservation will re- quire planning for conservation mosaics—large, integrated landscapes, and seascapes composed of areas with different levels of protection and types of management—that cover the entire earth. Such mosaics can (1) increase landscape-scale coordination of conservation efforts, (2) increase landscape permeability, (3) sustain healthy human populations, and (4) reduce environmental injustices. We describe this more holistic spatial conservation paradigm and provide a framework for planning for conservation mosaics that addresses growing biodiversity conservation and human needs.
Read more“We don’t separate out these things. Everything is related”: Partnerships with Indigenous Communities to Design, Implement, and Evaluate Multilevel Interventions to Reduce Health Disparities
Figure 1. An overview of the partnerships in MLIs by building on the Indigenous Holistic Health and Wellness Multilevel Framework Multilevel interventions (MLIs) are appropriate to reduce health disparities among Indigenous peoples because of their ability to address these communities’ diverse histories, dynamics, cultures, politics, and environments. Intervention science has highlighted the importance of context-sensitive MLIs in Indigenous communities that can prioritize Indigenous and local knowledge systems and emphasize the collective versus the individual. This paradigm shift away from individual-level focus interventions to community-level focus interventions underscores the need for community engagement and diverse partnerships in MLI design, implementation, and evaluation. In this paper, we discuss three case studies addressing how Indigenous partners collaborated with researchers in each stage of the design, implementation, and evaluation of MLIs to reduce health disparities impacting their communities. We highlight the following: Collaborations with multiple, diverse tribal partners to carry out MLIs which require iterative, consistent conversations over time; Inclusion of qualitative and Indigenous research methods in MLIs as a way to honor Indigenous and local knowledge systems as well as a way to understand a health disparity phenomenon in a community; and Relationship building, maintenance, and mutual respect among MLI partners to reconcile past research abuses, prevent extractive research practices, decolonize research processes, and generate co-created knowledge between Indigenous and academic communities.
Read moreA National Model for Estimating US Public Land Visitation
Figure 1. Map of study locations and regions, colored by management agency. Shaded areasshow unit boundaries for units which are larger than the points. Public land management relies on accurate visitor counts in order to understand and mitigate environmental impacts and to quantify the value of ecosystem services provided by natural areas. We built and tested predictive visitation models suitable for publicly-managed parks, open space and other protected lands based on multiple sources of digital mobility data including posts to social media, recreation report platforms, and a cellular device location dataset from a commercial vendor. Using observational visitation data series from the United States’ National Park Service, Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service, we quantified the accuracy of statistical models to predict on-the-ground visitation using individual and combined sources of locational data. We found the predictive models performed best in settings where some on-site visitation data can be integrated into the models. On-site visitation data helps to account for meaningful differences in modeled relationships both within and across the three agencies considered. We found variation in the usefulness of the digital mobility data sources, with models combining multiple data sources outperforming those using a single source, including those based solely on cellular device locations. We discuss the practical implications of these findings as well as paths forward to improve visitation estimation on public lands by incorporating digital mobility data.
Read moreAssociations of Nature Contact with Emotional Ill-Being and Well-Being: The Role of Emotion Regulation
Figure 1. Bayesian structural equation model results with frequency of nature contact, emotion regulation, and emotional ill-being and well-being. Nature contact has associations with emotional ill-being and well-being. However, the mechanisms underlying these associations are not fully understood. We hypothesised that increased adaptive and decreased maladaptive emotion regulation strategies would be a pathway linking nature contact to ill-being and well-being. Using data from a survey of 600 U.S.-based adults administered online in 2022, we conducted structural equation modelling to test our hypotheses. We found that: Frequency of nature contact was significantly associated with lesser emotional ill-being and greater emotional well-being, Effective emotion regulation was significantly associated with lesser emotional ill-being and greater emotional well-being, and The associations of higher frequency of nature contact with these benefits were partly explained via emotion regulation. Moreover, we found a nonlinear relationship for the associations of duration of nature contact with some outcomes, with a rise in benefits up to certain amounts of time, and a levelling off after these points. These findings support and extend previous work that demonstrates that the associations of nature contact with emotional ill-being and well-being may be partly explained by changes in emotion regulation.
Read moreAssociations of Residential Green Space with Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior in Early Childhood
Figure 1. Associations between residential green space and CBCL scores. Background Green space exposures may promote child mental health and well-being across multiple domains and stages of development. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between residential green space exposures and child mental and behavioral health at age 4–6 years. Methods Children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) cohort in Shelby County, Tennessee, were parent-reported on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). We examined three exposures—residential surrounding greenness calculated as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), tree cover, and park proximity—averaged across the residential history for the year prior to outcome assessment. Linear regression models were adjusted for individual, household, and neighborhood-level confounders across multiple domains. Effect modification by neighborhood socioeconomic conditions was explored using multiplicative interaction terms. Results Children were on average 4.2 years (range 3.8-6.0) at outcome assessment. Among CANDLE mothers, 65% self-identified as Black, 29% as White, and 6% as another or multiple races; 41% had at least a college degree. Higher residential surrounding greenness was associated with lower internalizing behavior scores (-0.66 per 0.1 unit higher NDVI; 95% CI: -1.26, -0.07) in fully-adjusted models. The association between tree cover and internalizing behavior was in the hypothesized direction but confidence intervals included the null (-0.29 per 10% higher tree cover; 95% CI: -0.62, 0.04). No associations were observed between park proximity and internalizing behavior. We did not find any associations with externalizing behaviors or the attention problems subscale. Estimates were larger in neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic opportunity, but interaction terms were not statistically significant. Conclusions Our findings add to the accumulating evidence of the importance of residential green space for the prevention of internalizing problems among young children. This research suggests the prioritization of urban green spaces as a resource for child mental health.
Read moreBuilt Environment and Public Health: More Than 20 Years of Progress
FIGURE 1— Built Environment and Health Articles Indexed by Four Databases, 2003–2022 Fall 2023 marked 20 years since the AJPH “Built Environment and Health” (BEH) special issue.1 The issue highlighted the reengagement of health and design professions and growing interest in the built environment’s potential to improve health. Public health and urban planning linkages were not new. Late 19th- and early 20th-century efforts to improve air, water, food, and housing quality; sanitation; and workplace safety contributed to better quality of life and increased life expectancy. The sectors became isolated over time, with little collaboration until recent decades. The anniversary of the special issue offers an opportunity to inventory progress in BEH: combined perspectives from public health, urban planning, architecture, transportation, and related fields on how the physical components of where we live, work, learn, and play influence health. The following sections contain an overview of BEH progress in research, practice, education, and policy, as well as current context and future priorities.
Read moreCollective Co-existence, Climate Apocalypse, and a Nature-Relational Way Forward
We begin by looking into the future – not too far in years to be too far-fetched, but far enough to point to a critical time in terms of our collective coexistence. 15 years ahead. If we were writing this in the early 1900’s, our time frame would have been around 100 years. Our timeframe is shorter now because in technological terms the rate of change has been increasing exponentially. As an example of an exponential function, take a dollar and double it every day. After a week you have 64 dollars, which is a nice amount but nothing too surprising. But after a month you have over a billion dollars. That is part of the experience of exponential functions: They can start out looking rather modest, if not linear, but at some point shoot skyward, at which point it is difficult for the human mind to comprehend even the next iteration. So, it has been in our evolutionary history (Ehrlich and Ehrlich 2008). About 1.6 million years ago, Homo erectus is believed to have first controlled fire. About 50,000 years ago, Homo sapiens deliberately used bone, ivory, and shell objects to shape projectile points, needles, and awls, and engaged in cave painting and sculpture. About 10,000 years ago, with the rise of agriculture, rudimentary tools were invented to domesticate land and animals. By about the middle of the third millennium b.c., blast furnaces in China were invented to cast iron. By the sixth century there was the iron plow, and by the thirteenth century the spinning wheel. The Western Renaissance emerged in the 1700’s, and then after that was the Industrial Revolution. The greatest amount of technological innovation in the shortest period of time has occurred in the last fifty years, and even in the last twenty years, especially with those technologies that build on digital computation. Back in 1965, Moore’s (2006) law was that the number of transistors in microchips doubles about every two years, which pretty much continues to this day. In turn, exponential technological growth has spurred equally fast social transformations. It took 70 years for the landline telephone to become pervasive in modern societies and transform modes of communication. It took seven years for the cellphone to do the same thing; and now, more recently, for social media by means of smartphones to create “information echo chambers” where falsehoods are amplified, social life splintered, and democracies threatened.
Read moreDigging Into Nature: Outdoor Adventures for Healthier and Happier Kids
Children living in the United States spend an average of 7 hours a day on entertainment media, including TVs, phones, computers, and video game systems. It’s a lose-lose scenario. Kids are suffering the effects of too much screen time and they’re missing out on the very real benefits of spending time outside. Pediatricians and nature experts Pooja Sarin Tandon and Danette Swanson Glassy make the convincing case that children and families will be happier, healthier, and more resilient when spending time in nature. They offer a wealth of suggestions for nature-based activities and suggestions for overcoming common challenges busy families face when trying to increase their outdoor time. The authors address the importance of nature for children’s health at every age from infancy through adolescence and link their suggested activities to key developmental milestones. Digging Into Nature takes an inclusive approach, providing practical tips for parents of children with special health care needs, chronic health conditions, and cultural considerations to help all children reap the gifts that the great outdoors offer. Related Media Podcasts Outdoors Adventures for Happier Kids (November 2024) The Importance of Getting Our Children Into Nature (September 30, 2024) Pediatricians Share Why Kids Need Time in Nature (September 30, 2024) Reviews Parent Review: Digging into Nature (October 14, 2024)
Read moreHealth Professionals and the Climate Crisis
Health professionals from every corner of the health sector—from allergy to vascular surgery, from epidemiology to environmental health, from nursing to hospital administration—have recognized the magnitude and urgency of the climate crisis. A growing literature provides guidance on how to conceptualize and meet the vast challenges we face and on how to keep our spirits up as we do so.
Read moreIndividual and Neighborhood Level Predictors of Children’s Exposure to Residential Greenspace
Figure 1. Distribution of (A) residential surrounding greenness, (B) tree cover, and (C) park proximity, in the CANDLE cohort for the residential address reported at the time of the age 4–6 year study visit (n = 1012). Residential surrounding greenness is assessed using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) within a 300-m radial buffer of the home address. Tree cover is assessed as the percentage of the census block group. Park proximity is assessed as the distance to the nearest boundary of a park; the x-axis is truncated at 5 km for visualization purposes. Inequities in urban greenspace have been identified, though patterns by race and socioeconomic status vary across US settings. We estimated the magnitude of the relationship between a broad mixture of neighborhood-level factors and residential greenspace using weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, and compared predictive models of greenspace using only neighborhood-level, only individual-level, or multi-level predictors. Greenspace measures included the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), tree canopy, and proximity of the nearest park, for residential locations in Shelby County, Tennessee of children in the CANDLE cohort. Neighborhood measures include socioeconomic and education resources, as well as racial composition and racial residential segregation. In this sample of 1012 mother–child dyads, neighborhood factors were associated with higher NDVI and tree canopy (0.021 unit higher NDVI [95% CI: 0.014, 0.028] per quintile increase in WQS index); homeownership rate, proximity of and enrollment at early childhood education centers, and racial composition, were highly weighted in the WQS index. In models constrained in the opposite direction (0.028 unit lower NDVI [95% CI: − 0.036, − 0.020]), high school graduation rate and teacher experience were highly weighted. In prediction models, adding individual-level predictors to the suite of neighborhood characteristics did not meaningfully improve prediction accuracy for greenspace measures. Our findings highlight disparities in greenspace for families by neighborhood socioeconomic and early education factors, and by race, suggesting several neighborhood indicators for consideration both as potential confounders in studies of greenspace and pediatric health as well as in the development of policies and programs to improve equity in greenspace access.
Read moreMeasuring Urban Nature for Pedestrian Health: Systematic Review and Expert Survey
Walking and access to nature are two of the most effective health promotion and disease prevention strategies. There has been a growing interest in the dynamic pathways among access to nature, walking, and health. Effective measurement of these variables is the prerequisite to advancing our understanding of such pathways. However, contrasting to the rigorous methods available for walking and health measures, methods to quantify nature have been limited. This study uses a systematic literature review to synthesize urban nature measures (UNMs) used in published studies linking urban nature with pedestrian health outcomes (e.g. walking, physical activity, physical health, mental health). A survey of experts (n = 30) was used to identify additional and emerging methods. The literature search identified 115 articles and 48 UNMs most of which (40 or 83%) were objective measures. Results showed no consensus on the optimal UNMs for pedestrian health research, but certain measures such as NDVI, proximity to green spaces, and area/proportion of green spaces, were popularly used in previous studies. Experts suggested emerging methods including LiDAR, GPS, high-resolution imagery, virtual/augmented reality, and context-sensitive ecological momentary assessment. Major gaps in current UNMs included the shortage of eye-level and quality-related measures. While experts acknowledge the promise of emerging technologies, they shared concerns related to privacy, digital divide, confidentiality, and bias. This study offers insights into the UNMs available to quantify nature for pedestrian health research, which can serve to facilitate future research, community actions, and policy changes aimed at promoting walking and nature access for healthier urban communities.
Read moreMechanisms Underlying the Associations Between Different Types of Nature Exposure and Sleep Duration: An 18-Country Analysis
Figure 1. Schematic representation of conceptual model of the relationships between nature exposures, proposed mediators and insufficient sleep. Whilst green space has been linked to healthier sleep outcomes, the roles of specific types of nature exposure, potential underlying mechanisms, and between-country variations in nature-sleep associations have received little attention. Drawing on cross-sectional survey data from an 18-country sample of adults (N = 16,077) the current study examined: 1) the relative associations between six different types of nature exposure (streetscape greenery, blue view from home, green space within 1 km, coast within 1 km, green space visits, blue space visits) and insufficient sleep (<6 h vs. 7–10 h per day); 2) whether these relationships were mediated by better mental wellbeing and/or physical activity; and 3) the consistency of these pathways among the different countries. After controlling for covariates, neighbourhood nature measures (green space, coast within 1 km) were not significantly associated with insufficient sleep; but nature visible from home (streetscape greenery, blue views and recreational visits to green and blue spaces were each associated with less insufficient sleep. Significant nature-sleep associations were mediated, to varying degrees, by better mental wellbeing, but not self-reported physical activity. Country-level heterogeneity in the strength of nature-sleep associations was observed. Increasing nature visible from the home may represent a promising strategy for promoting healthier sleep duration at the population level, whilst nature-based interventions encouraging individuals to spend time in local green/blue spaces may be an appropriate target to assist individuals affected by insufficient sleep.
Read moreNature and Human Well-Being: The Olfactory Pathway
Figure 1. Conceptual framework of the pathway from exposure to natural olfactory environments to human well-being. The olfactory environment is characterized by the concentrations and ratios of airborne chemicals. Dimensions of olfactory function (i.e., sensitivity, discrimination, and identification) are influenced by a variety of individual and environmental factors, which together moderate olfactory perception. Subjective experience is a mediator through which olfactory perceptions lead to well-being outcomes. Relevant determinants of this experience include individual preference, culture, association, prior experience, and multisensory context. Other pathways to well-being include those that occur below the threshold of perception (i.e., subthreshold) and those that occur via initial affective responses that are suprathreshold but independent of top-down processes related to subjective experience. These components lead to a variety of well-being outcomes, from broader dimensions such as quality of and satisfaction with life, to emotional responses and emotion regulation, cognitive function, influences on behavior (social interactions and dietary choices), stress, depressive symptoms, (anti-)inflammatory processes, and effects from exposures to pathogens. Together, these outcomes are the result of subthreshold biochemical processes, initial affective responses, and subjective appraisals of odors from nature. A variety of other pathways mediate the relationship between olfactory environments and human well-being, although they are not illustrated here. Credit: University of Washington The world is undergoing massive atmospheric and ecological change, driving unprecedented challenges to human well-being. Olfaction is a key sensory system through which these impacts occur. The sense of smell influences quality of and satisfaction with life, emotion, emotion regulation, cognitive function, social interactions, dietary choices, stress, and depressive symptoms. Exposures via the olfactory pathway can also lead to (anti-)inflammatory outcomes. Increased understanding is needed regarding the ways in which odorants generated by nature (i.e., natural olfactory environments) affect human well-being. With perspectives from a range of health, social, and natural sciences, we provide an overview of this unique sensory system, four consensus statements regarding olfaction and the environment, and a conceptual framework that integrates the olfactory pathway into an understanding of the effects of natural environments on human well-being. We then discuss how this framework can contribute to better accounting of the impacts of policy and land-use decision-making on natural olfactory environments and, in turn, on planetary health. Related Media How the smells of nature can affect human well-being (May 29, 2024) How do the smells of nature affect well-being? A call for more research. (May 23, 2024) Nature’s scents linked to improved health and well-being (May 16, 2024)
Read morePhysical Activity in Natural Settings: An Opportunity for Lifestyle Medicine
Physical activity is a well-known behavior for promoting health and preventing a variety of chronic diseases. Despite widespread knowledge of the benefits of physical activity, most Americans do not engage in sufficient physical activity. Over the past decade, there has been increasing recognition of the health benefits of spending time in nature, mediated in part through physical activity. This has led to new partnerships across health, parks and recreation, public lands, and environmental organizations to increase time spent, and physical activity, in natural settings. This review assesses the current evidence around physical activity in natural settings (PANS), strategies for promoting PANS including health professional engagement, and current gaps in the research literature. Related Media Does Greenspace Plus Exercise Boost the Individual Health Benefits of Each? (June 11, 2024)
Read morePromoting Health Through Nature-Based Climate Solutions
Nature-based climate solutions represent a set of strategies and tools that can help mitigate carbon emissions, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, promote adaptation to climate change, and build resilience. They need to be implemented as part of an integrated set of climate actions. They aim to accomplish specific mitigation and adaptation goals effectively, economically, and safely. They deliver a wide range of co-benefits, including co-benefits for health and well-being. Nature-based climate solutions can cause unintended and even harmful consequences, and therefore need to be carefully planned, implemented, and managed. This chapter explores nature-based climate solutions in cities as well as in rural and wildland areas. It discusses tradeoffs, policy levers, economic levers, communications, and equity considerations that arise in implementing nature-based climate solutions. The chapter also includes a textbox on ecosystem services and nature’s services to people, and a textbox on the number of trees that the world can support.
Read morePublic Nature and Health for Homeless Populations: Professionals’ Perceptions of Contingent Human Benefits and Harms
Table 1. Characteristics of the overall homeless and unsheltered homeless population in Washington (statewide), and King and Snohomish counties (US Census, 2020; US HUD, 2022a; 2022b). Highlights Professionals observe benefits and harms of natural area use for homeless populations. Perceived harms include increased environmental exposures and social vulnerability. Perceived benefits include privacy, desired social conditions, and reduced stress. Relationships between nature and health were seen as variable and context dependent. This article investigates relationships between public nature and health for unsheltered homeless populations. It examines perceptions of health benefits and harms for people living in public natural areas including local, state, and national forests and parks in the Seattle metropolitan area (USA). Interviews with environmental, social service, and law enforcement professionals who regularly interact with this vulnerable population were conducted and thematically analyzed to understand perceptions of physical and mental health outcomes. Results show professionals’ perspectives on the health benefits and detriments of time spent in natural environments and the contextual factors perceived to influence health. Interviewees’ observations about the variability of personal circumstances and biophysical, social, and weather conditions encourage the nuanced consideration of how contingent therapeutic landscapes provide deeply needed benefits, but for a population with a diminished capacity to adapt when conditions change. We conclude with insights for future research that directly assesses homeless populations’ exposures and health outcomes of living in public natural areas.
Read moreQuantifying Nature: Introducing NatureScoreTM and NatureDoseTM as Health Analysis and Promotion Tools
The Value of Nature Exposure in the 21st Century Figure 1. New tools to quantify nature at any location in the United States (NatureScoreTM, left panel) and an individual’s daily or weekly exposure to nature (NatureDoseTM, right panel). The app provides NatureScoreTM values to users within a 1-km buffer, although values can be calculated at smaller distances or averaged across spatial units (i.e., census tracts). Humanity is undergoing a monumental shift. People have rapidly moved from a largely natural, outdoor existence to life in built, urban settings. Most places where people live and work differ dramatically from the ones we occupied for 99.9% of human history, and our current surroundings often physically separate us from the natural world. Most people—over half globally and approximately 4 in 5 in the United States—now live in urban areas,1 where nearby nature exposure tends to be limited2 and unequally distributed across socioeconomic and racial/ethnic subgroups.3-6 Adults in higher-income countries spend 80%-90% of their lives sedentary and indoors,7-9 with 6 to 8 hours or more spent each day looking at screens.10-12 The same is increasingly true for our developing youth,10,13,14 who may experience poorer health across their life span as a result.15 Over the last 30 years, physicians, scientists, and journalists have come to suspect that we are experiencing a “nature deficit disorder,” or “extinction of experience”.16-22 With the loss of direct exposure to nature has also come diminished knowledge of where food comes from, an inability to recognize plants and animals, fewer opportunities to experience awe (being in the presence of something vast that transcends current understandings of the world), and a failure to develop positive emotions and empathy toward other people and the non-human world.23-25 In response to growing concerns about this radical shift, scientists worldwide have studied how nature exposure is associated with human health.26-31 The links between declining nature exposure and increasing depression, anxiety, heart disease, and premature mortality are increasingly clear.26,32 A large and growing body of scientific literature demonstrates that exposure to nature, broadly encompassing green spaces, trees, parks, water bodies, deserts, wilderness areas, wildlife, and more,30,33 is associated with measurable and meaningful benefits to dozens of facets of psychological and physical health.31,33-35 These benefits can follow from nature exposure in a variety of forms, from passively viewing nature from a park bench to walking along a tree-lined street or practicing shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing”)36 in an urban forest. At a population level, the presence of nature has also been linked to important societal benefits, such as higher property values,37 lower healthcare expenses,38,39 lower levels of air pollution, noise, and heat,40-43 as well as lower crime rates,44,45 enhanced social mobility,46 more cohesive communities,47-50 and resilience to public health crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.50,51 These beneficial associations are believed to result from natural areas mitigating environmental hazards, restoring cognitive capacity, reducing stress reactivity, facilitating interactions with commensurate microbiota, and promoting healthy behaviors, such as physical activity and social interaction.30,34,52,53 Like exercise, sleep, and a healthy diet,54 nature exposure may well be a necessary health behavior to promote longevity, prevent disease, and enhance wellbeing.55-57 “Nature prescribing” by healthcare providers, a growing movement, can serve as a tool for health promotion with minimal cost, side effects, equipment needs, or training requirements. Few medications or existing interventions can match these qualities. For instance, the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Essential 8” asserts that the following can help achieve an “ideal” cardiovascular health: a healthy diet, ≥150 minutes of moderate exercise or ≥75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week, not smoking or vaping, sleeping 7 to 9 hours each night, maintaining a healthy body mass index, and regularly checking and maintaining cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, and blood pressure levels.54 Nature exposure might be comparable to several of these recommendations in terms of potential health benefits and come with fewer barriers to starting and maintaining a regular practice.
Read moreStreet Trees Provide an Opportunity to Mitigate Urban Heat and Reduce Risk of High Heat Exposure
Figure 1. Study area for this work, which is part of the Greening Research in Tacoma (GRIT) project, is located in South Tacoma, Washington, USA, shown by the black square on global map, where solar radiation shields (photographed) containing temperature loggers were installed on utility poles. Here we report on temperature data from loggers at 46 locations throughout the neighborhood (blue dots) during summer 2022. Climate change is exacerbating the need for urban greening and the associated environmental and human well-being benefits. Trees can help mitigate urban heat, but more detailed understanding of cooling effects of green infrastructure are needed to guide management decisions and deploy trees as effective and equitable climate adaptation infrastructure. We investigated how urban trees affect summer air temperature along sidewalks within a neighborhood of Tacoma, Washington, USA, and to what extent urban trees reduce risks of high summer temperatures (i.e., the levels regulated by state outdoor heat exposure rules intended to reduce heat-related illnesses). Air temperature varied by 2.57 °C, on average, across our study area, and the probability of daytime temperatures exceeding regulated high temperature thresholds was up to five times greater in locations with no canopy cover within 10 m compared to those with 100% cover. Air temperatures decreased linearly with increasing cover within 10 m, suggesting that every unit of added tree cover can help cool the air. Our findings highlight the value of trees in mitigating urban heat, especially given expected warming with climate change. Protecting existing urban trees and increasing tree cover (e.g., by planting street trees), are important actions to enhance climate change resilience of urban areas.
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