Conservation volunteers’ experiences of connecting with nature during the COVID-19 pandemic: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant negative implications for individual wellbeing and many people accessed green spaces to help them cope with the demands of national lockdown restrictions. In response, the current study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to investigate the experiences of ten UK based nature volunteers whose activities had been disrupted due to the UK COVID-19 lockdowns throughout 2020. Each nature volunteer participated in a semi-structured interview held on a virtual platform which invited them to explore their experiences in nature during the pandemic. Analysis identified three main themes. ‘Sensations of nature’ explored the sense of presence and oneness with nature that the volunteers felt when mindfully engaging with the sensations found in nature. ‘Stability from nature’ investigated the ways in which the volunteers found meaning in nature and the sense of comfort, stability and hope this provided. Finally, ‘Changing relationships with nature’ examined the greater environmental awareness that the volunteers experienced and the ways in which this led to a desire to give back to nature. It is argued that mindful engagement with nature enhances a sense of personal wellbeing and cultivates a connection to nature which encourages environmental concern

Ação larvicida de derivados arilsulfonilicos da (+)-canfora e da (+)-isopinocanfona sobre o carrapato Boophilus microplus.

Testou-se a atividade larvicida de 33 derivados arilsulfonílicos da (+)-cânfora e da (+)-isopinocanfona no carrapato B. microplus, na busca de princípios ativos menos tóxicos para o seu controle. Os produtos foram obtidos por clorossulfonação da (+)-cânfora e da (+)-isopinocanfona. Eles foram submetidos à solubilização e testados separadamente e em conjunto contra larvas de carrapato encerradas em envelopes contendo papéis impregnados e acondicionadas em estufa climatizada. A mortalidade média não atingiu 5% em todos os testes realizados, indicando que a clorossulfonação não é a rota de síntese mais adequada para a obtenção de derivados sintéticos com efeito larvicida sobre B. microplus. Os 33 produtos testados sob a forma de triagem biológica não podem ser considerados como potenciais acaricidas