First paragraph: How does walking through a forest make you feel? Peaceful? Blissful? Reflective? For many people, lockdown brought a new appreciation of nature and what it means for our well-being. The health benefits of immersing ourselves in “greenspace” are now widely accepted. Living in areas with grass and trees has been linked to lower risk of various health conditions such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. As well as physical health, greenspace is associated with positive mental health.https://theconversation.com/parks-and-green-spaces-are-important-for-our-mental-health-but-we-need-to-make-sure-that-everyone-can-benefit-14232

Carver, Hannah

Masterton, Wendy

Parkes, Tessa

Stirling Online Research Repository

AuthorsWendy MastertonDoctoral Researcher, Social and NaturalSciences, University of StirlingHannah CarverLecturer in Substance Use, University ofStirlingTessa ParkesAcademic rigour, journalistic flairHow does walking through a forest make you feel? Peaceful? Blissful? Reflective? Formany people, lockdown brought a new appreciation of nature and what it means forour well-being. The health benefits of immersing ourselves in “greenspace” are nowwidely accepted. Living in areas with grass and trees has been linked to lower risk ofvarious health conditions such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Aswell as physical health, greenspace is associated with positive mental health.A recent study found that people who spent at least two hours in nature per weekwere consistently more likely to report higher levels of health and well-beingcompared to people who spent less time in nature.Our work seeks to understand exactly how greenspace programmes can improvemental health. A greenspace programme, or nature-based intervention, is a healthproject typically run outside in parks, woodland, forests and other greenspace areas.These programmes can be designed for anyone, but have been shown to beparticularly beneficial for those with poorer mental health. Projects can range fromShutterstockParks and green spaces are important for our mental health –but we need to make sure that everyone can benefitAugust 7, 2020 2.12pm BSTMental health Nature Green space health inequality Forest bathing Lockdownspending more time in their local areas, and affluence allowing people to travel further from theirhomes more regularly.High-quality green spaces and access to nature should be available and easily accessible for everyone,but it is clear that this is currently not the case. With further funding cuts to the quantity and qualityof green spaces, it is likely that the poorest communities will suffer the most.What should be done?Funding for public services is now going to be stretched even further. But it is more important thanever that continued government funding for parks and green spaces is kept as a high priority,particularly when mental health is reported to have deteriorated during lockdown.This funding must not be limited to popular beauty spots or tourist areas, but be prioritised to areaswhere people who are commonly overlooked may benefit the most. Not only are parks and greenspaces crucial for our mental health and important for reducing inequalities, but quality spaces andgreen development are essential in the ongoing fight against climate change – it’s good for people andit’s good for the planet.Public parks are crucial for access to nature for all citizens. ShutterstockResearch Director, University of Stirlingstructured therapy programmes such as adventure, wilderness and horticulturaltherapies, to less formal activities such as community gardening, guided walks andthe Japanese notion of “forest bathing” or shinrin-yoku.We are currently working on developing a framework for those wishing to start up such initiatives.This is an important area of research, because while there is an increasing number of greenspaceprogrammes for mental health, there is still limited understanding of the key components that makethese projects successful. This makes it difficult to develop and implement new programmes andevaluate them successfully.Mental health and natureIn our recent review we showed that greenspace programmes are successful in improving mentalhealth due to seven interacting factors: the feeling of escape and getting away; having space to reflect;physical activity; learning to deal with things; having a purpose; relationships with programmeleaders; and shared social experiences. Using these components we created a new framework forgreenspace programmes for mental health that showed exactly how positive outcomes can be bestachieved.We believe this framework could provide a working model for future programme development.However, our findings also show that greenspace programmes do not work for everybody equally andseem to be more successful in improving mental health for some people than others.For example, mobility issues may limit a person’s ability to take part in physically demandingprogrammes. Wilderness projects might not be appropriate for people who may suffer fromconditions such as psychosis. And overnight programmes or early starts may not be suitable for thoseon daily pick-up prescriptions such as methadone.Introduction to Shinrin YokuGreenspace programmes have been successful in supporting people who have been involved inoffending – but these individuals might be limited to where they can go. These inequalities inprogramme suitability are important to highlight, since the people who are not able to access theseinitiatives might be the ones who benefit the most.Greenspace and inequalityRecently, COVID-19 has revealed the inequalities that exist when it comes to access to green spaces.There have been many petitions to keep parks and gardens open for public use, with green spacesdescribed as crucial for our well-being.But the availability of greenspace differs depending on where you live. Affluence allows people to buyhomes in areas that have more green spaces and access to nature, less air pollution and more spacefor physical activity. If someone has less access to local parks, gardens and playing fields, they are farless likely to gain the benefits that those spaces can provide.Read more: Ecotherapy aims to tap into nature to improve your wellbeingThese inequalities clearly existed before COVID-19, but the pandemic brought a wider awareness thateasy access to existing green spaces was not an opportunity available to everyone. Using London as anexample, the wealthiest areas have around 10% more public space compared to the most deprivedareas. Approximately half of the residents in the most deprived areas of London are from minoritybackgrounds.Some evidence shows that those living in the most deprived areas will actually benefit more from localgreen spaces, compared to those in more affluent areas – and that greenspace can help reduce the health inequality between high and low income groups. This could be due to poorer communitiesUrban Green Space and Well-being

Parks and green spaces are important for our mental health - but we need to make sure that everyone can benefit

First paragraph: How does walking through a forest make you feel? Peaceful? Blissful? Reflective? For many people, lockdown brought a new appreciation of nature and what it means for our well-being. The health benefits of immersing ourselves in “greenspace” are now widely accepted. Living in areas with grass and trees has been linked to lower risk of various health conditions such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. As well as physical health, greenspace is associated with positive mental health

Stirling Online Research Repository (RIOXX)

http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/31559/1/Masterton-Carver-Parkes-Conversation-2020.pdf

Parks and green spaces are important for our mental health - but we need to make sure that everyone can benefit

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Stirling Online Research Repository (RIOXX)