How important is engaging with your natural environment to you?
Cardiff University’s National Centre for Mental Health has teamed up with environmentalists, Garden Organic and the Gwent Wildlife Trust to try and understand how to bring NHS workers and their families closer to the natural environment.
There is clear evidence to the benefits of being outdoors with access to green spaces. This has become even more evident since the start of the pandemic.
41% of participants agreed that ‘visiting local green and natural spaces has been even more important to [their] wellbeing since COVID-19.
89% of NHS staff reported that they would like to spend more time in green space at their site than they currently did
The question is, how to enable people to engage in the opportunity to get outdoors; to those who might not feel they are able, have the confidence to, or the ability to spend more time outdoors.
Nature Nurture is a research study led by Cardiff University, and working with Gwent Wildlife Trust, environmentalists and Garden Organic. The study aims to explore how charities and those providing opportunities to spend time outdoors can engage more broadly with NHS workers and their families. The study will try to understand how peoples’ views and activities have changed since the pandemic and try to understand what might strengthen connection and engagement with the outdoors.
If you’re interested, why not follow the link below, or find us on social media (@NatureNurtureCU) and complete a short survey (less than 10 mins) to share your thoughts and experiences.
