Associations between pro-environmental behaviour and neighbourhood nature, nature visit frequency and nature appreciation: Evidence from a nationally representative survey in England

Young children's use of blue spaces and the impact on their health, development and environmental awareness: A qualitative study from parents' perspectives

ISSUE ADDRESSED

This study examined how families with young children access and use different types of blue spaces and the health and development benefits, and potential negative effects.

METHODS

Parents(n = 25) of young children across four coastal communities in Western Australia were recruited via purposive sampling to participate in interviews. A generic qualitative study design grounded in the pragmatism paradigm was utilised.

RESULTS

Beaches were the most frequently used blue space for families all year around, however families did not necessarily attend their closest beach. This appears due to certain beach features making them more or less attractive for use regardless of the distance from home. Parents perceived blue spaces as health promoting due to the increased physical activity children did in and around these spaces. They also reported blue spaces could be positive for child development, contributing to the development of identity. Blue spaces were also perceived to promote children's environmental awareness and environmentally friendly behaviours. However, blue spaces could also be potentially risky environments for families with young children.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings highlight blue spaces are an important setting for supporting children's health, development and environmental consciousness. SO WHAT?: It is important to protect natural outdoor environments such as blue spaces for future generations. The findings can be used by governments and policy makers to improve the quality (features and amenities) of blue spaces and positively impact how often families (including those with dogs) use blue spaces and the benefits they experience.

Climate change and mental health: Global challenges for psychosocial resilience and recovery

OBJECTIVE

As the greatest global challenge of our time, climate change is not only an ecological crisis but also a humanitarian one. Climate action is a defining opportunity to not only collectively mend ecological health and biodiversity but also to advance psychosocial resilience and social cohesion. This essay aims to understand the interconnectedness between climate change and mental health, as well as explore ways in which this can be transformed into a mobilising force.

CONCLUSIONS

The ramifications of climate change on mental health are complex, and there continues to be expanding knowledge on this through research undertaken out of heightening urgency. With knowledge of this, global recovery will require meaningful and transformative action that addresses the interconnection between climate change, mental health, and social injustice.

The primary drivers of private-sphere pro-environmental behaviour in five European countries during the Covid-19 pandemic

Nowadays, when fighting climate change and other global environmental issues is of utmost urgency, the understanding of what drives pro-environmental behaviour has become a hot topic in both academic and practical circles. Some earlier studies unravelled the complexity of the underlying factors of pro-environmental conduct, yet more studies are needed to understand the socio-cultural premises of such behaviour in different countries. The main aim of this paper is to offer a comprehensive analysis of the importance of pro-environmental behaviour drivers across five countries in Europe, namely Greece, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The survey using computer-assisted web interviews (N = 2502) was implemented in July 2020, the first summer of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hierarchical linear models were employed to analyse individuals' behaviour, defined as self-perceived declaration of the willingness to contribute to environmental conservation. The results showed that attitudinal and value-related factors are more significant than demographics. Biospheric values and relationship to nature generally affect pro-environmental behaviour positively. Similarly, the experience of Covid-19 exerted a positive influence. In terms of country-level predictors, greenhouse gas emissions were found to have affected pro-environmental behaviour negatively, while the share of renewable energy sources influenced it positively. The cumulative country Covid-19-related mortality at the time of investigation did not have discernible impact. Based on the results it is suggested that, in order to foster PEB, a stronger emphasis on environmental education and attitudes towards nature should be employed.

Increased appreciation of forests and their restorative effects during the COVID-19 pandemic

Public expectations of forests as high-quality restorative environments that facilitate subjective well-being and stress relief along with numerous health benefits have been rising sharply during recent decades. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictive measures also transformed forests into some of the few places to spend time away from home. The presented study drew on the assumption that the pandemic situation and a rise in the number of forest visits would affect the experience, recognition, and appreciation of the well-being aspects related to spending time in forests. The study goal was to elucidate the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the relationships between forest visits, well-being and stress relief, emotions, perception of nature and forest value and importance, pro-environmental behavior, and societal expectations of the role of forests and forest ecosystem services. A survey using a digital questionnaire was conducted several months after the pandemic outbreak on a representative sample of the Slovak population. The Wilcoxon test and ordinal regression analysis were used to identify significant relationships, e.g., between the recency of anger episodes and the number of forest visits. The results showed that the pandemic strengthened the perception of forests as a high-quality restorative environment and that emotions associated with forest visits played an important role in the perceived importance of forests and their possible overexploitation. The results underscore the urgent need to put demands for forest recreation on par with the forest bioeconomy and to sensitize forest visitors to management and conservation requirements.

Pro-Environmental Behaviors: Relationship With Nature Visits, Connectedness to Nature and Physical Activity

PURPOSE

Examine the association of visits to the natural environment, connectedness to nature, physical activity, and the adoption of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) in individuals aged 18 years or older.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

City of Vila Real, located in the north of Portugal.

SUBJECTS

We recruited 194 individuals (61 men and 133 women) aged 18-75 years.

MESURES

A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure nature visits, connectedness to nature, PEBs, and demographic characteristics. Neighborhood green space was appreciated through a Simplified Land Occupation Map and physical activity was measured using ActiGraph accelerometers (wGT3X-BT).

ANALYSIS

Correlations and nonlinear canonical correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. The coefficients of canonical and multiple correlations were calculated.

RESULTS

Nature visits were associated with involvement in environmental volunteering (V = .317, P ≤ .05) among men. In these, higher levels of moderate-vigorous PA were associated with green travel behavior (η² = .325, P ≤ .05). Connectedness with nature was related (P ≤ .05) to private sphere behaviors, such as purchase of eco-products (η2 = .191) and local/seasonal products (η2 = .186) in females and encouraging care and protection of natural environment (η2 = .336, P ≤ .01) in males.

CONCLUSIONS

Nature visits, connection to nature, and physical activity levels were related to the adoption of PEBs in the private and public sphere, and these relationships differed between men and women.

Familiarity with, perceptions of and attitudes toward butterflies of urban park users in megacities across East and Southeast Asia

Perceptions of, and attitudes toward, wildlife are influenced by exposure to, and direct experiences with, nature. Butterflies are a conspicuous and ubiquitous component of urban nature across megacities that are highly urbanized with little opportunity for human-nature interactions. We evaluated public familiarity with, perceptions of and attitudes toward butterflies across nine megacities in East and Southeast Asia through face-to-face interviews with 1774 urban park users. A total of 79% of respondents had seen butterflies in their cities mostly in urban parks, indicating widespread familiarity with butterflies. Those who had seen butterflies also had higher perceptions of butterflies, whereas greater than 50% of respondents had positive attitudes toward butterflies. Frequent visits to natural places in urban neighbourhoods was associated with (i) sightings of caterpillars, indicating increased familiarity with urban wildlife, and (ii) increased connectedness to nature. We found two significant positive relationships: (i) between connectedness to nature and attitudes toward butterflies and (ii) between connectedness to nature and perceptions of butterflies, firmly linking parks users' thoughts and feelings about butterflies with their view of nature. This suggests that butterflies in urban parks can play a key role in building connectedness to nature and consequently pro-environmental behaviours and support for wildlife conservation among urban residents.

A safe and just operating space for human identity: a systems perspective

A safe and just operating space for socioecological systems is a powerful bridging concept in sustainability science. It integrates biophysical earth-system tipping points (ie, thresholds at which small changes can lead to amplifying effects) with social science considerations of distributional equity and justice. Often neglected, however, are the multiple feedback loops between self-identity and planetary boundaries. Environmental degradation can reduce self-identification with nature, leading to decreased pro-environmental behaviours and decreased cooperation with out-groups, further increasing the likelihood of transgressing planetary boundaries. This vicious cycle competes with a virtuous one, where improving environmental quality enhances the integration of nature into self-identity and improves health, thereby facilitating prosocial and pro-environmental behaviour. These behavioural changes can also cascade up to influence social and economic institutions. Given a possible minimum degree of individual self-care to maintain health and prosperity, there would seem to exist an analogous safe and just operating space for self-identity, for which system stewardship for planetary health is crucial.

The influence of river regulation on the affinity for nature and perceptions of local populations

Rivers are powerful systems supporting human civilization, but despite the enormous dependence on rivers by humans, this does not stop them to assault rivers in the most varied ways. Such dependency determines the establishment of strong river flow-human relationships, and river degradation the prompting of health and non-tangible complications for humans. This work assesses how river regulation, interacting with sociodemographic characteristics, influences the affinity for nature and the perception of humans regarding its effects on river systems. Increased affinity for nature and clearer perceptions about the effects of river regulation improve emotive connection with nature and promote pro-environmental concerns towards a more sustainable water management. Two case studies were selected with different river regulation types (run-of-river and storage reservoir). In each one, the affinity for nature and social perceptions were assessed via telephone-assisted questionnaire surveys carried out in 2020 using 402 randomly selected numbers of local human communities living in its influence areas. Results showed that despite river regulation, communities remain connected to the river system with well-established flow-human relationships. Nonetheless, these relationships have changed due to socioeconomic and cultural changes over time. Significant differences were found in educational attainment and age regarding the affinity for nature. On the other hand, gender differs significantly regarding both the affinity for nature and how the river regulation affect perception, highlighting a gender gap motivated by social and cultural customs passed throughout generations. The lower education level of women and less frequent use of the river acts as a barrier to their perception of river ecosystems and the regulation effects. The affinity for nature and the perception of ecosystems changes by local populations were also significantly different according to the river regulation type, where residents near the run-of-river dam present less affinity for nature. Notwithstanding, the perceptions of local communities were in general in accordance with the scientific knowledge on rivers' condition. Finally, this work highlights the necessity for education through schools, local communities, municipalities and families, providing conditions for dedication and time to nature and promoting environmental knowledge through direct experience.

Collaborative Conservation by Botanical Gardens: Unique Opportunities for Local to Global Impacts

Conservation organizations with common missions can find strength and synergy in collaboration. Collaboration can also be challenging, especially finding the right partnerships or organizations to lead. Within the “ecosystem” of conservation organizations, botanical gardens have a unique array of resources and expertise which make them ideal candidates for leadership or partnership in collaborative conservation efforts. We will explore this idea by examining four conservation initiatives at Desert Botanical Garden (Phoenix, AZ, USA) that approach collaborative conservation on regional, state, and international scales. On a regional scale, Metro Phoenix EcoFlora and the Central Arizona Conservation Alliance lead landscape-level conservation by providing a structure for more than 60 official conservation partners, by generating data, and through public engagement needed in a rapidly developing region. On the state scale, Great Milkweed Grow Out is an initiative for pollinator conservation that provides expertise, materials, and opportunities for a wide range of partners across Arizona. Desert Botanical Garden’s endangered plant species conservation efforts provide expertise and resources through horticulture and seed preservation for threatened and endangered plants across the US and internationally. We will share the structure of each program where applicable, how they came to fruition, and their successes. Through each case study, we will highlight the ways positioning within a botanical garden has benefitted the program and success in collaboration. We will also highlight unique challenges. Botanical gardens provide unique opportunities, and they should not be overlooked when seeking a conservation partner or leader.

An Integrative Model of Tourists’ Pro-Environmental Behavior Based on the Dual Path of Rational Planning and Embodied Emotion

Tourists’ pro-environmental behavior is one of the key factors for the sustainable development of natural scenic spots. Although this behavior depends on the surroundings and context, the existing literature lacks the perspective of specific scenarios, especially that of embodied emotions. This research integrated the theory of planned behavior and embodied theory to construct an integrative model of pro-environmental behavior that combined tourists’ “rational planning” and “embodied emotion” and conducted an empirical study. The results show that in natural scenic spots, “rational planning” and “embodied emotion” affect tourists’ pro-environmental behavior simultaneously on dual paths, and factors such as behavioral attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, engagement with nature, and connectedness to nature have different effects on high- and low-effort pro-environmental behavioral intentions. The findings of the study provide a new explanatory perspective for individual pro-environmental behaviors and a basis for effectively predicting and guiding tourists’ pro-environmental behaviors in natural scenic spots.

Forest 404: Using a BBC drama series to explore the impact of nature's changing soundscapes on human wellbeing and behavior

Extensive ecosystem degradation and increasing urbanization are altering human relationships with nature. To explore these trends, we created a transdisciplinary, narrative-led podcast series produced by the BBC, called Forest 404. The series explored the implications of a world without nature. An online experimental component mobilized audience participation (n = 7,596) to assess responses to natural soundscapes with and without abiotic, biotic, and poetic elements across five biomes. Conditions featuring the sounds of wildlife, such as bird song, were perceived to be more psychologically restorative than those without. Participants' personal lived experiences were strongly related to these outcomes; those who had memories triggered by the sounds were more likely to find them psychologically restorative and exhibited a greater motivation to preserve them. Moreover, the effects of both soundscape composition and memories on preservation behavior were partially mediated by restorative potential; respondents were more likely to want to protect the sounds they heard if they thought they might offer therapeutic outcomes. Our findings highlight the value of art-science collaborations and demonstrate how maintaining contact with the natural world can promote wellbeing and foster behaviors that protect planetary health.

Beliefs about Human-Nature Relationships and Implications for Investment and Stewardship Surrounding Land-Water System Conservation

When engaging stakeholders in environmental conservation, it is critical to understand not only their group-level needs, but also the individually held beliefs that contribute to each person’s decisions to endorse or reject policies. To this end, we examined the extent to which people conceptualize the interconnected relationship between humans and nature in the context of a hypothetical urban waterway, and the implications thereof for environmental investment and stewardship. We also explored how these beliefs varied based on describing the waterway as having either local or global impacts, and as originating either naturally or through artificial processes. Three hundred and seventy-nine adults from the United States read vignettes about a polluted urban waterway and thereafter reported their investment in river clean-up, their stewardship of the river, and their beliefs surrounding human-nature relationships. Results revealed a common belief pattern whereby humans were believed to impact the urban river disproportionately more than the river impacts humans, suggesting that lay adults often weigh the impacts of humans on the natural world disproportionally. Critically, this disproportionate pattern of thinking inversely predicted investment of time and money in river clean-up. Results also revealed a potential solution to this psychological bias: highlighting local benefits of the waterway decreased the asymmetry of the human-nature relationship. We discuss the psychological factors contributing to this cognitive bias, and the implications of these findings on stakeholder engagement.

Cultural Sets Shape Adult Conceptualizations and Relationships to Nature

The variability of nature and the nature construct have complicated interpretations of empirical evidence from nature-based health studies. The challenge of defining nature exposure for purposes of methodological standardization may encompass constructs beyond vegetated landcover. This study offers a new construct for defining 'nature exposure' that considers cultural sets and nature familiarity. Focus group discussions across the United States (N = 126) explored the concept of what constitutes the relationship to nature. The participant diversity included regions, cultural demographics, cumulative nature experience, and everyday nature exposure. Mixed methods of semi-structured discussion and a photo exercise that prompted nature connectedness allowed for data triangulation and the detection of contradictions between approaches. Individuals conceptualized nature in ways reflecting highly personal and differentiated experiences, which defied consensus toward a single nature construct. The group scoring of photo imagery showed consistent high and low levels of nature connectedness with respect to wildness and outdoor urban venues, respectively, but diverged in the assessment of nature within the built environment. Everyday nature exposure significantly differentiated how groups conceptualized and related to nature imagery. This result may indicate an unmet biophilic need among groups with low backgrounds of nature exposure. The contrasts between the discussion content and the observed reactions to nature imagery showed the value of using mixed methods in qualitative research.

Visualising an invisible symbiosis

Despite the vast abundance and global importance of plant and microbial species, the large majority go unnoticed and unappreciated by humans, contributing to pressing issues including the neglect of study and research of these organisms, the lack of interest and support for their protection and conservation, low microbial and botanical literacy in society, and a growing disconnect between people and nature. The invisibility of many of these organisms is a key factor in their oversight by society, but also points to a solution: sharing the wealth of visual data produced during scientific research with a broader audience. Here, we discuss how the invisible can be visualised for a public audience, and the benefits it can bring.

SUMMARY

Whether too small, slow or concealed, the majority of species on Earth go unseen by humans. One such rather unobservable group of organisms are the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, who form beneficial symbioses with plants. AM symbiosis is ubiquitous and vitally important globally in ecosystem functioning, but partly as a consequence of its invisibility, it receives disproportionally little attention and appreciation. Yet AM fungi, and other unseen organisms, need not remain overlooked: from decades of scientific research there exists a goldmine of visual data, which if shared effectively we believe can alleviate the issues of low awareness. Here, we use examples from our experience of public engagement with AM symbiosis as well as evidence from the literature to outline the diverse ways in which invisible organisms can be visualised for a broad audience. We highlight outcomes and knock-on consequences of this visualisation, ranging from improved human mental health to environmental protection, making the case for researchers to share their images more widely for the benefit of plants (and fungi and other overlooked organisms), people and planet.

A Qualitative Analysis of UK Wetland Visitor Centres as a Health Resource

The health benefits associated with spending time in natural environments have been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lockdowns and restrictions to safeguard public health have exacerbated the pre-existing mental health crisis and rise of non-communicable diseases. Thus, the importance of nature as a health resource has been elevated, hastening calls for a better understanding of how health benefits might differ across user groups and nature provisions. In this regard, urban green spaces have become the greatest research focus; however, blue spaces, especially inland freshwater (e.g., wetlands), remain less studied. First-hand user experiences are also under-represented. This exploratory study examines the motivations and benefits of active wetland centre users in the UK, both during and after visits. Responses to three open-ended questions were collated online from 385 participants, and a qualitative content analysis was conducted based on an existing taxonomy from users of urban green spaces. The results showed strong motivations to visit due to the biodiversity at the site (mainly the birdlife), while less tangible nature (e.g., fresh air) and amenities were also important. In contrast to other studies on natural environments, physical activity was a less influential motivation. Salient derived effects included positive and intensely positive emotions, relaxation and mental restoration. After visits to wetland centres, feelings of vitality and satisfaction were the most prominent effects that emerged. For decision-makers looking to leverage inland blue spaces for public health benefit, our results highlight the broad range and relative prominence of the reasons for use and the associated perceived health benefits derived by users of UK wetland centres. They highlight how biodiversity, abiotic nature and good amenities are important qualities to consider when planning, managing and encouraging people to use natural environments for health benefit, qualities that may also provide important environmental co-benefits.

Time Spent in Nature Is Associated with Increased Pro-Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors

Urbanization, screen dependency, and the changing nature of childhood and parenting have led to increased time indoors, creating physical and emotional distancing from nature and time spent in natural environments. Substantial evidence from observational and intervention studies indicates that overall time spent in nature leads to increased perceived value for connectedness to nature and, subsequently, greater pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors (PEAB). This narrative review of the recent literature evaluates associations between time spent in nature with values ascribed to nature and nature connectedness, as well as PEAB. We discuss the influence of nature exposure and education in childhood on subsequent development of PEAB in adulthood. We analyze theoretical frameworks applied to this research as well as metrics employed, populations studied, and individual and societal values before presenting limitations of this research. We conclude with suggestions for future research directions based on current knowledge, underscoring the importance of promoting time spent in nature and PEAB in the face of growing challenges to planetary health. Research indicates that overall time spent in nature, regardless of the quality of environmental conditions, leads to increased perceived values ascribed to nature, which is associated with PEAB; however, this literature is predominantly cross-sectional. Furthermore, personal and social factors may influence PEAB. Thus, more longitudinal studies that consider these factors are needed to assess the duration and frequency of time spent in nature in childhood and its impact on PEAB throughout the life course. Identifying contexts which cultivate PEAB and reverse alienation from nature beginning in childhood may better sensitize adults to the urgency of environmental issues such as climate change, which adversely impact individual and environmental health.

Identifying and Mapping Groups of Protected Area Visitors by Environmental Awareness

Protected areas worldwide receive billions of visitors annually. The positive impact of nature on health and wellbeing, in addition to providing opportunities for cultural activities such as recreation and aesthetic appreciation, is well documented. Management to reduce negative impacts to biodiversity and conservation aims whilst providing amenities and access to visitors is important. Understanding environmental awareness of visitors and their on-site spatial patterns can assist in making effective management decisions within often constrained resources. However, there is a lack of strategies for site-specific identification and predictive mapping of visitors by environmental awareness. Here, we demonstrate a method to map on-site visitation by latent groups of visitors based on their environmental awareness of on-site issues. On-site surveys and participatory mapping were used to collect data on environmental awareness on bird nesting and spatial visitation patterns in an upland moor in northern England. Latent class analysis (LCA), a structural equation model, was used to discover underlying groups of environmental awareness, with random forest (RF) modelling, a machine learning technique, using a range of on-site predictors (bioclimatic, land cover, elevation, viewshed, and proximity to paths and freshwater) to predict and map visitation across the site by each group. Visitors were segmented into ‘aware’ and ‘ambiguous’ groups and their potential spatial visitation patterns mapped. Our results demonstrate the ability to uncover groups of users by environmental awareness and map their potential visitation across a site using a variety of on-site predictors. Spatial understanding of the movement patterns of differently environmentally aware groups of visitors can assist in efficient targeting of conservation education endeavours (i.e., signage, positioning of staff, monitoring programmes, etc.), therefore maximising their efficacy. Furthermore, we anticipate this method will be of importance to environmental managers and educators when deploying limited resources.

Patient-Planetary Health Co-benefit Prescribing: Emerging Considerations for Health Policy and Health Professional Practice

In addition to the importance of fostering and developing measures for better health-system resilience globally from the effects of climate change, there have been increasing calls for health professionals, as well as public health and medical education systems, to become partners in climate change mitigation efforts. Direct clinical practice considerations, however, have not been adequately fostered equitably across all regions with an often-confusing array of practice areas within planetary health and sustainable healthcare. This article calls for a more coordinated effort within clinical practice spaces given the urgency of global environmental change, while also taking lessons from Indigenous traditional knowledge systems—a viewpoint that is rarely heard from or prioritized in public health or medicine. Simpler and more coordinated messaging in efforts to improve patient and planetary health are needed. The creation of unifying terminology within planetary health-rooted clinical and public health practice has been proposed with the potential to bring forth dialogue between and within disciplinary offshoots and public health advocacy efforts, and within clinical and health-system policy spaces.

Veterinary-Prescribed Physical Activity: Feasibility and Acceptability among Veterinary Staff and Dog Owners

Physical inactivity remains a global epidemic leading to an estimated 5 million preventable deaths per year. Although there exist numerous public-health campaigns aimed at increasing physical activity (PA), a potentially fruitful but underexplored avenue to promote both human and animal health is veterinary-prescribed PA programs. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of incorporating veterinary-prescribed PA programming into a diverse array of clinic settings. Participants (n = 722 veterinary-clinic staff (VS); n = 1028 dog owners (DOs)) completed an online survey assessing: (a) the perceived importance of PA for promoting health and preventing disease, (b) willingness to participate in a veterinary-prescribed PA program, and (c) potential benefits and barriers of such a program. Both groups of participants indicated that PA is important for both human and animal health (97% and 98% of VS and 92% and 93% of DOs said PA is very or extremely important for animal and human health, respectively). Additionally, most participants in both groups expressed an interest in participating in a veterinary-prescribed PA program in the future, with only 11% of DOs and 10% of VS saying they were not interested. Benefits and barriers of this type of intervention for both practitioners and patients were also identified. Incorporating veterinary-prescribed PA programming into veterinary clinics seems to be acceptable to both DOs and VS. Additionally, many VS believe such programming would be feasible at their clinics; thus, pursuing such programs appears to be a promising avenue for promoting human and animal health.

Perceived biodiversity, sound, naturalness and safety enhance the restorative quality and wellbeing benefits of green and blue space in a neotropical city

Urban land cover expansion and human population growth are accelerating worldwide. This is resulting in the loss and degradation of green and blue spaces (e.g. parks, waterways, lakes) in cities, which provide resources to sustain biodiversity and improve human wellbeing. The specific characteristics of these spaces (e.g. sounds, species, safety) that enhance or detract from wellbeing are underexplored, yet this knowledge is needed to inform urban planning, management and policies that will ultimately benefit both people and biodiversity. Research of this kind is rarely conducted in the Global South, where rapid urbanisation threatens biodiversity-rich ecosystems of worldwide significance. Here, we examine how perceptions of green, waterway, and dense urban spaces relate to wellbeing in Georgetown, Guyana. Specifically, we use mediation models to test how perceptions of sound, bird species richness, naturalness, and safety concerns contribute to sites being perceived as restorative which, subsequently, influences wellbeing. We assess the accuracy of these site perceptions with objective measures of sound (using a bioacoustic sound index), bird species richness, and percent coverage of vegetation, water, and impervious surfaces. Results showed that if sites were perceived as species rich, containing natural sounds like birdsong, natural rather than artificial, and safe, they were perceived as more restorative, resulting in improved wellbeing. In general, people's perceptions were consistent with objective measures. Green, compared with waterway and dense urban sites, contained more biophonic sounds, higher species richness, greater vegetation and water coverage. Although waterways were biodiverse, they were dominated by anthrophonic sounds, so were perceived as artificial and non-restorative. We shed light on how city planners might augment specific characteristics to improve the wellbeing of urban dwellers, with implications for biodiversity conservation. Our findings provide a scientific evidence base for urban design and management plans that could deliver multiple co-benefits, particularly in biodiversity-rich cities in neotropical regions.

Blue space, health and well-being: A narrative overview and synthesis of potential benefits

Research into the potential health and well-being benefits from exposure to green spaces such as parks and woodlands has led to the development of several frameworks linking the different strands of evidence. The current paper builds on these to provide a model of how exposure to aquatic environments, or blue spaces such as rivers, lakes and the coast, in particular, may benefit health and well-being. Although green and blue spaces share many commonalities, there are also important differences. Given the breadth of the research, spanning multiple disciplines and research methodologies, a narrative review approach was adopted which aimed to highlight key issues and processes rather than provide a definitive balance of evidence summary. Novel aspects of our framework included the inclusion of outcomes that are only indirectly good for health through being good for the environment, the addition of nature connectedness as both a trait and state, and feedback loops where actions/interventions to increase exposure are implemented. Limitations of the review and areas for future work, including the need to integrate potential benefits with potential risks, are discussed.

The Potential Correlation Between Nature Engagement in Middle Childhood Years and College Undergraduates' Nature Engagement, Proenvironmental Attitudes, and Stress

Introduction

Nature engagement (NE) provides myriad psychological and physiological benefits, many of which begin in childhood and continue into adulthood. Research suggests children who have positive experiences with nature are more likely to continue engaging with nature and have more proenvironmental attitudes (PEAs) as adults. Among the benefits of NE are reduced stress, improved sleep, and improved cognitive performance, all essential criteria for healthy undergraduate life. College students in particular, because of high levels of stress, may benefit from NE, and the frequency and type of their engagement may be impacted by childhood experience.

Objective

This study aimed to better understand the potential correlation between university undergraduates’ past NE in their middle childhood years (MCYs) and current NE; past NE and undergraduate PEA; and undergraduate NE and stress levels. We chose to examine the middle childhood and undergraduate years because little research has been conducted on the relationship of NE between these two age groups.

Methods

We used a survey of undergraduate students (n = 309) enrolled at a US university to explore the frequency and types of NE during MCYs, their family and neighborhood demographics, and current levels of NE, PEA, and stress in their undergraduate lives.

Results

Although results indicated a large decrease in NE from middle childhood to undergraduate years for most participants, we found a significant positive correlation between NE during MCYs and undergraduate NE. We found a positive correlation between MCYs NE and undergraduate PEA as well as undergraduate NE and undergraduate PEA. Contrary to other studies and to our hypothesis, we did not find a correlation between undergraduate NE and reduced stress levels.

Conclusion

This study looked specifically at US undergraduate students to compare their current engagement with and attitudes toward nature and the environment with their nature experiences during their formative MCYs. Our results suggest that it is important for people to have positive experiences with nature in childhood, both for continued NE and to inculcate PEAs in adulthood. These results can help in formulating approaches to improving student well-being at institutions of higher learning.

Sustainable Consumption Behavior at Home and in the Workplace: Avenues for Innovative Solutions

Companies which offer innovative solutions to aid the achievement of sustainable consumption behavior of individuals in home environment gain a competitive advantage. The study aims to uncover the relationship between the engagement in sustainable consumption and sustainable consumption behavior of individuals at home and in the workplace environments enabling companies to provide innovative solutions to advance sustainability management. This research holds that sustainable consumption behavior is a process and the focus of this study is use behavior. An online survey was employed to collect data from 407 respondents in the United Kingdom. Consumers working in both private and public sectors were surveyed. Data analysis suggests that one dimension of engagement in sustainable consumption, namely, Enthusiasm and Attention, mostly influences sustainable consumption behavior at home and in the workplace. Further, females feature higher sustainable consumption behavior at home and in the workplace most of the time in comparison to males. Also, there are age differences apropos sustainable consumption behavior at home and in the workplace. Social Learning Theory and Collaborative Consumption Theory are used to raise hypotheses and explain findings. The findings lead to practical implications for companies regarding engagement and sustainable consumption behavior in both environments in terms of incentives, green product and service innovation that may be offered to individuals to enhance sustainability.

The Sustainable Development of Organic Agriculture-Tourism: The Role of Consumer Landscape and Pro-Environment Behavior

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence path of organic agricultural landscape on tourists’ pro-environment behavior and loyalty, and put forward suggestions for realizing sustainable tourism of organic agriculture. The M-R model was employed to construct an integrated model of the influence of consumer landscape on pro-environment behavior and loyalty in organic agricultural tourism. The research framework and questionnaire design were constructed on the basis of literature review and 417 valid questionnaires which were collected from tourists in Eastern Taiwan (Hualien and Taidong). SPSS was employed to analyze the reliability and validity of the questionnaire and LISREL software was used to identify the influence path between variables. The results showed that: 1. The tourists’ cognition of consumer landscape will positively affect the environmental intimacy and environmental identity. 2. Tourists’ environmental intimacy and environmental identity will increase their pro-environmental behavior. 3. Tourists’ pro-environment behavior has a positive impact on their loyalty to organic agricultural tourism. The results show that organic agricultural tourism can stimulate tourists to understand the significance, importance and multiple values of the environment, and increase the intimacy and identity of tourists to the environment, which has a great effect on pro-environment behavior and loyalty. At the same time, it also shows that organic agricultural tourism is a sustainable tourism mode, which is worth promoting.

Exploring Access to Nature Play in Urban Parks: Resilience, Sustainability, and Early Childhood

Nature play is an important component of the development of resilience in early childhood. Nature play is also an element of urban sustainability through a consideration of access to urban nature. From the foundation of access to nature play as a part of both resilience and sustainability considerations, a mixed-method case study was initiated. Spatial analysis, survey outreach, and focus group methodology have been combined to consider whether city parkland provides access for preschools to incorporate nature play, and, further, whether other barriers may exist to limit or prevent the use of city parks for nature play by preschool programs. The results indicate the existence of quality proximate access, but other factors creating barriers for broader application of nature play exist. The results also illustrate the critical role of public access to public parks as part of urban sustainability and the development of resilience in young children. The implications for the use of city parkland for nature play are presented.