University research included in WWF national campaign

Research by academics at the University of Derby highlighting how engaging with nature supports good mental health has been included in a national campaign by the World Wide Fund for Nature.

The work, by Professor Miles Richardson, David Sheffield, Kirsten McEwan and Alison Pritchard, shows that those who have a greater relationship to nature, have greater wellbeing and higher levels of personal growth.

The research supports – and is included as evidence – in the WWF’s new ‘A Prescription for Nature’ initiative, which reveals that spending time in nature is the most common mood-boosting activity for the UK public.

The campaign is backed by fitness guru Joe Wicks, ITV This Morning’s Dr Sara Kayat and the Mental Health Foundation.

Miles Richardson, professor of human factors and nature connectedness at the university, said: “Our bodies and minds are calmed by engaging with nature.

“Simply pausing for a moment to regularly notice the sounds, sights and textures of nature starts to help manage our moods and feel good.

“Simple things, such as noticing the song of a robin or the fall of leaves can be powerful, because just as a bird needs the sky, a fish the river and apes the forest, people need nature too.

“I am delighted that the research undertaken by our Nature Connectedness group has been used as part of this campaign.”

The WWF’s campaign highlights that a huge majority of the UK public say spending time in nature has a positive impact on their mental health, yet a third say they spend time in it as little as once a week or less.

As a result, WWF is encouraging the nation to get their ‘daily dose’ of nature and has created an online hub aimed at both individuals and families with easy, bitesize, personalised prescriptions to help get their daily dose, no matter their circumstances or the weather.

The University of Derby’s nature connections research aims to understand people’s sense of their relationship with the natural world.

The researchers create everyday interventions in order to improve this relationship for the wellbeing of humans and nature.

Its Nature Connectedness Research group’s research was honoured in the UK’s 100 Best Breakthroughs list, compiled by Universities UK, for its pioneering work looking at people’s sense of their relationship with the natural world.