Evidence that experiences of nature can benefit people has accumulated rapidly. Yet perhaps because of the domination of the visual sense in humans, most research has focused on the visual aspects of nature experiences. However, humans are multisensory, and it seems likely that many benefits are delivered through the non-visual senses and these are potentially avenues through which a physiological mechanism could occur. Here we review the evidence around these lesser studied sensory pathways-through sound, smell, taste, touch, and three non-sensory pathways. Natural sounds and smells underpin experiences of nature for many people, and this may well be rooted in evolutionary psychology. Tactile experiences of nature, particularly beyond animal petting, are understudied yet potentially fundamentally important. Tastes of nature, through growing and consuming natural foods, have been linked with a range of health and well-being benefits. Beyond the five senses, evidence is emerging for other non-visual pathways for nature experiences to be effective. These include ingestion or inhalation of phytoncides, negative air ions and microbes. We conclude that (i) these non-visual avenues are potentially important for delivering benefits from nature experiences; (ii) the evidence base is relatively weak and often based on correlational studies; and (iii) deeper exploration of these sensory and non-sensory avenues is needed.

Nature relatedness is a psychological characteristic with the potential to drive interaction with nature and influence well-being. We surveyed 1538 people in Brisbane, Australia to investigate how nature relatedness varies among socio-demographic groups. We determined whether people with higher nature relatedness reported fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress and better overall health, controlling for potentially confounding socio-demographic and health-related variables. Overall nature relatedness was higher in older people, females, those without children living at home, not working, and people speaking English at home. Aspects of nature relatedness reflecting enjoyment of nature were consistently associated with reduced ill health, consistent with widespread evidence of the health and well-being benefits of experiencing nature. In contrast, aspects of nature relatedness reflecting self-identification with nature, and a conservation worldview, were associated with increased depression, anxiety or stress, after accounting for potential confounding factors. Detailed investigation of causal pathways among nature relatedness, socio-demographic factors and health is warranted, with particular focus on the relationship between stress and nature orientation.

Urbanisation has a profound effect on both people and the environment, as levels of physical activity decline and many natural ecosystems become lost or degraded. Here we draw on emerging research to examine the role of green spaces in providing a venue for outdoor physical activity, and in enhancing the benefit of a given amount of physical activity for urban residents. We identify critical knowledge gaps, including (1) whether (and for whom) levels of physical activity increase as new green spaces are introduced or old spaces reinvigorated; (2) which characteristics of nature promote physical activity; (3) the extent to which barriers to outdoor physical activity are environmental or social; and (4) whether the benefits of physical activity and experiences of nature accrue separately or synergistically. A clear understanding of these issues will help guide effective investment in green space provision, ecological enhancement and green exercise promotion.

This study aimed to assess and compare the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns on the oral health attitudes, dietary habits and access to dental care of Portuguese and Spanish children. A cross-sectional observational study involving caregivers of 3–17-year-old children who had cohabited during a COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Spain and Portugal was conducted. Caregivers completed an online anonymous questionnaire. Aiming groups comparison, chi-square test was used for qualitative variables. 770 surveys were obtained. Significant changes in the children’s routine were higher in Portugal (p < 0.001). Both countries showed a large percentage of children who had between 2–3 snacks between meals (p < 0.001) and a higher consumption of snacks was particularly noticed among Spanish children with untreated dental caries during the lockdown (p = 0.003). Most caregivers reported children’s oral hygiene habits did not suffer noteworthy alterations (p = 0.417), although parental supervision of toothbrushing was associated with dental attendance during the lockdown. The majority of the sample had no dental attendance during confinement. Confinement appears to have not markedly affected the oral health status and habits of the majority of these children, although an important impact of some demographic and behavioral factors upon dietary and oral care/habits was detected.

Experiences of nature are known to provide substantial health and wellbeing benefits to people, and there is a growing interest in whether they can also ignite conservation concern. In this thesis I investigate how nature experiences deliver health and wellbeing benefits to people, whether the strength of a person's connection to nature moderates these benefits, and if nature experiences are correlated with both the strength of a person's connection to nature and the extent of a person's conservation behaviors. First, I review the benefits people receive from experiences of nature as looked at through the individual senses (Chapter 2). I conclude that the literature is biased towards visual studies but that there is evidence for the importance of the other senses, and so research that goes beyond the visual sense is urgently needed. I then analyze population data from the city of Brisbane to examine the concept of the "extinction of experience," showing that while nature dose is strongly positively related to an experiential connection with nature, it is much more weakly associated with conservation concern (Chapter 3). I conclude that there are different kinds of nature relatedness (such as experiential enjoyment and conservation concern), and these react differently to nature exposure. I then go on to show experimentally that a person with a stronger connection to nature does not receive greater benefits from a particular nature experience (Chapter 4). This implies that people with varying strengths of connection to nature might benefit equally from enhanced nature experiences. Finally, I survey a highly motivated population of ecosanctuary members and show that one specific kind of nature relatedness ("self") is a mediator for the relationship between conservation behavior and both nature dose and nature knowledge (Chapter 5). This suggests that nature dose and knowledge are positively correlated with various measures of conservation behavior even though dose itself is not strongly related to conservation concern. In this thesis I have shown that different aspects of connection to nature (self-identity, experiential enjoyment, and conservation concern) operate in very different ways with respect to nature dose and conservation behavior, suggesting caution is needed around programs that aim to reconnect people with nature to enhance conservation awareness and concern. Further, I have shown that nature benefits are multi-sensory and may need to be extended beyond the visual sense (Chapters 2, 4), conservation concern is not strongly linked to nature dose (Chapters 3, 5), nature relatedness "self" mediates the dose-conservation behavior relationship (Chapter 5), and the benefits of a nature experience are not limited to people with a strong connection to nature (Chapter 4).