Identifying nature activities that promote adult nature connection using the Evaluating Nature Activities for Connection Tool (ENACT)

Carr, Victoria; Hughes, Joelene

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110287

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 29 publications

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“…As such, biodiversity citizen science initiatives present a critical opportunity for healthcare systems to offer a broader suite of lifestyle intervention (Britton et al, 2020). Consequently, there is a rapidly growing interest among conservation organizations (Carr & Hughes, 2023) and global biodiversity and human health policy platforms (IPBES, 2019) in leveraging nature-based citizen science initiatives for broader impacts as incorporating health and well-being as a recruitment strategy in citizen science initiatives can serve to attract a broader subset of society, thereby enriching the dataset available for conservation efforts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health

Oh,

Suarez-Castro,

Fuller

et al. 2024

Preprint

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The global rise in mental health issues underscores the critical importance of assessing the mental health benefits of engaging with nature. Beyond their primary aim of involving citizens in scientific data collection, nature-based citizen science initiatives offer significant potential for enhancing conservation (e.g. connection to nature) and human health and wellbeing (e.g. emotions, depression, stress, anxiety) outcomes. However, the effectiveness of various types of initiatives in achieving specific health outcomes remain unclear. This study evaluates changes in eight nature connection and health and wellbeing outcomes before and after participation in five such initiatives, specifically three dimensions of connection to nature (Self, Experience and Perspective) measured by the Nature Relatedness scale), and mental health outcomes—depression, stress and anxiety—measured by the DASS-21 scale; along with positive and negative emotions assessed using the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE). We found that participants generally reported improvements across all outcomes, but only positive emotions and reduced anxiety and stress symptoms were significantly enhanced. This suggests that short-term nature-based interventions are effective in boosting emotions and alleviating anxiety and stress, though significant changes in nature connection and depression may require prolonged or more intensive engagement. We also found that the Queensland Trust for Nature initiative, characterized by its extended duration and social interactions, emerged as a particularly effective model in achieving synergies between biodiversity and human health goals. Consequently, we advocate for the reimagining of these nature-based initiatives as integral components of broader health-promoting strategies. By aligning citizen science efforts with health promotion frameworks, we can amplify the utility and impact of nature-based citizen science initiatives, enhancing their contributions to scientific knowledge, nature conservation and human health.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%