The Importance of Nature, Green Spaces, and Gardens in Human Well-Being

Brook, Isis

doi:10.1080/1366879x.2010.522046

Cited by 20 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…This is supported by other studies that report that green space has a positive psychological effect on mental well-being (Hartig, 2006;Maas et al, 2006) and suggests that landscape planning should address this by including more green space in proximity to residences (Grahn and Stigsdotter, 2003). Brook (2009) discusses the importance of green spaces, and nature in human lives, observing that the degree of interaction with nature is related to the development of important instincts and skills that in general humans require. There is an additional suggestion that the rapid development of a lifestyle that draws people away from the natural world is an unnatural process in evolutionary terms.…”

Section: Motivations For Recreational Walkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Recreational Trails: Motivations for Recreational Walking

Davies

Lumsdon

Weston

2012

Tourism Planning & Development

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This paper seeks to explore the motivations and preferences of recreational walkers in near-urban areas and the implications for trail development. A qualitative focus group method was employed in order to generate open discussion amongst recreational walkers from a range of backgrounds and levels of interest, participation and experience, drawing out motivations to walk, and potential issues relating to trail development. The research highlighted the variety of walkers' needs to consider when planning a recreational trail. They relate to different types of walking: functional and recreational; and across a spectrum of serious and casual walkers. Of particular interest were the attitudes of walkers regarding transport to locations for walking.

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Section: Motivations For Recreational Walkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Recreational Trails: Motivations for Recreational Walking

Davies

Lumsdon

Weston

2012

Tourism Planning & Development

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“…What unites them is a spirit of cooperation, the will to enhance life for gardeners and possibly the wider community. There is a longstanding tradition of celebrating community gardens as sites of care for nature, where experiences encourage pro-environmental behaviour (Bartlett, 2005;Brook, 2010;Colding & Barthel, 2013;Milburn & Adams Vail, 2010;Okvat & Zautra, 2011;Turner, 2011). This is symptomatic of a history of research advocating community gardens as positive socio-ecological forces, now countered by more critical perspectives (Tornaghi, 2014).…”

Section: Introduction: the Urge To Reconnect With Naturementioning

confidence: 99%

Questioning care cultivated through connecting with more-than-human communities

Pitt

2017

Social & Cultural Geography

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Citation for final published version:Pitt, Hannah 2017. Questioning care cultivated through connecting with more-than-human communities. AbstractThis paper challenges the proposition that connecting with nature through direct encounters with nonhumans promotes ethical regard for them. It probes the limits of more-than-human ethics founded on personal encounters which struggle to cross distance and difference. I consider how personal engagement influences ethical perspectives and attend to processes by which care for nonhumans is learnt.Empirical research in community gardens reveals diverse relationships with nonhumans and underlines the importance of attending to qualities of relating. I propose typologies for thinking through more-than-human relationships, organising them according to degree of care. The research finds limits to gardening's potential to promote more care-full relations with others, with care limited by the prevalence of instrumental relationships with nonhumans. Learning to care for nonhumans requires a sense of connection to combine with disconnection gained through reflection, setting specific encounters within the context of more extensive relations and their power dynamics. More important than encounters teaching care for specific nonhuman dependents are those promoting understanding of the interdependent nature of more-than-human communities, and that stimulate reflection on the cumulative impact of a human tendency to forget this.

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“…In contrast, Western concepts of nature, like wellbeing, are broad and at times contradictory terms [68,69,70,71]. Soper [69] defined nature as everything that is not human or “artificially worked or produced”, but debated this statement, saying that “humanity is a component of nature” in which the two cannot be separated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence identifies the psychological benefits of horticulture and gardening, indicating that such activities have a protective role by improving human wellbeing [71,91,92,93]. Purely being in the outdoors can be effective in strengthening wellbeing for vulnerable populations [94,95,96].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing an Exploratory Framework Linking Australian Aboriginal Peoples’ Connection to Country and Concepts of Wellbeing

Kingsley

Townsend

Henderson‐Wilson

et al. 2013

IJERPH

158

103

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Aboriginal people across Australia suffer significant health inequalities compared with the non-Indigenous population. Evidence indicates that inroads can be made to reduce these inequalities by better understanding social and cultural determinants of health, applying holistic notions of health and developing less rigid definitions of wellbeing. The following article draws on qualitative research on Victorian Aboriginal peoples’ relationship to their traditional land (known as Country) and its link to wellbeing, in an attempt to tackle this. Concepts of wellbeing, Country and nature have also been reviewed to gain an understanding of this relationship. An exploratory framework has been developed to understand this phenomenon focusing on positive (e.g., ancestry and partnerships) and negative (e.g., destruction of Country and racism) factors contributing to Aboriginal peoples’ health. The outcome is an explanation of how Country is a fundamental component of Aboriginal Victorian peoples’ wellbeing and the framework articulates the forces that impact positively and negatively on this duality. This review is critical to improving not only Aboriginal peoples’ health but also the capacity of all humanity to deal with environmental issues like disconnection from nature and urbanisation.

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The Importance of Nature, Green Spaces, and Gardens in Human Well-Being

Cited by 20 publications

References 11 publications

Developing Recreational Trails: Motivations for Recreational Walking

Developing Recreational Trails: Motivations for Recreational Walking

Questioning care cultivated through connecting with more-than-human communities

Developing an Exploratory Framework Linking Australian Aboriginal Peoples’ Connection to Country and Concepts of Wellbeing

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