Liz O'Brien

Liz O'Brien
Forest Research - Forestry Commission UK · Society and Environment Research Group

PhD

About

125
Publications
107,870
Reads
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3,578
Citations
Education
January 1996 - July 2000
University of Central Lancashire
Field of study
  • Environmental Sociology
September 1993 - July 1996
Sheffiled Hallam University
Field of study
  • Countryside Recreation Management

Publications

Publications (125)
Article
UK policy interest in the health effects of the outdoors has grown rapidly in recent years. In parallel, the research community's effort to strengthen the evidence base for the relationships between the outdoors and health has also increased. However, little has been done to explore quantitative secondary public data sets conducted by government de...
Technical Report
This study aimed to explore people’s connection with trees, woodlands and wider nature before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. An online survey ran from mid-June until the end of July 2020. 2,115 responses were received along with 3,300 qualitative comments. Twenty five follow up interviews were undertaken.
Article
Full-text available
The values of forests have been extensively researched by focusing on general public perspectives with different frameworks used to categorise them. Studies have also explored forest manager values; however, there is limited evidence on the values they associate with specific tree species. Understanding more about managers’ values regarding a parti...
Article
Full-text available
Existing research on the social and cultural (S&C) values of treescapes tends to be limited in scope, for example to recreation, aesthetic or health values, and much is primarily qualitative, which provides rich detail but does not lend itself easily to incorporation into decision‐making. Having a way to quantify the range of S&C values associated...
Article
Full-text available
Policy for urban trees is based upon a presumption that residents favour and benefit from them but in Britain the evidence for this is patchy and dated. We therefore initiated a study to understand modern attitudes and perceptions from adult urban residents across Britain. Our study consisted of exploratory focus groups to identify the main issues...
Article
Full-text available
Green space matters for mental health but is under constant pressure in an increasingly urbanising world. Often there is little space available in cities for green areas, so it is vital to optimise the design and usage of these available green spaces. To achieve this, experts in planning, design and nature conservation need to know which types and...
Article
COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic on 11 March 2020 and has meant entire populations have experienced a significant change in lifestyle. Restrictions in England occurred through a series of phases from a lockdown through to the opening of shops and facilities. The initial restrictions led to a strong media focus on nature and getting outdoors...
Chapter
The chapter discusses human-nature interactions, the importance of studying human-nature interactions, the state-of-the-art of scientific literature on human-nature relationships, provides an overview of theories addressing human-nature interactions, an overview of methods for studying human-nature interactions, human-nature relationships in urban...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This summary report provides results from the Public Perceptions of Urban Trees survey and focus group research undertaken by Forest Research during 2020/21 across Great Britain. The key focus of the research was to explore people’s attitudes and perceptions towards trees in urban areas, tree cover, support for tree planting, and management and mai...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This Research Report is the first attempt to estimate the mental health benefits associated with the UK’s woodlands using an avoided costs approach, by valuing woodland through the reduced prevalence of mental illness.
Article
Full-text available
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment stresses that it is possible to manage ecosystems so as to strengthen their capacity to provide a range of goods and services. In reality, the delivery of ecosystem services reflects policy and delivery mechanisms, the environment, and the objectives of landowners and managers. Amid gradual changes to forest poli...
Article
Full-text available
Forests worldwide are facing increasing pressures, with human travel and trade assisting the spread of pests and diseases. Climate change is likely to enhance the negative impacts of pests and diseases, which cause global declines and local extinctions. In this research we focus on three local and regional knowledge networks in the UK concerned wit...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Research shows us that connecting with the natural environment has many benefits for our physical health and mental wellbeing. Now a newly published report from a collaboration between the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, NatureScot, Natural England and Forest Research collates the findings of their research investigating how people v...
Article
Full-text available
The Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions put in place to prevent or reduce the spread of the disease led to anxiety, concern and stress for many people. In England restrictions varied at different times of the year, and throughout this time there was a lot of attention focused on the importance of exercise and on engaging with nature to maintain...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Urbanization is increasingly putting pressures on biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services. Evidence indicates that green and blue spaces can support the mental health of urban residents. Policy makers, city planners, other decision makers, healthcare professionals, and land managers now face a major challenge to maintain and enhance natural...
Article
Full-text available
Green spaces have been put forward as contributing to good mental health. In an urban context, space is a scarce resource while urbanisation and climate change are increasingly putting pressure on existing urban green space infrastructures and increasing morbidity caused by mental health disorders. Policy makers, designers, planners and other pract...
Article
This study focused on migrants taking part in a urban agricultural vocational program called Växtplats Rosengård at Botildenborg in Malmö, Sweden. A semi-structured interview study was conducted with 14 trainees to explore whether a sense of belonging could be experienced during the 10-week vocational training program. Two main themes of “environme...
Article
Full-text available
Pests and diseases introduced from other countries are known to pose a threat to trees, woods and forests in many locations throughout the world. Once introduced they can be spread inadvertently by countryside visitors hiking, biking or riding along paths and trails through wooded areas. Engaging and communicating with these groups of countryside u...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The British Woodlands Survey 2020 (BWS2020) was a multi-partner project, led by the Sylva Foundation and undertaken with funding from the Forestry Commission to explore awareness, action, and aspiration among the forestry sector to environmental change. The survey was the first repeat of a similar and baseline survey undertaken in 2015, providing a...
Article
Encouraging physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviours are key issues in contemporary society. The Active Forest Programme was set up through a partnership between Sport England and Forestry England. A pilot programme ran for three years on five public forest sites in England. A mixed methodology explored what types of sport and physical a...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This study explores different approaches used to value the mental health benefits of forests. It examines metrics used to quantify mental health impacts and methodologies to value changes in monetary terms. It explores how values of the mental health benefits of forests could be incorporated in natural capital accounting and project and policy appr...
Article
Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) serves both inhabitants’ and visitors’ numerous and various needs. This research aimed to enhance knowledge regarding the role of UGI in urban tourism. The research questions addressed tourists’ perceptions of UGI, their understanding and uses of UGI, and the ways that this understanding influenced their travel choi...
Article
Full-text available
The Active Forests programme was developed through a partnership between Forestry England and Sport England. A three-year pilot programme focused on five forest sites ran from 2014. It was mainstreamed in April 2017 and is now running on eighteen forest sites in England in 2019. The aim of the programme is to encourage a physical activity habit, an...
Poster
Full-text available
Various studies have been conducted on the relationship between exposure to the nature and human health and well-being. Simultaneously, the heterogeneity of objectives, theoretical frameworks, and research methods make the comparison of results and establishment of overall messages difficult. Research on the relationship between urban green and blu...
Poster
Full-text available
This research aims to enhance knowledge regarding the role of UGI in urban tourism and recreation. The research questions addressed tourists’ perceptions of UGI, their understanding and uses of UGI, and the ways that this understanding influences their travel choice to specific urban destinations. A cross-cultural comparative study among urban tour...
Article
Full-text available
Numerous tools have been developed to assist environmental decision-making, but there has been little examination of whether these tools achieve this aim, particularly for urban environments. This study aimed to evaluate the use of the i-Tree Eco tool in Great Britain, an assessment tool developed to support urban forest management. The study emplo...
Article
This paper explores the potential contribution of trees and forest to the mental wellbeing of diverse populations in Britain. We use a conceptual framework that makes a distinction between three different levels of engagement: everyday life; green health promotion; and green therapeutic care. We then use researched and evaluated case studies in Bri...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The Rapid Evidence Assessment considers 1. the impact of policy tools - grants, subsidies, programmes, provision of advice - on the response of land managers to tree pests and diseases, and 2. the potential of formal networks to act as disseminators of information and knowledge, and mediators of change.
Article
Ecosystem services frameworks effectively assume that nature's contributions to human well-being derive from people receiving benefits from nature. At the same time, efforts (money, time, or energy) for conservation, restoration or stewardship are often considered costs to be minimized. But what if caring for nature is itself an essential component...
Article
Full-text available
Mental health problems have become one of the leading causes of disease burden worldwide. This study used qualitative mixed methods including in-situ ‘being and doing’ activities with participants, interviews, and participant observations to explore participant’s experiences of a multi-visit nature-based intervention at Westonbirt Arboretum in Engl...
Article
Cet article étudie l’apport potentiel des arbres et de la forêt au bien-être mental de différentes populations en Grande-Bretagne. Nous utilisons un cadre conceptuel qui distingue trois niveaux différents de mobilisation : la vie quotidienne, la promotion de la santé par la nature et les soins par les thérapies vertes. Des études de cas en Grande-B...
Article
Full-text available
There is increasing interest in understanding, valuing and supporting the variety of ecosystem services that forests and woodlands can provide in the United Kingdom. Land owners and managers can play a key role in the delivery of forest ecosystem services through active woodland management and woodland creation. This report explores evidence for la...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Great Britain’s urban forest resource is under increasing threat from the impacts of pollution, neglect, development and construction, health and safety concerns and risk management, other budgetary priorities, and a lack of evidence of its value to society. Tools such as the i-Tree Eco surveys provide public bodies and others with evidence of the...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The community inclusion programme at Westonbirt Abrotetum was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and reached out to a targeted, but diverse range of participants who do not normally access Westonbirt including young people with autism, low confidence and self-esteem, and adults with drug and alcohol addiction, and mental health problems. Participa...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Observatree aimed to develop a GB-wide Tree Health Early Warning System to enable early detection of tree pests and diseases, thereby supporting efforts to protect woodlands and forests. This was achieved by building capacity amongst a cohort of trained volunteers to carry out surveys for tree pests and diseases, and to assist with processing and v...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This briefing note from Forest Research, in collaboration with Forestry Commission Scotland, can help organisations to think about what behaviours to encourage amongst staff and visitors to reduce the risk of getting Lyme disease, when to communicate and how. A brief introduction to Lyme disease and its incidence is followed by some current evidenc...
Presentation
Full-text available
The presentation explores the impacts of one part of Kew Botanic Garden’s major outreach programme called Grow Wild. Some of the impacts on individuals and community groups of sowing and growing wild flowers is presented.
Chapter
Full-text available
This book focuses on urban "green infrastructure" – the interconnected web of vegetated spaces like street trees, parks and peri-urban forests that provide essential ecosystem services in cities. The green infrastructure approach embodies the idea that these services, such as storm-water runoff control, pollutant filtration and amenities for outdoo...
Article
Green Infrastructure within urban areas has become increasingly important in recent years. There has been the development of a European Commission green infrastructure strategy and a range of initiatives identifying the importance of green infrastructure. This paper explicitly identifies the cultural ecosystem benefits gained from urban and peri-ur...
Chapter
Full-text available
Urban forests (UF) and green infrastructure (GI) – including trees that are not only in woodlands, but also on streets, along streams, in parks, and on roofs – provide important ecosystem services for urban and peri-urban populations. By allowing for urban living in pleasant and healthy surroundings, breaking up the paved and impermeable built envi...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This Research Report looks at a broad range of urban forest-based ecosystem services and disservices and, using a literature review, links their provision with four aspects of urban forests (physical scale, physical structure and context in terms of location and proximity to people and land use and ownership). A key objective of this report is to i...
Book
This book focuses on urban "green infrastructure" – the interconnected web of vegetated spaces like street trees, parks and peri-urban forests that provide essential ecosystem services in cities. The green infrastructure approach embodies the idea that these services, such as storm-water runoff control, pollutant filtration and amenities for outdoo...
Article
Full-text available
Valuation that focuses only on individual values evades the substantial collective and intersubjective meanings, significance and value from ecosystems. Shared, plural and cultural values of ecosystems constitute a diffuse and interdisciplinary field of research, covering an area that links questions around value ontology, elicitation and aggregati...
Article
Full-text available
Ecosystem services conceptualise the diverse values that ecosystems provide to humanity. This was recognised in the United Kingdom's National Ecosystem Assessment, which noted that appreciation of the full value of ecosystem services requires recognition of values that are shared. By operationalising the shared values concept, it is argued that the...
Book
Full-text available
Introducing England's Urban Forests follows on from Our Vision for a Resilient Urban Forest defining what an urban forest is and seeking to understand England’s urban forest; their structure and composition. It looks at what tools are available to help measure this kind of information - such as the National Forest Inventory, i-Tree and Treezilla. I...
Article
Recent UK government policy design has drawn heavily on insights from behavioural sciences, however, engagement with these ideas in the forestry sector has been limited. This article critically reflects on the interface between forest policy and ‘behaviour’. After considering what the term ‘behaviour’ may mean in the forestry context, we draw on a...
Presentation
Full-text available
Green Infrastructure (GI) and Urban Forests (UF) provide important ecosystem services for urban and peri-urban populations. However, particular sections of society such as the income deprived, the disabled and ethnic minority groups may not have the same opportunities and access to GI and UF that more affluent sections of society enjoy. They may al...
Presentation
Full-text available
This presentation provided an overview of results from interviews carried out with local authority tree officers from across Britain, as part of my PhD research.
Chapter
Full-text available
The book Green Exercise discusses the synergistic health benefit of being active in the presence of nature and provides a balanced overview on all aspects of Green Exercise, including evidence from physiology, ecology, psychology, sociology, the environmental sciences, and more from across the world. The book explores the future of Green Exercise,...
Article
Full-text available
The aim of this paper is to describe the availability of and use of nearby outdoor spaces along a nature continuum by Norwegian children. We carried out a nationwide survey of 3 160 parents with children aged 6–12 years, using a comprehensive web-based questionnaire. Results from the survey show forests are the most common outdoor space in resident...
Article
Full-text available
Based on a nationwide Norwegian survey among 3160 parents of children aged 6–12 years, this article identifies and discusses barriers for children’s engagement with nearby nature. A set of social factors related to time pressure are evaluated as more significant barriers than environmental factors such as accessibility, safety and landscape quality...
Article
Full-text available
Children's nature experiences are to an increasing degree organized by adults and involve adult's presence. A qualitative study of the Norwegian nationwide Children's Trekking Club explores how children interact with nature through organized events with varying degrees of adult management and planning. The study shows that free and spontaneous play...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Hemery, G., Petrokofsky, G., Ambrose-Oji, B., Atkinson, G., Broadmeadow, M., Edwards, D., Harrison, C., Lloyd, S., Mumford, J., O’Brien, L., Reid, C., Seville, M., Townsend, M., Weir, J., and Yeomans, A.,
Article
Full-text available
Social valuation of ecosystem services and public policy alternatives is one of the greatest challenges facing ecological economists today. Frameworks for valuing nature increasingly include shared/social values as a distinct category of values. However, the nature of shared/social values, as well as their relationship to other values, has not yet...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This is the third report from a research project on ‘investigating and assessing the involvement of volunteers in flood and coastal risk management (FCRM) outcomes’. It presents the findings from primary data collected in England through four methods: On-line survey of volunteers; volunteer activity diaries; a value for money analysis; and case stu...
Technical Report
Full-text available
This report provides baseline data on flood and coastal risk management (FCRM) volunteering and presents a typology that aids in the categorisation of data on this type of volunteering. This can provide useful information for any future segmentation study that might be undertaken to assist the Environment Agency in taking a more targeted approach t...
Technical Report
Full-text available
The evidence outlined in this briefing note draws on research in forests but also greenspace and green infrastructure in which trees are often an important or key component. We conclude that the PFE in England is extremely versatile and has the potential to contribute to cost effective solutions for the health sector targeted at preventing ill heal...