Article

The restorative outcomes of forest school and conventional school in young people with good and poor behaviour

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Abstract

Research has shown that the context for psychological restoration and the amount of change can vary amongst adults with different mental health states. There is, however, little evidence of this process in young people. This paper reports on a study which compares the restorative outcomes for adolescents (aged 11) when spending time in an outdoor education setting (forest school) versus a conventional indoor school setting. The adolescents differed across a behavioural spectrum from ‘good’ to ‘poor’ behaviour (n = 18). Two aspects of restoration are examined, firstly mood (measuring energy, stress, anger and hedonic tone), the other, reflection on personal goals using personal project techniques (Little, 1983) to capture this. Results from repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) on each of the emotional variables showed a number of significant effects with – in each case – greater positive change in the forest setting. There were additional significant behavioural effects with those with poor behaviour benefiting most from the forest school experience. This study extends restorative environments research by showing the amount of change and context for restoration can vary amongst young people with different behaviour states.

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... One study observed children and collected data over 8 months [13,14] but more commonly data was collected over a period of 6-12 weeks (e.g. [23,24]). This review presents the academic research under themes (Fig. 4) as follows: the relationship between forest school and the national curriculum, the impact of forest school on children's personal, social and emotional development, tensions within forest school practice, forest school and environmental behaviour, attempts to theorise and develop models of forest school, and the globalisation of forest school. ...
... Overall, the impact of forest school on children's wellbeing (broadly defined) has been of interest and is likely to be of further interest post-covid, as there is a growing awareness of children's mental health and wellbeing following the challenges and interruptions to schooling during lockdowns and school closures, and the loss of socialising opportunities, especially among very young children. The restorative effects of forest school, particularly for girls, have been noted [23] as has the impact of forest school on the mental health and wellbeing of teenage girls, identifying that it improved mood, confidence, social skills and relationships [34]. Research with 11 disadvantaged boys noted a positive impact of forest school on self-esteem [35]. ...
... Researching with children, especially very young children has its particular challenges [79]. As much of forest school works particularly with children at nursery or early years/key stage 1 level, there is the challenge of collecting any written feedback, be that in the form of questionnaires, preand post-assessments etc [23], and there are further difficulties of using wellbeing measures with children [16]. Research studies focus on the short-term impacts of forest school, and there is a dearth of longer-term studies which could measure the benefits of forest school on wellbeing, educational attainment or nature connection over the longer term. ...
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This review aims to summarise existing research on the forest-based pedagogical approach known as forest school, as developed in the UK. Modelled on the nature kindergartens of northern Europe, forest school is popular in the UK and is now being practiced or explored in other countries around the world. Drawing on papers specifically researching forest school, identified through the Scopus database, it identifies and reviews key themes emerging from the literature: research on its development, relationship to classroom teaching and the national curriculum, impact on children’s development, and their relationship to the environment and environmental behaviour. It identifies the challenges and tensions emerging in the practice of forest school, between the performative agenda of schools and the alternative learning approaches embedded in forest school praxis. It summarises the attempts by several authors to develop theoretical models of forest school. It discusses the transferability of this forest education practice to new cultures, environments and educational systems. Finally, it concludes by identifying challenges for further research.
... School campus greening was found to reduce students' physiological stress (Kelz, Evans, and R€ oderer 2015) and promote students' mental health (Wang, Zhao, and Xing 2018), physiological well-being (Kelz, Evans, and R€ oderer 2015), and physical activity (Bikomeye, Balza, and Beyer 2021). Studies have demonstrated that spending a day in a forest school led to less anger and stress and a better sense of happiness and energy compared to spending a day inside a classroom (Roe and Aspinall 2011). Students' directed attention was recovered after spending time in schoolyard greenness (Sutherland and Cherrill 2018). ...
... Previous studies have shown that the greening of schoolyards can improve students' well-being and reduce physiological stress (Kelz, Evans, and R€ oderer 2015). Additionally, spending time in green spaces has been linked to increased happiness and energy and decreased anger and stress (Roe and Aspinall 2011). In times of stress and sadness, exposure to school green spaces can reduce children's and adolescents' stress levels, particularly exam stress and campus life anxiety (Lemma et al. 2015;Cosma et al. 2020). ...
Article
This research explores how school greenery is associated with students' health, whether it addresses students' mental and physical needs, and what expectations students have from it. The study involved 381 students aged 10-19 in Aydın, Turkiye. Surveys and face-to-face interviews were conducted in May 2022. Results indicate that exposure to school greenery positively influences students' perceived stress, mental health, and general health. Analyses revealed significant differences between girls and boys, and school sites. Findings showed that school greenery does not meet students' perceived mental and physical needs. Students prefer more wooded and shaded areas, green spaces, blue spaces, wide-open spaces, and quiet places to address their needs. When students feel stressed, they seek refuge in wooded areas and sitting places in green spaces. Playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball, walking and sitting, and playing games with friends were the most preferred activities. Based on the results, possible design implications are suggested.
... Researchers noted the importance of child-led and play-based learning, and pursuit of risk and adventure within forest school (Maynard 2007b;Ridgers, Knowles, and Sayers 2012). Some research focusses on how forest school impacts on specific children: those with specific needs around personal, social and emotional development (Bradley and Male 2017;Cudworth and Lumber 2021;Harris 2018;Manner, Doi, and Laird 2021;McCree, Cutting, and Sherwin 2018;Roe and Aspinall 2011;Swarbrick, Eastwood, and Tutton 2004;Tiplady and Menter 2021); or how it can contribute to children's nature connection and environmental awareness (Barrable and Booth 2020;Cudworth 2020;Cumming and Nash 2015;Harris 2017;2021;Mycock 2020;Smith, Dunhill, and Scott 2018). Two recently published reviews provide summaries of existing literature (Garden and Downes 2021;Harris 2022). ...
... Practitioners also noted particular groups of children that benefited from forest school. Those who were shy or lacked confidence were seen to speak up and believed to gain in confidence, something also noticed by Manner, Doi and Laird (2021), working with adolescent girls, Roe and Aspinall (2011) in their work with teenage girls, and McCree, Cutting, and Sherwin (2018) working with boys. The development of language skills helped those who were non-communicative due to lack of language or vocabulary. ...
Article
Forest school is a pedagogical practice widely used in the U.K., and increasingly in other parts of the world. This paper contributes to the growing body of research on forest school by focussing on how children engage with and respond to forest school. It draws on practitioners’ experience of working with children to examine their perspectives on how children react to forest school. While practitioners felt the majority of children enjoyed forest school, they identified six specific groups of children who benefit. The findings are related to existing research to explore how the learning environment enables children to experience individual learning journeys at forest school.
... Previous studies have indicated that many types of sites have restorative potential, such as forests, gardens, parks, green roofs, libraries, playgrounds, museums, canteens, zoos, and classrooms [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. However, very little is known about other site types on campus that have the potential to be beneficial to students' mental health, except for the commonly considered green and blue spaces. ...
... In blue space, "water views" (36), "quiet atmosphere" (32), and "beautiful and romantic feeling" (22) were the main motivations. The main motivations for using gray space are "exercise" (29), "recreation" (26), and "empty and free experience" (22). The main reasons for the use of living space were "lively and pleasant atmosphere" (22), "to meet the needs of daily life" (21), and "for rest and relaxation" (18). ...
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Undergraduates commonly suffer from stress and anxiety; therefore, it is imperative to find restorative places on campus. Although blue and green spaces are good for recovery and stress relief, previous studies have failed to determine other types of restorative spaces on campuses. Using a bottom-up participatory smartphone photo survey, this study recruited a sample of 243 students from Sichuan Technology and Business University in China, and the results were as follows: (1) potential restorative spaces on campus were grouped into five categories: green, blue, gray, living, and study space; (2) no significant differences were found in the assessment of the five restorative spaces, all of which showed positive effects; (3) the five restorative spaces were linked with four restorative characteristics in different ways, with green, blue, gray, and living space showing the “being away” characteristic (refuges from the hassles of everyday life, indicate geographical or psychological distance), and gray and study spaces showing the “fascination” characteristic (effortless attention); (4) visit duration played an important role in the environment’s potential to promote recovery. A shorter visit duration owing to a lack of infrastructure and interest points may contribute to reduced benefits. This study has important implications for the design and management of restorative environments on college campuses.
... Increased attention is being placed on the physical environments that children and young people experience due to the continuously expanding wealth of evidence that being in nature and outdoor spaces has positive repercussions on mental health and wellbeing (Nisbet et al., 2009;Bratman et al., 2012;Kamitsis and Francis, 2013). These desirable effects include reductions in stress, anxiety, depression (Mayer et al., 2009;Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Thompson et al., 2012;Park et al., 2013;Beyer et al., 2014;Chawla et al., 2014), whilst simultaneously impacting positively on self-esteem, mood, and confidence (Barton and Pretty, 2010;Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Park et al., 2013;Chawla et al., 2014). This wealth of research has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions, or green prescribing (e.g., Robinson et al., 2020), although evidence for its use is currently predominantly limited to adults. ...
... Increased attention is being placed on the physical environments that children and young people experience due to the continuously expanding wealth of evidence that being in nature and outdoor spaces has positive repercussions on mental health and wellbeing (Nisbet et al., 2009;Bratman et al., 2012;Kamitsis and Francis, 2013). These desirable effects include reductions in stress, anxiety, depression (Mayer et al., 2009;Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Thompson et al., 2012;Park et al., 2013;Beyer et al., 2014;Chawla et al., 2014), whilst simultaneously impacting positively on self-esteem, mood, and confidence (Barton and Pretty, 2010;Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Park et al., 2013;Chawla et al., 2014). This wealth of research has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions, or green prescribing (e.g., Robinson et al., 2020), although evidence for its use is currently predominantly limited to adults. ...
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Background The time that children and young people spend in nature and outdoor spaces has decreased significantly over the past 30 years. This was exacerbated with a further 60% decline post-COVID-19. Research demonstrating that natural environments have a positive impact on health and wellbeing has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions and green prescribing, although evidence for its use is predominantly limited to adults. Growing evidence also shows the impact of arts on all aspects of health and wellbeing. However, what has received scant attention in literature is the interconnection between the two: arts and nature. Aims This review synthesizes the literature surrounding the interconnectedness between arts and nature, and their impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people. Methods Eight major electronic databases were systematically searched, while hand-searching included 20 journals, six books, and contact with experts. The review was conducted using the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews, PRISMA guidelines and TIDieR template. All stages were conducted independently by two researchers and the protocol was published on PROSPERO (Registration no.: CRD42021286574). Results Although 9,314 records were identified, only 11 records were included as most studies focused either on arts or nature, but not both. Studies were conducted in United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, and Hong Kong, in a range of spaces such as forests, woodlands, beaches, parks, fields, gardens, and school playgrounds. The review encompasses data from 602 participants in total. Discussion Arts-in-nature offered an inclusive medium to engage all children and young people, especially those who might otherwise remain disinterested about environmental issues and disengaged with educational programs. Further, arts-in-nature provided stimuli to increase nature connectivity, understand environmental issues and explore ways to prevent environmental disasters. This led to higher environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviors, and potential decrease in eco-anxiety. Conclusion Although the quality of qualitative studies was high, the quality of quantitative studies was low or unclear, thus quantitative evidence is still at its infancy. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed, such as methods and activities to strengthen future interventions. Scaling-up existing interventions may lead to wider recognition and inclusion of arts-in-nature in future health guidelines, including green prescribing.
... Increased attention is being placed on the physical environments that children and young people experience due to the continuously expanding wealth of evidence that being in nature and outdoor spaces has positive repercussions on mental health and wellbeing (Bratman, Hamilton & Daily, 2012;Kamitsis & Francis, 2013;Nisbet, Zelenski & Murphy, 2011). These desirable effects include reductions in stress, anxiety, depression (Beyer, Kaltenbach, Szabo et al., 2014;Chawla, Keena, Pevec et al., 2014;Mayer, Frantz, Bruehlman-Senecal et al., 2009;Park, Kitayama, Karasawa et al., 2013;Roe & Aspinall, 2011;Thompson, Roe, Aspinall et al., 2012), whilst simultaneously impacting positively on self-esteem, mood, and confidence (Barton & Pretty, 2010;Chawla et al., 2014;Park et al., 2013;Roe & Aspinall, 2011). This wealth of research has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions, or green prescribing (e.g., Robinson, Jorgensen, Cameron et al., 2020), although evidence for its use is currently predominantly limited to adults. ...
... Increased attention is being placed on the physical environments that children and young people experience due to the continuously expanding wealth of evidence that being in nature and outdoor spaces has positive repercussions on mental health and wellbeing (Bratman, Hamilton & Daily, 2012;Kamitsis & Francis, 2013;Nisbet, Zelenski & Murphy, 2011). These desirable effects include reductions in stress, anxiety, depression (Beyer, Kaltenbach, Szabo et al., 2014;Chawla, Keena, Pevec et al., 2014;Mayer, Frantz, Bruehlman-Senecal et al., 2009;Park, Kitayama, Karasawa et al., 2013;Roe & Aspinall, 2011;Thompson, Roe, Aspinall et al., 2012), whilst simultaneously impacting positively on self-esteem, mood, and confidence (Barton & Pretty, 2010;Chawla et al., 2014;Park et al., 2013;Roe & Aspinall, 2011). This wealth of research has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions, or green prescribing (e.g., Robinson, Jorgensen, Cameron et al., 2020), although evidence for its use is currently predominantly limited to adults. ...
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Published version: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.858781 Background: The time that children and young people spend in nature and outdoor spaces has decreased significantly over the past 30 years. This was exacerbated with a further 60% decline post-Covid-19 (Natural England, 2020). Research demonstrating that natural environments have a positive impact on health and wellbeing has led to prescription of nature-based health interventions and green prescribing, although evidence for its use is predominantly limited to adults. Growing evidence also shows the impact of arts on all aspects of health and wellbeing. However, what has received scant attention in literature is the interconnection between the two: arts and nature. Aims: This review synthesises the literature surrounding the interconnectedness between arts and nature, and their impact on the health and wellbeing of children and young people. Methods: Eight major electronic databases were systematically searched, while hand-searching included 20 journals, five books, and contact with experts. The review was conducted using the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews, PRISMA guidelines and TIDieR template. All stages were conducted independently by two researchers and the protocol was published on PROSPERO (Registration no.:CRD42021286574). Results: Although 9,314 records were identified, only 11 records were included as most studies focused either on arts or nature, but not both. Studies were conducted in UK, USA, Ireland, Australia, and Hong Kong, in a range of spaces such as forests, woodlands, beaches, parks, fields, gardens, and school playgrounds. The review encompasses data from 602 participants in total. Discussion: Arts-in-nature offered an inclusive medium to engage all children and young people, especially those who might otherwise remain disinterested about environmental issues and disengaged with educational programs. Further, arts-in-nature provided stimuli to increase nature connectivity, understand environmental issues and explore ways to prevent environmental disasters. This led to higher environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviours, and potential decrease in eco-anxiety. Conclusion: Although the quality of qualitative studies was high, the quality of quantitative studies was low or unclear, thus quantitative evidence is still at its infancy. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed, such as methods and activities to strengthen future interventions. Scaling-up existing interventions may lead to wider recognition and inclusion of arts-in-nature in future health guidelines, including green prescribing.
... Diğer ( (Köşker, 2019;Strommen, 1995 (Brenneman, Stevenson-Boyd ve Frede, 2009;Gill, 2011;Lind, 1998;Trundle ve Saçkes, 2010;Wilson, 1996) (Honold, Lakes, Beyer & Van der Meer, 2016;Kahriman Pamuk, 2020;Kalvaitis & Monhardt, 2015;Roe & Aspinall, 2011;Ulrich, 1984;Ulrich et al., 1991). In conclusion it has been found that DOTEP-E develops a positive approach towards nature in children. ...
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Araştırmanın amacı, bir müdahale programı olan "Doğa Temelli Eğitim Programı-Erken Yıllar (DOTEP-E)"nin 60-72 aylık çocukların doğaya yaklaşımı üzerindeki etkisini incelemektir. Araştırmanın yöntemi nitel modelde durum çalışması deseni olarak tasarlanmıştır. Çalışma grubunu; deney gruplarında 31(D1=16, D2=15), kontrol gruplarında 29 (K1=16, K2=13) olmak üzere toplam 60 çocuk oluşturmuştur. Araştırma verileri; 8 hafta süren DOTEP-E programı öncesinde ve sonrasında gruplarla yapılan görüşmeler ile sadece deney gruplarına yapılan izleme görüşmesi neticesinde toplanmıştır. Verilere "Bir Doğa Çiz-Görüşme Formu" aracılığıyla ulaşılmış ve veriler içerik analiziyle çözümlenmiştir. DOTEP-E'nin doğaya yönelik olumlu yaklaşım geliştirme üzerinde etkili olduğu; çocukların ekolojik bilinç, doğaya yönelik farkındalık, olumlu duygular ve sürdürülebilir olumlu davranışlar kazanmasına katkı sağladığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Anahtar Sözcükler: Doğa, Doğa temelli eğitim programı, Okul öncesi. ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of "Nature-Based Education Program-Early Years (DOTEP-E)", an intervention program, on 60-72 month-old children's approach to nature. The research method was designed as a case study design in a qualitative model. The study group consisted of 60 children: 31 in the experimental groups (D1=16, D2=15) and 29 in the control * Alıntılama: Bulut Öngen, M. ve Ersay, E. (2023). Erken yıllar için geliştirilen doğa temelli eğitim programının çocukların doğaya yaklaşımına etkisi. Gazi Üniversitesi Gazi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 44(1), 209-242.
... Experiments by Roe and Aspinall have shown that being surrounded by greenery on campus evokes a sense of pleasure from nature, counteracting any potential feelings of depression. This natural environment allows students to immerse themselves in nature, experience joy, alleviate stress, and boost self-confidence, all of which are beneficial to their physical and mental health [18] . ...
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This paper analyzes the problem of campus green space in relieving college students’ psychological pressure. It discusses this issue from five aspects: the source of pressure, the significance of alleviating pressure, the theoretical analysis of how green spaces can relieve pressure, the principles to be followed when using campus green spaces to alleviate pressure, and the selection of appropriate green spaces. Furthermore, it examines the role of campus green spaces in alleviating pressure for college students and proposes methods and principles for utilizing green spaces to relieve pressure. The aim is to summarize and analyze recent developments and accomplishments in utilizing green spaces for stress relief, thereby further guiding research in this area.
... Supercamp is a structured and effective program for developing cognitive, social, and personal abilities. Activities in nature can improve students' learning outcomes and their potential to achieve learning goals (Roe & Aspinall, 2011). Cultivating 4C skills begins with getting to know the natural surroundings at the supercamp. ...
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The research uses a qualitative type with descriptive analysis methods: data collection techniques using interviews, observation, and documentation. The research results show that the cultivation of 4C skills is carried out through learning and school programs. Learning at nature schools uses a learning method: Learning with Nature (BBA). Through BBA learning, students are invited to identify problems and conclude problems related to learning. Students are also invited to form groups independently, divide tasks, work creatively, and communicate group work results. Instilling scientific literacy and 4C skills is also done through programs outside of learning. The planned programs include super camps, educational visits/trips, trading agricultural products, and Alek Minangkabau. The results of this research are the basis for conducting studies on instilling and improving 4C skills in elementary schools
... Berger et al. (2008) also reported from a study conducted in Israel that natural therapy helps children enhance students with learning disabilities. O'Brien and Murray (2007) Roe and Aspinall (2011b) found positive changes in stress, energy, anger and hedonic tone when they examined the behavioural range of adolescents from a traditional school group with poor behaviour. Takano et al. (2002) reported that the survival of older people depends independently on the access to green spaces. ...
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The increasing interest of humans to live in urban areas to meet their needs for employment, better living standards, easy access to all facilities and resources, comfortable housing etc. leads to the continuous expansion of urban areas and the areas of natural landscapes and forests are decreasing. As a result, there is enormous pressure on urban and semi-urban areas to sustain a huge population density. Urban areas are increasingly polluted, which is continually impacting human and biological diversity. This review illustrates in detail the diverse direct and indirect benefits of urban trees for human health. The article explains in detail about the impacts of urban green spaces and trees on children, young people, adults and older people. The review also has practical implications, that will help health professionals, urban planners, urban foresters, urban and landscape planners, policy makers, academics and conservation professionals understand the public health benefits that urban trees provide.
... Appreciation for nature may also be associated with a nature connectedness, which is correlated with well-being in children (Whitten et al., 2018). Adolescents exhibited positive mood states regarding hedonic tone, energy, anger, and stress when engaging in a forest school setting compared to a traditional school environment (Roe & Aspinall, 2011). Additionally, students reported feeling calm and relaxed when engaging in activities at school within the natural environment (Chawla et al., 2014). ...
... For example, the forest school pedagogical approach, used in the UK and internationally, has demonstrated how woodland environments can support children's cognitive, physical and social development (see Harris, 2022 for a review). While run for all children, forest schools have been targeted specifically for young people with behavioural difficulties who are at risk of being excluded from school for anti-social behaviour, and research suggests that they can promote restorative outcomes (Roe and Aspinall, 2011;Knight, 2011). ...
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Purpose This paper aims to explore how environmental employment can promote desistance among criminalised children. Research demonstrates that being immersed in and interacting with the natural environment has a positive impact upon well-being and behaviour, including reduced aggressive and violent behaviours. However, how exposure to the natural environment might promote desistance amongst children with persistent criminal involvement is unclear. Design/methodology/approach This paper examines, through semi-structured interviews and participant observations, the experiences of n = 23 criminalised children aged 16–18 employed in outdoor work at a UK social enterprise. Findings The findings demonstrate how working in the natural environment can provide a safe space for children, where they can build positive relationships, learn valuable skills and reconnect with the world outside of the high-pressure, conflict-driven spaces in which they typically occupy. Originality/value This research highlights the relevance of the setting in which child rehabilitation takes place and the potential role of natural environments in providing places and opportunities which support pro-social identity development and desistance for children. Keywords
... Driving is a demanding task, and road landscapes heavily consume driver attention through visual perception [74,75]. In highly urbanized areas, landscapes with little to no visual elements require drivers to exert significant directional attention, leading to adverse driving reactions [76]. Driving performance decreases when attention fatigue sets in [77]. ...
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Rapid global economic development, population growth, and increased motorization have resulted in significant issues in urban traffic safety. This study explores the intrinsic connections between road environments and driving safety by integrating multiple visual landscape elements. High-resolution remote sensing and street-view images were used as primary data sources to obtain the visual landscape features of an urban expressway. Deep learning semantic segmentation was employed to calculate visual landscape features, and a trend surface fitting model of road landscape features and driver fatigue was established based on experimental data from 30 drivers who completed driving tasks in random order. There were significant spatial variations in the visual landscape of the expressway from the city center to the urban periphery. Heart rate values fluctuated within a range of 0.2% with every 10% change in driving speed and landscape complexity. Specifically, as landscape complexity changed between 5.28 and 8.30, the heart rate fluctuated between 91 and 96. This suggests that a higher degree of landscape richness effectively mitigates increases in driver fatigue and exerts a positive impact on traffic safety. This study provides a reference for quantitative assessment research that combines urban road landscape features and traffic safety using multiple data sources. It may guide the implementation of traffic safety measures during road planning and construction.
... Where they do promote nature engagement, schools can achieve improvements in children's development (Lovell et al., 2020), motor skills (Natural England, 2016), attention restoration (Fiennes et al., 2015), and social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties (Amoly et al., 2014;Richardson et al., 2017;Tillmann et al., 2018). Some studies also found improvements in children's self-efficacy (Chawla et al., 2014;Murphy, 2018;Roe & Aspinall, 2011) which, according to Bandura (2006), is the 'most distinctly human core property of agency ' (p.165). Furthermore, learning in natural environments has been linked with higher engagement in reading, science, mathematics, physical education, and social studies (Browning & Rigolon, 2019;Kuo et al., 2018). ...
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Background Nature can weaken the negative effects of deprivation on health, shifting away from pathogenic models of health and supporting the wellbeing of disadvantaged groups. Nevertheless, children living in deprived areas are nine times less likely to have access to nature compared to more affluent children. Schools can facilitate equity of access to nature, thereby playing a crucial role in addressing health inequities. What has received scant attention in existing literature is how access to, and engagement with, nature can be facilitated through arts experiences. Methods ‘Eco-capabilities’ is a pilot study exploring the impact of the arts-in-nature practice - ‘Artscaping’ - on the wellbeing of 101 children (aged 7–10) living in areas of high deprivation. Qualitative and arts-based methods were used to understand children's, artists' and teachers' experiences of participating in the intervention. Quantitative methods were used to gain preliminary information on children's self-reported measures of wellbeing pre- and post-intervention. Findings Children's wellbeing was supported by the development of: self-confidence and self-esteem; agency; slowliness and calmness; and connectedness with nature. Although children's self-reported measures of wellbeing did not reach statistically significance, the most noticeable changes were that children felt happier with their life as a whole, spending time outdoors and doing things away from home, and more optimistic about what future holds for them. Conclusions This study developed the proof of concept for the arts-in-nature intervention. Future research should focus on scaling-up this intervention in primary, secondary and special schools in a wider range of geospatial contexts. Future research should also prioritise the collaboration between artists and teachers to ensure the sustainability of this practice beyond the scope of the research.
... One topic that has attracted particular attention is how the creation of green spaces on campus can potentially benefit students' psychological health [6]. There is an example of using a school forest as a solution to adolescent behavior problems [7]. ...
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In this study, we attempted to analyze the effect of color and temperature changes in the forest environment over time on the mood and physiological state of university students. The survey was conducted four times considering forest changes such as new leaf appearance and growth, autumn leaf changes, and fallen leaves. The participants’ moods and physiological states were first evaluated in an indoor environment; a second evaluation was conducted after contact with the forest. The color visual information of the forest environment was analyzed through color extraction from photographs taken each survey day. The participants’ moods and physiological states were measured using the Korean Profile of Mood States-Brief and a heart rate variability measuring device, respectively. Changes in the forest experience according to the season had an effect on university students’ mood states. In particular, the effects of the spring forest experience included the relaxation of tension and the activation of vigor. This result is considered to be influenced by factors such as the season’s temperature and the green color, which is predominant in the spring forest. However, no physiological changes were found in the participants according to each season. The results of this study can lead to greater consideration of the role of color in urban forest planning for universities and other public spaces.
... In the absence of a pandemic, it is well-established that nature supports children's health and well-being [1,2]. For example, children experience reductions in symptoms of ADHD [4], increased physical activity [22], improved motor development [23], increased energy and positive emotions and decreased stress [24], and improved eyesight [25] from experiences in nature. Despite this evidence, it remains to be seen whether, first, children still spent time in nature during COVID-19, and second, whether nature still afforded benefits to well-being during this extraordinary time. ...
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The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic rendered daily life overwhelmingly difficult for many children. Given the compelling evidence for the physical and mental health benefits of interaction with nature, might it be the case that time spent interacting with nature buffered the negative effects of the pandemic for children? To address this question, we conducted a longitudinal investigation with a cohort of 137 Girl Scouts across two time periods: right before the onset of the pandemic (December 2019–February 2020) and one year later (December 2020–February 2021). We found that during the pandemic (compared to pre-pandemic), Girl Scouts fared worse on measures of physical activity, positive emotions, negative emotions, anxiety, behavioral difficulties, and problematic media use. However, by using mixed models, we also found that, on average, Girl Scouts who spent more time interacting with nature fared less poorly (in this sense, “did better”) on measures of physical activity, positive emotions, anxiety, and behavioral difficulties, irrespective of the pandemic. Further analysis revealed that these advantageous associations were present even when accounting for the amount of nature near each child’s home (as measured by the normalized difference vegetation index, percent of natural land cover, and self-reported access to nature). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating nature interaction and children’s well-being to use data collected from the same cohort prior to and during the pandemic. In addition, we discuss the importance of opportunities to interact with nature for children’s well-being during future periods of social upheaval.
... Research has found that environments allowing the infant to be an active partner within the dyadic interaction, for example engaged in mutual enjoyment, fosters positive parent-infant interactions [63]. Research in older children has found associations between time spent in nature and higher positive affect, increased energy, and less anger [64,65]. Parentchild communication (with 3-to 4-year-olds) has also been found to be more responsive and connected in natural compared to indoor environments [66]. ...
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Background The postnatal period is a vulnerable time for mothers to experience stress and mental health difficulties. There is increasing evidence that spending time in nature is beneficial for wellbeing. Nature-based interventions have been developed to support mental health, but not specifically tailored for mothers during the postnatal period. Understanding mothers’ views and experiences of nature would help determine the suitability for and potential impact of such interventions on postnatal wellbeing. Aims To explore mothers’ views on the impact of spending time in nature on their postnatal mental wellbeing. Methods Focus groups were held with mothers of young children (under five), including mothers from migrant and refugee communities, mothers living with mental health difficulties, and disabled mothers. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Four focus groups were held, with a total of 30 participants. Six themes were developed: (1) mothers’ experiences of what constitutes ‘nature’; (2) sensing nature improves wellbeing; (3) natural spaces facilitate human connection; (4) nature provides escape and relief from daily indoor stressors; (5) nature allows new perspectives; and (6) mothers face a variety of environmental, practical, psychological, physical, socioeconomic, and cultural barriers to spending time in nature during the postnatal period. Conclusions Mothers report significant benefits to their postnatal wellbeing when spending time in nature. Further research is warranted to understand whether nature-based interventions have the potential to support postnatal wellbeing, socially, mentally, and physically.
... However, the quantity and accessibility of natural environments do Table 5 Coding outcomes and characteristics of experimental studies (Amicone et al., 2018;Dopko et al., 2019;Izenstark et al., 2021;Jenkin et al., 2018;Johnson et al., 2019;Mygind et al., 2018;Roe & Aspinall, 2011;Schutte et al., 2017;Shao et al., 2020;Shu & Ma, 2020;Bang et al., 2018;Chiumento et al., 2018;Dettweiler et al., 2017;Ekenga et al., 2019;Harvey et al., 2020;Oh et al., 2020;Razani et al., 2019;van Dijk-Wesselius et al., 2018;Wells, 2000). ...
... Regarding the school context, it has also been documented that making the schoolyard greener led students' to perceiving it as more restorative, reduced their physiological stress, and increased their psychological wellbeing [40]. Roe and Aspinall [41] found greater positive change in affect regarding energy, stress, anger, and hedonic tone of young adolescents with "poor" and "good" behavior after a day in an outdoor educational setting (forest school) compared to an indoor setting. Li and Sullivan [19] also reported, among other benefits, reduction in physiological stress in high school students who were exposed to nature for 45 min only through a window green view. ...
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... The school environment has been found to play an important role in the social, emotional, and behavioural wellbeing of children (Gutman & Feinstein, 2008). Access to natural landscapes for play and learning has been linked to increased positive mood and reduced stress, anger, inattention and problem behaviour (Chawla, Keena, Pevec, & Stanley, 2014;Mårtensson et al., 2009;Roe & Aspinall, 2011). An international report on children learning in natural environments brought together evidence from five major reviews focusing on impacts on 'physical health and wellbeing' and 'character capabilities' including "application, self-regulation, empathy, creativity, and innovation, and their capacity to be successful learners" (Waite & Malone, 2016, p. 4). ...
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... While antidepressant medication can lead to a significant reduction of symptoms 12 , there is an urgent need for non-pharmacological interventions to support mental health in people who have developed this illness. The current evidence for mental health benefits of green spaces in people with depression is mixed, with some studies reporting significant effects [21][22][23] and other suggesting reduced benefits relative to healthy individuals 24,25 . Our investigation extends this existing literature by demonstrating Associations are shown unadjusted and adjusted for age, gender, education, occupational status, ethnicity, whether participants could see trees, plants, and see or hear water, and with the implementation of the MICE procedure. ...
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... We are exposed to and influenced by different environments every day. Environment can significantly impact a person's life (Bratman et al., 2012;Roe & Aspinall, 2011). Researchers have discovered that exposure to natural landscapes has positive effects on children's mental health (Li & Sullivan, 2016;Vries et al., 2003), cognition (Berman et al., 2008;Taylor et al., 2002), and academic performance (Hodson & Sander, 2013). ...
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... Evidence from the limited research on nature-based learning for autistic children suggests that outdoor education enhances communication (Morrier & Ziegler, 2018; and reduces stress (Friedman & Morrison, 2021). Roe and Aspinall (2011) examined the impact of FS for children classified as showing either 'poor' (n = 12) and 'good' (n = 6) behaviour and found that FS had a restorative effect on anger, energy, stress, and hedonic tone (effect sizes were small to medium but stronger for the 'poor' behaviour group). In a case-bounded qualitative study that, for the first time, captured autistic children's experiences of FS, Bradley and Male (2017), interviewed four autistic children and their parents and teachers and concluded that FS helped support relationship development and risk taking. ...
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Spending time in nature has benefits for wellbeing in children, but relatively little is known about how autistic children experience nature. Framed by self-determination theory, this case study addresses this gap by exploring the experiences of 25 autistic children participating in a Forest School at their specialist school in the East of England. We used deductive reflexive thematic analysis to analyse participant observation and parent and child interview data. Our results indicated that Forest School benefited these autistic children through opportunities to play, exercise autonomy, and develop practical, motor, and social skills. However, challenges were also evident, including children absconding and conflict between peers. The success of sessions seemed contingent on adherence to routines and the influence of the adults present. Our findings supported the application of self-determination theory to Forest School to promote psychological wellbeing through autonomy, competence, and relatedness in autistic children. We discuss implications for training and practice.
... Taylor et al, 2001; Kuo &Faber Taylor, 2004;Faber Taylor &Kuo, 2009 S tudy examined indirect experience in nature to children's attention abilities S tudies examined the benefits of direct and indirect experience in nature on concentration, attention, abilities and performance.S tudies focused on benefits to nature on children with disabilities ADD and ADHD S tudy inves tigated direct experience in nature (nature camp) benefits on children cognitive belief. demons trated direct experience in nature benefits on independent mobility and social skills development.S tudies demons trated the benefits of direct and indirect experience in nature: playing in fores t and orchard, gardening and being in sensory garden on children'Laaksoharju et al., 2012McCurdy et al., 2010Roe & Aspinall , 2011. ...
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... This evidence base points toward more areas for potential exploration of mediators between contact with nature and depression in children, such as cognitive factors and self-esteem. Forest schools (FS) are an example of an NBL which provide regular outdoor learning for children and there is suggestive evidence that FSs may improve the mood of children when compared with a typical school day (Roe and Aspinall, 2011). Research has shown that children participating in FS displayed increased self-confidence, improved social skills, motivation and communication (Murray and O'Brien, 2005). ...
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... In contrast, outdoor nature-based programs may contribute to children's healthy behaviours, physical and mental health. In fact, there is a growing body of literature suggesting that outdoor nature-based programs can help promote the children's mental health and emotional well-being (e.g., Marchant et al., 2019, McCree et al., 2018Roe & Aspinall, 2011) and provide the children with opportunities to become more active (Fjørtoft, 2004, Harwood, et al., 2017Marchant et al., 2019;O'Brien & Murray, 2007). In our survey study, we asked respondents to report activities that children typically experienced within the program, including hiking for short and long distances, risky and/or adventurous play, storytelling, and dramatic play (see Figure 1). ...
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... Green space enhances children's interaction with nature and affects their cross-cultural communication and growth [101,102]. Frances et al. [71] found that the interaction between natural environments and animals is extremely important for children's growth. Echeverria et al. [74] confirmed that urban green space, such as parks and playgrounds, can significantly promote cross-cultural contact and friendship between children. ...
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Zaburzenia depresyjne oraz syndrom wyczerpania sił w grupie uczniów to zjawiska, które w swoim przebiegu cechują się długim czasem trwania oraz stopniową eskalacją symptomów. Dotychczasowe wyniki badań potwierdziły, że obydwa powyższe zjawiska stanowią istotne czynniki utrudniające a nawet blokujące rozwój jednostki. Jednocześnie obydwa wiążą się z utratą zasobów umożliwiających efektywne funkcjonowanie w środowisku i radzenie sobie z wyzwaniami. Jednym z takich zasobów jest umiejętność zachowania równowagi pomiędzy różnymi perspektywami temporalnymi. Celem przeprowadzonego projektu badawczego było sprawdzenie mediacyjnej roli wypalenia szkolnego w relacji pomiędzy perspektywą temporalną a poziomem depresji u adolescentów. Badaniami objęto grupę 355 uczniów (w tym 61,6% dziewcząt) z III klas szkół ponadpodstawowych (średnia wieku 18.5). W badaniu wykorzystano trzy narzędzia psychologiczne tj. skalę wypalenia szkolnego dla młodzieży SSBS, pełną wersje Kwestionariusz Perspektywy Temporalnej Zimbardo i Boyda oraz skalę depresji Kutchera dla Młodzieży. Uzyskane dane potwierdziły występowanie istotnych związków między wskaźnikami perspektywy temporalnej a depresją i wypaleniem szkolnym u uczniów. Wyniki analizy mediacyjnej ujawniły, że przeszła perspektywa temporalna oraz fatalistyczna wypalenie szkolne. Wykazano również, że koncentracja na doraźnych hedonistycznych celach nabiera istotnego znaczenia dla nasilenia depresji dopiero po uwzględnieniu w modelu poziomu wypalenia szkolnego. Przyszła perspektywa czasowa jedynie pośrednio była związana z poziomem depresji poprzez mediator. Uzyskane dane sugerują konieczność projektowania oddziaływań pomocowych skierowanych do młodzieży doświadczającej depresji i wypalenia szkolnego, uwzględniających kształtowanie efektywnego zarządzania perspektywą temporalną
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Objective: This study focuses on a nature-based group treatment (Flow with Nature treatment, FWN) for working-age adults diagnosed with clinical depression. We searched for different subgroups of depression and restoration levels to see who, in particular, benefits from FWN treatment. Method: In total, 108 people participated in the study at various locations in Finland. The participants were 44.8 years old on average (range = 19–64), and most were female (81.5%). We used Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify different profiles of level and change in depression and restoration in the participants of FWN treatment to investigate who particularly benefits from it. Results: We found three different profiles of depression level and observed a significant reduction of depression scores in the group with the lowest depression level. In addition, two different profiles of restoration were identified and depression symptoms were significantly alleviated in the group with higher restoration, whereas no such change was observed in the group with lower restoration. Conclusions: FWN can be especially beneficial as a low-threshold treatment for mild depression in addition to treatment-as-usual. Furthermore, the results suggest it is advisable to purposively support restoration by nature-based treatments for depression. Keywords: nature-based treatment, group treatment, integrative treatment, restoration, depression, nature experience
Preprint
Forest intangible values (e.g., emotions, aesthetics, and spirituality) are key nonmaterial values supporting human well-being. However, their evaluation is far from trivial, as they are intertwined with people's individual values and beliefs. The aim of this paper is to explore which participatory methods can serve best to map and assess the emotional and spiritual contributions that individuals and communities attach to forest spaces. This is a research gap important to investigate as intangible forest values tend to disappear and change, thereby altering the socio-cultural construct behind the formation and preservation of a given forest landscape. This is crucial in forest communities that are threatened by socioeconomic changes such as nature commodification, resource overexploitation, and declining demography. Different tools were evaluated, through both a systematic literature review and interviews with experts in participatory methods. Results from the systematic review, validated by the interviewees, indicate 15 participatory methods used to assess intangible forest contributions. Performative and walking methods emerge as the most widely used. These techniques capture the vision of both individuals and communities and aim at giving an active voice to the environment, making nature part of the decision-making process. This research confirms that participatory approaches are pivotal methods to unfold connections amongst stakeholders dealing with intangible forest ecosystem services, supporting the multifunctional role of forests and thus the delivering of national and worldwide policy objectives.
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Los ecosistemas marino-costeros brindan servicios y beneficios que contribuyen al bienestar de la población, los cuales requieren ser estudiados, sistematizados y difundidos. Los servicios o bienes generados por estos ecosistemas son los beneficios directos e indirectos que son vitales para los seres humanos, y demás formas de vida. Constituyen la base donde se generan ciclos, cadenas tróficas, nichos, poblaciones, relaciones, paisajes, y valores culturales. Estos bienes y servicios, pueden estar claramente reconocidos, valorados o en algunos casos ser ignorados, respecto a la importancia que tienen en la vida de las personas y demás organismos. Estos servicios se clasifican como de base, provisión, regulación y culturales.
Chapter
This chapter presents a summary of a longitudinal mixed methods study tracking 11 children (aged 5–7 on entry), defined as disadvantaged in multiple ways. They attended weekly Forest School and outdoor learning sessions over three years. The study investigates the project’s impact on the children in terms of their academic attainment, wellbeing and connection to nature. The children’s attendance and academic attainment improved in comparison to their non-participating peers at school. The findings emphasise the importance of how social free play outdoors and relationships with a particular place can establish emotional resilience and self-regulation.
Chapter
Exclusion statistics make the over representation of children from particular groups, year, after year, difficult to ignore. This chapter focuses on pedagogy that supports excluded children’s behaviour and relationship development by providing needs-led outdoor learning experiences. Five specific themes were identified when students took part in learning outside experiences: individual student behaviour improved; peer-to-peer interactions improved; students worked together when learning outside; students enjoyed learning outside; and student-teacher interactions were improved. This chapter calls for learning outside to be incorporated into the core curriculum offering for all students and for the use of the relational learning pedagogies explored within this research to be considered as a form of intervention for those students at high risk of exclusion.
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A pandemia de COVID-19 impôs novos modos de relação entre as pessoas e seus ambientes e nos desafiou a avaliar e repensar o habitat humano de modo a acomodar e dar suporte a tais mudanças. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é abordar características físicas da moradia em sua relação com a satisfação ambiental no contexto da quarentena. Para tal, são apresentados os resultados de uma pesquisa da qual participaram 1858 pessoas, majoritariamente do Sul do Brasil, realizada por meio de questionário online aplicado de abril a maio de 2020, num momento de maior isolamento social no país. Os participantes caracteristicamente avaliaram a própria moradia de forma positiva, porém aspectos ligados à oferta de espaço e de acesso a elementos naturais (como plantas e luz natural) estiveram entre os mais citados como características deficientes da habitação. Além disso, condições inadequadas de iluminação estiveram relacionadas a alterações de padrão de sono ou nível de alerta. Observou-se ainda que moradores de casas, bem como residentes de habitações com mais quartos, apresentaram avaliações mais positivas da moradia como lugar para se passar a quarentena. Essas relações foram discutidas a partir do conhecimento acerca do papel que o controle da privacidade e o acesso a elementos naturais têm para a promoção de bem-estar, e por conseguinte, da satisfação. O estudo põe em ênfase a responsabilidade da arquitetura na promoção da qualidade de vida, permitindo repensar para um futuro próximo a adequabilidade dos contextos ambientais às condições do habitar humano.
Article
A pandemia de COVID-19 impôs novos modos de relação entre as pessoas e seus ambientes de vida e nos desafiou a avaliar e repensar o habitat humano de modo a acomodar e dar suporte a tais mudanças. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é abordar características físicas do ambiente de moradia em sua relação com a satisfação ambiental no contexto da quarentena. Para tal, são apresentados os resultados de uma pesquisa da qual participaram 1858 pessoas, majoritariamente da região Sul do Brasil, realizada por meio de questionário online aplicado ao longo do período de abril a maio de 2020, num momento de maior isolamento social no país. Os participantes caracteristicamente avaliaram a própria moradia de forma positiva, porém aspectos ligados à oferta de espaço e de acesso a elementos naturais (como plantas e luz natural) estiveram entre os mais citados como características deficientes da habitação. Além disso, condições inadequadas de iluminação estiveram relacionadas a alterações de padrão de sono ou nível de alerta. Observou-se ainda que moradores de casas, bem como residentes de habitações com mais quartos, apresentaram avaliações mais positivas da moradia como lugar para se passar a quarentena. Essas relações foram discutidas a partir do conhecimento acerca do papel que o controle da privacidade e o acesso a elementos naturais têm para a promoção de saúde e bem-estar, e por conseguinte, da satisfação. O estudo põe em ênfase a responsabilidade da arquitetura na promoção da qualidade de vida, permitindo repensar para um futuro próximo a adequabilidade dos contextos ambientais às condições do habitar humano. ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic imposed new relations between people and their living environments and challenged us to review and rethink the human habitat to accommodate and support such changes. The aim of this work is to address physical characteristics of the living environment in relation to environmental satisfaction in the context of quarantine. To this end, we present the results of a survey which was attended by 1858 people, mostly from South Brazil, conducted through an online questionnaire applied from April to May 2020, at a time of greater social isolation in the country. Participants typically evaluated their own housing in a positive way, but aspects linked to the provision of space and access to natural elements (such as plants and natural light) were among the most frequently cited as deficient characteristics of housing. In addition, inadequate lighting conditions were related to changes in sleep patterns or alertness. It was also observed that residents of houses, as well as residents of houses with more rooms, presented more positive ratings of the house as a place to spend the quarantine. These relations were discussed based on the knowledge about the role that the control of privacy and access to natural elements have for the promotion of health and well-being, and therefore, satisfaction. The study highlights the responsibility of architecture in promoting quality of life, allowing to rethink for the near future the adequacy of environmental contexts to the conditions of human inhabit.
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Research using a refinement of existing measures of mood, the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist (UMACL), is reviewed. A factor analysis (N = 388), using a validated criterion for assessing the number of factors to be extracted, confirmed that the UMACL measures dimensions of energetic arousal, tense arousal and hedonic tone. Psychometric properties of UMACL scales were satisfactory. Discriminant validity was established by showing that correlations between UMACL scales and demographic and personality variables were small in magnitude, though of theoretical importance. Significant correlations between the arousal scales and psychophysiological measures of autonomic arousal demonstrate concurrent validity. A series of studies shows that the UMACL scales are sensitive to external ‘stressors’. Specific influences on each of the three principal scales have been found. Certain stressors appear to evoke a more general stress syndrome associated with reduced energetic arousal and hedonic tone, and increased tense arousal.
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Attention Restoration Theory suggests that contact with nature supports attentional functioning, and a number of studies have found contact with everyday nature to be related to attention in adults. Is contact with everyday nature also related to the attentional functioning of children? This question was addressed through a study focusing on children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). This study examined the relationship between children’s nature exposure through leisure activities and their attentional functioning using both within and between-subjects comparisons. Parents were surveyed regarding their child’s attentional functioning after activities in several settings. Results indicate that children function better than usual after activities in green settings and that the “greener” a child’s play area, the less severe his or her attention deficit symptoms. Thus, contact with nature may support attentional functioning in a population of children who desperately need attentional support.
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Although vegetation has been positively linked to fear of crime and crime in a number of settings, recent findings in urban residential areas have hinted at a possible negative relationship: Residents living in "greener" surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying levels of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although residents were randomly assigned to different levels of nearby vegetation, the greener a building's surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationship of vegetation to crime held after the number of apartments per building, building height, vacancy rate, and number of occupied units per building were accounted for.
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Although vegetation has been positively linked to fear of crime and crime in a number of settings, recent findings in urban residential areas have hinted at a possible negative relationship: Residents living in “greener” surroundings report lower levels of fear, fewer incivilities, and less aggressive and violent behavior. This study used police crime reports to examine the relationship between vegetation and crime in an inner-city neighborhood. Crime rates for 98 apartment buildings with varying levels of nearby vegetation were compared. Results indicate that although residents were randomly assigned to different levels of nearby vegetation, the greener a building’s surroundings were, the fewer crimes reported. Furthermore, this pattern held for both property crimes and violent crimes. The relationship of vegetation to crime held after the number of apartments per building, building height, vacancy rate, and number of occupied units per building were accounted for.
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Identifying mechanisms that buffer children from life's stress and adversity is an important empirical and practical concern. This study focuses on nature as a buffer of life stress among rural children. To examine whether vegetation near the residential environment might buffer or moderate the impact of stressful life events on children's psychological well-being, data were collected from 337 rural children in Grades 3 through 5 (mean age=9.2 years). Dependent variables include a standard parent-reported measure of children's psychological distress and children's own ratings of global self-worth. In a rural setting, levels of nearby nature moderate the impact of stressful life events on the psychological well-being of children. Specifically, the impact of life stress was lower among children with high levels of nearby nature than among those with little nearby nature. Implications of these finding are discussed with respect to our understanding of resilience and protective mechanisms.
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S. Kaplan suggested that one outcome of mental fatigue may be an increased propensity for outbursts of anger and even violence. If so, contact with nature, which appears to mitigate mental fatigue, may reduce aggression and violence. This study investigated that possibility in a setting and population with relatively high rates of aggression: inner-city urban public housing residents. Levels of aggression were compared for 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with varying levels of nearby nature (trees and grass). Attentional functioning was assessed as an index of mental fatigue. Residents living in relatively barren buildings reported more aggression and violence than did their counterparts in greener buildings. Moreover, levels of mental fatigue were higher in barren buildings, and aggression accompanied mental fatigue. Tests for the proposed mechanism and for alternative mechanisms indicated that the relationship between nearby nature and aggression was fully mediated through attentional functioning.
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The personal project is proposed as a new unit of analysis for the study of personality in its social, physical and temporal context. A sequential model of personal projects is proposed in which the major stages of project inception, planning, action, and termination are described in detail and related to dimensions of individual differences. A new methodology for assessing personal project content and structure is introduced, including techniques for assessing interproject impact and linkages with values and actions. The relevance of a projectanalytic approach to recent issues in environmental psychology is discussed. It is proposed that personal projects methodology might serve as a coupling device between the fields of personality and environmental psychology.
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Examined whether the presence of nearby nature might lend urban public housing residents the psychological resources to grapple with the challenges facing them. More specifically, it examines whether natural elements in the public housing outdoor environment—trees and grass—can assist in restoring the very psychological resources likely to be depleted in the struggle against poverty. In 145 urban public housing residents randomly assigned to buildings with and without nearby nature, attentional functioning and effectiveness in managing major life issues were compared. Residents living in buildings without nearby trees and grass reported more procrastination in facing their major issues and assessed their issues as more severe, less soluble, and more longstanding than did their counterparts living in greener surroundings. Mediation tests and extensive tests for possible confounds supported the attention restoration hypothesis—that green space enhances residents' effectiveness by reducing mental fatigue. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Argues that evolutionary heritage underlies humans' consistent preference for stimuli from the natural environment and that research on affective and aesthetic responses is needed to understand human interaction with the environment. It is noted that the rapidly expanding empirical record concerning aesthetic and affective responses to natural environments is in need of a well-developed theoretical foundation. An integrated conceptual framework to address this theoretical lack, drawing on recent theory and research on emotion, is proposed. This framework explains how affects arise in the natural environment; postulates their functions; and links them to cognition, activity in physiological systems, and behavior. The present author, in developing the framework, questions the view that feelings result from cognitive processes, asserting that feelings (not thoughts) are the initial response in environmental encounters. The observer's initial feeling reaction shapes subsequent cognitive events. The relative sequence of feeling and thinking in environmental encounters represents a fundamental issue in understanding human interaction with the environment. (98 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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We compare people greatly affected by a crisis with those less affected to explore how level of crisis influences their response to experiencing nature. A questionnaire comprising a validated protocol to evaluate frequency of stress conditions, the level of crisis retention, reorientation and rehabilitation potential was answered by 547 individuals. The questionnaire also comprises items on everyday activities. Our findings may be interpreted as follows: experiencing nature has a more powerful influence on the rehabilitation potential of people greatly affected by a crisis; taking a walk also has an influence, although not of equal importance; the social factor has more influence on the rehabilitation potential of people affected by a crisis to a low/moderate degree. Individuals who have many experiences of nature are less affected by their crisis than are those who have few such experiences. We suggest that the rehabilitative effect of nature is tied to its function as an enriched environment. During stays in natural settings, an interaction takes place between sensory stimulation, emotions and logical thought—an interaction that leads to a new orientation and new ways of seeing one's self and one's resources. This seems to largely be a question of how we human beings take in and process information.
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Although studied extensively in depressed populations, the implications of goal appraisals for bipolar disorder are not well understood. Four hundred sixty-four college students completed questionnaires measuring personal goal appraisals (a modified version of B. R. Little's, 1989, Personal Projects Analysis), history of bipolar disorder symptoms, and current symptoms of hypomania and depression. Participants endorsing hypomania symptoms or current positive affect tended to construe goals in a positive manner, as likely to be attained, enjoyable, controllable, and not difficult or stressful. A history of clinically significant hypomania symptoms, however, correlated with negative, pessimistic goal appraisals. This relationship could be explained in a mediational model by higher current depression among those with previous hypomania/mania. Discussion highlights the potential of studying bipolar disorder from a goal theoretical perspective.
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Attention Restoration Theory (ART) proposes that effortful directed attention can become fatigued in modern urban environments. Restoration can occur in a setting that evokes fascination (effortless attention). Ordinary natural settings evoke soft fascination, that is, moderate fascination accompanied by esthetic pleasure. Such settings enable a fully restorative experience, including the recovery of directed attention and the opportunity for serious reflection. Settings broadly classified as sports/entertainment are more likely to evoke hard fascination, that is, very high levels of fascination that fill the mind. Such settings permit directed attention recovery but afford little opportunity for reflection. We tested these ideas by having participants rate the perceived restorative effectiveness of three kinds of settings (ordinary natural, sports/entertainment, and everyday urban) under two goal-set conditions (as places for attentional recovery or for reflection). Ordinary natural settings were seen as having the highest overall restorative effectiveness, everyday urban settings as having the lowest, and sports/entertainment settings as in between. Moreover, sports/entertainment settings were seen as higher in restorative effectiveness for the attentional-recovery goal set than for the reflection goal set. No such goal-set difference occurred for the other two setting categories combined. These results are in agreement with the predictions of ART.
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Children growing up in the inner city are at risk of academic underachievement, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, and other important negative outcomes. Avoiding these outcomes requires self-discipline. Self-discipline, in turn, may draw on directed attention, a limited resource that can be renewed through contact with nature. This study examined the relationship between near-home nature and three forms of self-discipline in 169 inner city girls and boys randomly assigned to 12 architecturally identical high-rise buildings with varying levels of nearby nature. Parent ratings of the naturalness of the view from home were used to predict children's performance on tests of concentration, impulse inhibition, and delay of gratification. Regressions indicated that, on average, the more natural a girl's view from home, the better her performance at each of these forms of self-discipline. For girls, view accounted for 20% of the variance in scores on the combined self-discipline index. For boys, who typically spend less time playing in and around their homes, view from home showed no relationship to performance on any measure. These findings suggest that, for girls, green space immediately outside the home can help them lead more effective, self-disciplined lives. For boys, perhaps more distant green spaces are equally important.
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Different conceptual perspectives converge to predict that if individuals are stressed, an encounter with most unthreatening natural environments will have a stress reducing or restorative influence, whereas many urban environments will hamper recuperation. Hypotheses regarding emotional, attentional and physiological aspects of stress reducing influences of nature are derived from a psycho-evolutionary theory. To investigate these hypotheses, 120 subjects first viewed a stressful movie, and then were exposed to color/sound videotapes of one of six different natural and urban settings. Data concerning stress recovery during the environmental presentations were obtained from self-ratings of affective states and a battery of physiological measures: heart period, muscle tension, skin conductance and pulse transit time, a non-invasive measure that correlates with systolic blood pressure. Findings from the physiological and verbal measures converged to indicate that recovery was faster and more complete when subjects were exposed to natural rather than urban environments. The pattern of physiological findings raised the possibility that responses to nature had a salient parasympathetic nervous system component; however, there was no evidence of pronounced parasympathetic involvement in responses to the urban settings. There were directional differences in cardiac responses to the natural vs urban settings, suggesting that attention/intake was higher during the natural exposures. However, both the stressor film and the nature settings elicited high levels of involuntary or automatic attention, which contradicts the notion that restorative influences of nature stem from involuntary attention or fascination. Findings were consistent with the predictions of the psycho-evolutionary theory that restorative influences of nature involve a shift towards a more positively-toned emotional state, positive changes in physiological activity levels, and that these changes are accompanied by sustained attention/intake. Content differences in terms of natural vs human-made properties appeared decisive in accounting for the differences in recuperation and perceptual intake.
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Affect is considered by most contemporary theories to be postcognitive, that is, to occur only after considerable cognitive operations have been accomplished. Yet a number of experimental results on preferences, attitudes, impression formation, and decision making, as well as some clinical phenomena, suggest that affective judgments may be fairly independent of, and precede in time, the sorts of perceptual and cognitive operations commonly assumed to be the basis of these affective judgments. Affective reactions to stimuli are often the very first reactions of the organism, and for lower organisms they are the dominant reactions. Affective reactions can occur without extensive perceptual and cognitive encoding, are made with greater confidence than cognitive judgments, and can be made sooner. Experimental evidence is presented demonstrating that reliable affective discriminations (like–dislike ratings) can be made in the total absence of recognition memory (old–new judgments). Various differences between judgments based on affect and those based on perceptual and cognitive processes are examined. It is concluded that affect and cognition are under the control of separate and partially independent systems that can influence each other in a variety of ways, and that both constitute independent sources of effects in information processing. (139 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved)
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In the general population, attention is reliably enhanced after exposure to certain physical environments, particularly natural environments. This study examined the impacts of environments on attention in children with ADHD. In this within subjects design, each participant experienced each of three treatments (environments) in single blind controlled trials. Seventeen children 7 to 12 years old professionally diagnosed with ADHD experienced each of three environments-a city park and two other well-kept urban settings-via individually guided 20-minute walks. Environments were experienced 1 week apart, with randomized assignment to treatment order. After each walk, concentration was measured using Digit Span Backwards. Children with ADHD concentrated better after the walk in the park than after the downtown walk (p = .0229) or the neighborhood walk (p = .0072). Effect sizes were substantial (Cohen's d =.52 and .77, respectively) and comparable to those reported for recent formulations of methylphenidate. Twenty minutes in a park setting was sufficient to elevate attention performance relative to the same amount of time in other settings. These findings indicate that environments can enhance attention not only in the general population but also in ADHD populations. "Doses of nature" might serve as a safe, inexpensive, widely accessible new tool in the tool kit for managing ADHD symptoms.
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We examined the impact of relatively "green" or natural settings on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms across diverse subpopulations of children. Parents nationwide rated the aftereffects of 49 common after-school and weekend activities on children's symptoms. Aftereffects were compared for activities conducted in green outdoor settings versus those conducted in both built outdoor and indoor settings. In this national, nonprobability sample, green outdoor activities reduced symptoms significantly more than did activities conducted in other settings, even when activities were matched across settings. Findings were consistent across age, gender, and income groups; community types; geographic regions; and diagnoses. Green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in children across a wide range of individual, residential, and case characteristics.
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We know that children need nature … or do we? There are certainly many reasons to think that nature plays an important role in child development. For many of us, intuition emphatically asserts that nature is good for children. We hold intuitions such as, ‘every kid needs a dog’, ‘children need a nice yard to play in’, and ‘children need “fresh air”’. Beyond these intuitions, there are also well-reasoned theoretical arguments as to why humans in general – and therefore children – might have an inborn need for contact with nature (e.g., S. Kaplan, 1995; Wilson, 1984). And there is a growing body of qualitative research consistent with this idea (Bardill, 1997; Hart, 1979; R. Moore, 1989; R. C. Moore, 1986; Nabhan, 1994; Sebba, 1991; Sobel, 1993; Titman, 1994). But what do we really know about the value of nature in promoting child development? What systematic evidence is there for or against this possibility? Is children's need for nature established fact, yet-to-be-substantiated folk theory, or simply myth? The question of nature's role in healthy child development is increasingly urgent. A consistent concern among the researchers studying children and nature is that children's access to nature is rapidly diminishing (e.g., Kahn, 2002; Kellert, 2002; Pyle, 2002; Rivkin, 2000). Not only may there be less nature for children to access, but children's access of what remains may be increasingly sporadic.
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I want to discuss the circumstances that prompted the development of personal projects analysis as a line of inquiry and how these influences shaped this book. What follows, therefore, is a highly selective recounting of the generative contexts that shaped the development of personal projects analysis and consequently this volume. The chapter is in two sections. The opening section is an idiosyncratic account of the roots of the personal projects perspective in which I revisit the scholarly settings and generative contexts that stimulated its core concepts. The second section gathers up these cumulative concepts and gives them a more formal treatment. I give particular attention to an enduring theme throughout my work over the years and developed again in many of the following chapters--how personal projects play a pivotal role in human well-being and flourishing. I also note briefly the similarities and differences between personal projects and related units of analysis in personality and developmental science and other areas of research and practice. Finally, I stand back and, from a more synoptic vantage point, discern some patterns that have become clearer as the projects perspective has been adopted and adapted by others. In conclusion, I suggest some consequences that this still moving image has both for the study of lives and for attempts to enhance their vitality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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The nearby natural environment plays a far more significant role in the well-being of children residing in poor urban environments than has previously been recognized. Using a premove/postmove longitudinal design, this research explores the linkage between the naturalness or restorativeness of the home environment and the cognitive functioning of 17 low-income urban children (aged 7–12 yrs). Both before and after relocation, objective measures of naturalness were used along with a standardized instrument (the Attention Deficit Disorders Evaluation Scale) measuring the children's cognitive functioning. Results show that children whose homes improved the most in terms of greenness following relocation also tended to have the highest levels of cognitive functioning following the move. The implications with respect to policy and design are also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Two studies examined the role of goal imagery (i.e., the perception-like mental representation of the pursuit and attainment of a goal) in establishing congruence between individuals' implicit motives and their incli-nation to pursue explicit goals assigned to them. Study 1 found that after a goal-imagery exercise, implicit needs for power and affiliation predicted par-ticipants' affective arousal and their commitment to a social-interaction goal furnished with power-and affiliation-related incentives. In Study 2, implicit power motivation predicted the level of performance participants achieved in pursuit of a competitive performance goal after a goal-imagery exercise. Without goal imagery, however, participants' motivation to pursue an explicit goal was independent of their implicit motive dispositions in both studies. be sent via the Internet to oschultheiss@hotmail.com.
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The restorative potential of green outdoor environments for children in preschool settings was investigated by measuring the attention of children playing in settings with different environmental features. Eleven preschools with outdoor environments typical for the Stockholm area were assessed using the outdoor play environment categories (OPEC) and the fraction of visible sky from play structures (sky view factor), and 198 children, aged 4.5–6.5 years, were rated by the staff for inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive behaviors with the ECADDES tool. Children playing in large and integrated outdoor areas containing large areas of trees, shrubbery and a hilly terrain showed less often behaviors of inattention (p<.05). The choice of tool for assessment of attention is discussed in relation to outdoor stay and play characteristics in Swedish preschool settings. The results indicate that the restorative potential of green outdoor environments applies also to preschool children and that environmental assessment tools as OPEC can be useful when to locate and develop health-promoting land adjacent to preschools.
Article
Directed attention plays an important role in human information processing; its fatigue, in turn, has far-reaching consequences. Attention Restoration Theory provides an analysis of the kinds of experiences that lead to recovery from such fatigue. Natural environments turn out to be particularly rich in the characteristics necessary for restorative experiences. An integrative framework is proposed that places both directed attention and stress in the larger context of human-environment relationships.
Article
The purpose of this paper is to examine the research and theory concerning the potential influences of environmental perception on health and well-being. There is an evident distinction between urban and natural environments in the literature on visual preferences for environments, and in the literature about the restorative influences of environments. People generally prefer natural environments, and believe them to be healthy or restorative. This distinction between natural and urban environments is used as a point of departure to examine evolutionary theories of environmental aesthetics expounded by Kaplan, Kaplan and Ulrich. The major distinction between the theories is Ulrich's assertion of affective primacy in the processing of environmental information. Ulrich's assertion is shown to be consistent with LeDoux's model of subcortical affective processing, and Henry's model of neuro-endocrine responses, both of which in turn support the tentative proposal of two types of affect initiation systems with separate time courses and implications for the health effects of environmental exposures.
Article
People differ in their potential for psychological restoration but there is little evidence on the role of varying mental health state or settings in the process. This paper reports two quasi-experiments which compare the restorative benefits of walking in urban and rural settings in two groups of adults with good and poor mental health. Two aspects of restoration are examined, firstly mood, the other using personal project techniques (Little, 1983) to capture an under-explored aspect of cognitive restoration through reflection on everyday life tasks. Results are consistent with a restorative effect of landscape: the rural walk was advantageous to affective and cognitive restoration in both health groups when compared to an urban walk. However, beneficial change took place to a greater extent in the poor health group. Differential outcomes between health groups were found in the urban setting, which was most advantageous to restoration in the poor mental health group. This study extends restorative environments research by showing that the amount of change and context for restoration can differ amongst adults with variable mental health.
Article
In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in mental health problems amongst young adults in the UK, prompting the British Government to seek to identify services and preventative measures to combat the problem. At the same time, the policy agenda around woodland has shifted away from the agro-forestry agenda that dominated much of the late 20th century toward the development of 'social forestry', defined in terms of multi-purpose, multi-benefit woodland that can contribute to an enhanced quality of life and well-being. Against this background of change and policy response, this paper examines the extent to which childhood experiences of play--particularly in wooded landscapes--may influence access to woodland in young adulthood, and the potential implications for their health and mental well-being. Engaging with notions of restoration and therapeutic landscapes literatures, the paper maintains that we cannot accept uncritically the notion that the natural environment is therapeutic. Indeed, from this paper it is clear that a range of influences acts to shape young people's relationship with woodland environments, but not all of these influences do so in positive ways.
Article
Understanding the links between anger expression by children and adolescents, their health, and their interpersonal interactions is important given the evidence that anger is associated with maladjustment and illness among adults. This review covers: 1) possible origins of the awareness and expression of anger; 2) assessment of anger in children and adolescents, including both self-report and observational approaches; 3) implications of anger expression for interpersonal relationships; and 4) outcomes of anger expression. Dimensions of anger expression found in adults have been corroborated to some extent in child and adolescent data. Reliable and valid measures of these dimensions have been developed. There has been much less research on the correlates of maladaptive anger expression in children or adolescents than in adults. Nevertheless, the current data base provides some confirmation that youth who cope inappropriately with their anger are at risk for problematic interpersonal relationships and negative outcomes in terms of both mental and general health.
Article
The study was based on the answers to a mailed questionnaire of a simple random sample of respondents from two cities (Helsinki, Tampere) in Finland. Ten determinants of restorative experiences in favorite places (<or = 15 km from home; n=1089) were effective. These determinants included "immediate" use of the favorite place (duration and frequency), personal background of nature experiences (nature orientedness, nature hobbies, childhood nature experiences), and situational factors in life, which were related to stress (hassles at work and with money, satisfaction with life) and to social relations (uplifts of social relations, visiting alone vs. in company). Different variables were associated with restorative experiences in different favorite settings (extensively managed nature areas, built-up green spaces, waterside environments, exercise and activity/hobby areas, and indoor and outdoor urban areas). The concept of "favorite place prescriptions" is introduced as an analogy to "exercise prescriptions" in primary healthcare.
Behavior and the Natural Environment
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Chambers, N., 1997. Personal projects analysis: a maturation of a multi-dimensional methodology. Unpublished paper. Carleton University, Ottawa. Department for Education and Skills (DfES), 2003. Behaviour of Young People CNUTM/R3. Retrieved February 22nd, 2011 from www.connexions.gov.uk.
Mental Health – Future Challenge Forestry Commission Scotland Access and Health Physical activity at Forest School
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The Restorative Power of Natural and Built Environments
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Roe. J., 2010. The Restorative Power of Natural and Built Environments. Monograph of PhD, School of Built Environment, Heriot Watt University. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, Saarbrücken.
Wild Adventure Space: Its Role in Teenagers' Lives Prepared for Natural England. Retrieved February 22nd
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