Access to this full-text is provided by Frontiers.
Content available from Frontiers in Psychology
This content is subject to copyright.
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 1 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
published: 17 June 2022
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.865422
Edited by:
Nina Smyth,
University of Westminster,
UnitedKingdom
Reviewed by:
Zoe Moula,
Imperial College London,
UnitedKingdom
Pongsakorn Suppakittpaisarn,
Chiang Mai University, Thailand
Al Farrier,
University of Central Lancashire,
UnitedKingdom
*Correspondence:
Francesca Boyd
frankieboyd@googlemail.com
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to
Health Psychology,
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Psychology
Received: 29 January 2022
Accepted: 24 May 2022
Published: 17 June 2022
Citation:
Boyd F (2022) Between the Library
and Lectures: How Can Nature
BeIntegrated Into University
Infrastructure to Improve Students’
Mental Health.
Front. Psychol. 13:865422.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.865422
Between the Library and Lectures:
How Can Nature BeIntegrated Into
University Infrastructure to Improve
Students’ Mental Health
FrancescaBoyd *
Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Shefeld, Shefeld, United Kingdom
The university campus provides the backdrop to a student’s education and social journey.
For many students, the transition from secondary school through to graduation can beone
of upheaval, geographical, nancial and social change. Evidence suggests increasing
levels of mental health difculties among UK university students. The university campus
is a possible resource to mitigate wellbeing issues through facilitating the salutogenic
effects of engagement with nature. This mixed method research examines the opportunity
to integrate nature through interventions for University of Shefeld undergraduate students.
It uses a green prescription style activity and a specially designed mobile phone app.
Through focus groups the participants’ experience reveals the necessity for a whole
university approach that considers intervention and campus design simultaneously. This
study’s ndings qualify research into young adult’s experience of urban green spaces and
their tangible connection to plants such as trees. Policy and practice implications include
the requirement for a coherent approach to understanding the place-attachment aspects
to nature in the university environment. Further aeld, there is a need for collaborative
wellbeing interventions and urban green space development within the UK context.
Keywords: nature-based interventions, urban nature, student wellbeing, university, place attachment
INTRODUCTION
e university campus provides the backdrop to many young adult’s experience of higher
education, living away from their parents and discovering more independence. It is a time of
transition acted out in front of the landscapes and spaces of libraries, student unions, academics
oces and green spaces between bus stops, deadlines and lecture theatres. University campus
design varies depending on location, history and estate, ranging from historic Capability Brown
landscapes (Bath Spa University, 2016) through to multiple locations in dense urban cities
(King’s College London, 2021). e experience of and opportunities to engage with green
space will greatly dier between campus type. e University Mental Health Charter identies
the physical environment as pivotal in creating a supportive environment for the promotion
of mental health (Hughes and Spanner, 2019). As the determinates of health reach beyond
the inuence of medical interventions, landscapes form part of the consideration of social,
environmental and cultural aspects of health (Barton and Grant, 2006). ere is a need to
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 2 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
take a holistic approach to the transitional experience of
university and understand the environmental and educational
impact on student wellbeing (Cage et al., 2021).
University Student Experience
Students who suer from mental health issues are more likely
to drop out of university, underperform academically and less
likely to secure higher level employment (Oce for Students,
2019). Emerging research into the role of nature and wellbeing
has highlighted the opportunity for the university campus to
provide a salutogenic inuence, as natural environments provide
restoration to university students and are a contributing factor
to student retention (McFarland et al., 2008; Windhorst and
Williams, 2015). Participants favoured locations which allowed
for a separation from everyday pressures. Specically, and in
a change to the usual narrative on green space, this study
found the lack of social interaction in the space was important.
e natural environments allowed participants to beaway from
the social expectations and perceived social judgement within
university life (Windhorst and Williams, 2015).
Two studies of the perceived greenness of university campus
and student wellbeing in the USA and the UK found that
greenness was signicantly associated with student quality of
life and the restorativeness of the campus environment (Speake
et al., 2013; Hipp et al., 2016). In Hipp et al. (2016) USA
study, the pathway between quality of life and greenness was
mediated by the perceived restorativeness of the campus. ey
conclude that green spaces on campus provide restoration
during the stressful life transitions which occur while at university
(Hipp et al., 2016). is nding is furthered by Holt et al.
(2019) research that found those undergraduates who regularly
engaged with the natural environment through regular physical
activity reported higher quality of life, positive emotions and
lower perceived stress. Jones (2013) introduced the root model
of a biophilic university, the idea being to provide spaces
allowing for the restoration of anity with nature. us, campus
environments that provide access to nature oer economic,
social and health benets for those studying and working on
campus (Jones, 2013; Astell-Burt and Feng, 2019; Campisi etal.,
2022). Overall, students’ intrinsic and extrinsic experience of
academia and the university campus environment are associated
with academic accomplishment (Liprini, 2014; Hipp etal., 2016;
Hughes and Spanner, 2019). e open space which surrounds
the university buildings provides alternative spaces to work,
socialise and relax (Liprini, 2014).
Facilitating Moments in Nature
In a progressively urbanised world, there is a particularly
important role for nearby nature (Kaplan, 1993). Momentary,
incidental or indirect contact with nature such as a view from
a window or noticing a street tree may provide micro-
opportunities for restoration (Maller et al., 2009). While the
direct mechanisms behind the eects of nature on health and
wellbeing still require further exploration, there is consensus
within the evidence base that green spaces in urban environments
provide multiple health benets (Frumkin et al., 2004;
de Vries et al., 2013; Hartig et al., 2014; Panno et al., 2017).
Urban green spaces contributing to these benets include large
and small public parks, pocket green spaces, trees along a
street or parklets which provide a place to relax created through
plants and seating which are located in a place usually allocated
for car parking (Astell-Burt and Feng, 2019; Campisi etal., 2022).
As with direct engagement, the benets gained by an
individual’s indirect engagement with nature are reliant on the
individual’s preference, perceptions of and experiences within
natural environments (Hartig etal., 2014). Evidence demonstrates
dierences in responses towards natural environments
experienced by dierent demographic groups. Cultural and
socio-economic background, gender and age aect an individual’s
response to the natural environment (Dallimer et al., 2014;
Boyd et al., 2018; Hughes etal., 2019). Nature connectedness
is an individual’s subjective sense of their relationship with
nature (Pritchard et al., 2019). Additionally, studies support
the eect appreciation of the beauty of nature as a factor in
increasing nature connectedness (Zhang etal., 2014; Richardson
and Sheeld, 2017). Specically for university students, this
connection has been found to inuence sustainability behaviours
and wellbeing (Redondo et al., 2021).
While the implementation of urban green infrastructure is
important, it is not truly eective without complimentary social
initiatives. A recent meta-analysis evidenced the social, economic
and health outcomes of urban green infrastructure, ranging
from green walls through to initiatives promoting green trails
(Hunter et al., 2019). is analysis found strong evidence to
support interventions implemented alongside promotion of
programmes in parks and green trails. e combination of
improved urban design alongside social intervention to promote
physical activity and community initiatives, created a more
eective response from the population, as evidenced in the
increased use of the areas and physical activity (Hunter et al.,
2019). is exemplies the importance of collaborative working
by all agencies involved in urban planning and health initiatives
of this kind. Green urban infrastructure requires a holistic
partnership across multiple agencies to be sustainable
and ecacious.
Knowledge Gap
e prevalence of mental health conditions among university
students provides motivation to facilitate better wellbeing through
the benets aorded by the natural environment. Previous
research methods have involved questionnaires, simulated
environments or interviews with university students to gain a
theoretical understanding campus green space impact. e
importance of university green space for student wellbeing
and success has been identied. However, there is limited
knowledge encapsulating the variety of experience when in
the green space, and a lack of measured outcome eects from
visiting these spaces (Speake et al., 2013). e majority of
studies has focused on perception and preference for green
space characteristics rather than monitoring the eect of visiting
these spaces through measurable outcomes or discussion on
preferred design features.
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 3 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
It is known from research on place-making and place-
belonging that the practices which occur as part of the identity
discourse dier between location and community (Benson and
Jackson, 2013). e identity of a place is created, in part,
through the intersection between behaviours and the unspoken
narrative which exists within a community (Scannell and Giord,
2010). is epistemology is applicable to our perception of
green space; for example, visiting the park during lunchtime
might have negative inuences on a person’s professional image,
scu their suit, or aect a colleague’s perception of their work
ethic (Hitchings, 2013). Previous research focused on workplace
green space oers similar insights into how places operate
under similar built physical infrastructure and social pressures
to university campus. is nuanced dierence in physical
infrastructure and the behaviour conducted there provides
evidence of a knowledge gap in relation to university students’
experience.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
e research’s methodological approach is founded in place-
making and place-belonging which examines the participants
interactions and experience of the university campus and the
designed interventions. It also draws on Lumber et al.’s (2017)
experiment exploring responses to nature-based activity as a
wellbeing intervention in small groups with pre- and post-
metrics. is research uses a mixed method approach, with
the statistical analysis and focus group discussion forming an
overview to the participants experience. In particular, focuses
on the landscape design elements of the qualitative research.
Drawing on a grounded theory approach to novel data emergence,
a secondary research question was development in response
to the direction of discourse being presented by the participants.
Research Question
1. How did the participants experience the interventions?
1a. What are university students design preferences for
campus green spaces?
Aspects of the author’s PhD focused on other research
questions, with the research question above (1) being the initial
focus for this study. Research question (a) emerged over the
course of the research as participants discussed their experience
of urban green space in Sheeld and at home, during the
group walks and focus groups.
Sampling
Recruitment for this study aimed to be representative of
the student population and avoid recruiting those already
engaged with nature, perpetuating the knowledge gap regarding
those with limited nature connection. To reduce this bias,
recruitment was advertised as an ‘urban green’ research
project rather than ‘urban nature’ or ‘nature engagement’.
Recruitment occurred through the university research
participants email list, yers distributed across the campus
and through direct contact with University of Sheeld societies.
ere was an initial valid expression of interest from over
200 students. An exclusion criteria and collection of basic
demographic information allowed the research to focus on
those most likely to beundergraduates (age 18–24 year old).
e second wave of recruitment and intervention for group2
and 3 (involving the walk) was needed to mitigate for the
high dropout rate (~60%) which occurred aer the initial wave
of recruitment. e second wave occurred the following week
to reduce change in environmental conditions and not clash
with the Easter holidays.
Intervention Design
is study contained two interventions (detailed further below):
a mobile phone app called ‘Shmapped’ and a walk intervention.
ese formed three conditions: (1) Shmapped App only group,
(2) Shmapped App and Walk group and (3) Walk only group
(see Figure 1).
It should benoted that during this time there was a strike
by university sta which stopped teaching on campus and
unprecedented heavy snow. Both are likely to have aected
the study but also reect the varying nature of university life
for students.
Mobile Phone App
e app ‘Shmapped’ (Sheeld—Mapped) was developed and
inspired by research conduct by the IWUN project team
(Richardson and Sheeld, 2017). Shmapped was designed
in collaboration with the app development company
‘Furthermore’ and included a user development test group
(McEwan et al., 2020). e mobile phone app functioned
as an intervention and a research tool for data collection.
e research tool part ran as a background function to the
daily intervention notications. e front house function of
the app displayed as a chatbot fox which asked the participants
questions in relation to noticing nature daily (Figure 2).
e app collected the before, aer and follow-up metrics.
Shmapped was only available on Android and Apple phones,
excluding participants without smartphones or using a dierent
operating system.
Initially designed as a 30 day intervention, uptake and
adherence was poor with only 55 participants completing the
full 30 days. erefore, the app was redesigned to be 7-day
intervention with the measures at baseline, post 7 day and
30 day follow-up. e redesigned intervention ran throughout
Winter 2017/Spring 2018 (McEwan et al., 2020).
Walk
Designed to replicate green prescription walk activities and
encouraged participants to meet the regular 20–30 min in nature
threshold (Tyrväinen et al., 2014; Shanahan et al., 2016; Active
Fife, 2019; Hunter etal., 2019). e walk intervention composed
of a group walk at the beginning of the week followed by a
solo walk at the weekend. e walks aimed to provide an
appropriate break in the participant’s day and enough time in
a green environment for them to receive restorative benets
(Hartig, 2006).
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 4 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
Group Walk
e walk was located in an accessible local park. Four dierent
time options were oered per group, this resulted in a total
of seven walks being undertaken with the rst wave of
participants. e group walk was designed for a small group
of up to ve participants. is was to support social engagement
while being sensitive to the other users in the park. In practice
group, size was unpredictable with timetable changes and
cancellation eecting attendance. is resulted in group size
ranging between one and seven.
e walk travelled through two local public parks
(Figure 3). Weston Park is 5 hectares with the boundaries
dened on three sides by roads. A municipal park opened
to the public in 1875 it retains much of its original
FIGURE1 | Overview of method.
FIGURE2 | Example of Shmapped app interface.
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 5 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
planting scheme. e wide expanse of grass includes tennis
courts, monuments and an irregular shaped pond (Historic
England Archive, 2004). Crookes Valley Park was created
around the existing reservoir in the early 20th century. e
central feature is the Old Great Dam built as a water reservoir
in 1785 (Friends of Crookesmoor Parks, 2020). e park
developed over the past century to include a pub, bowling
green and a children’s play area. It is just under 5 hectares
and contains an area of naturalistic woodland with occasional
rose owerbeds.
As the facilitator, the rst author had scripted verbal prompts
to direct the participants attention to dierent elements of the
walk. Identied in Lumber et al (2017) work and structured
around the nine values of the biophilic hypothesis, the pathways
include as: contact, emotion, meaning, compassion and
engagement with nature beauty. ese prompts were designed
to encourage connection with the natural environment.
Language when discussing nature was kept non-technical to
support accessibility.
Individual Walk
e second walk was under the participant’s own initiative
and aimed to encourage the participants to walk for over
20 min and to use it as an opportunity to explore a new place.
Participants were sent an email reminder on the Friday.
Data Management and Analysis
e project has been ethically reviewed by the Department
of Landscape in accordance with procedure laid down by the
University of Sheeld’s Research Ethics Committee, which
monitors the application and delivery of the University’s Ethics
Review Procedure across the University, reference number:
016529 and 014504.
FIGURE3 | Map of walk route in Shefeld, UnitedKingdom.
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 6 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
Data were collected at day zero (pre intervention), day seven
(post intervention) and day 30 (follow-up; see Figure 4). e
question format was designated by the Shmapped design and
replicated for the non-app users via an online survey. e following
metrics were collected as: Recovering Quality of Life (ReQoL),
Nature Relatedness (NR-6) and Inclusion of Nature in Self (INS;
full description is available in the Supplementary Material). For
all the measurements excluding INS, the responses are on Likert
scale. e analysis of these results from these can be found in
an article published elsewhere (author, in review).
It was important to evaluate the experience of the intervention
from the students’ perspective. A challenge in green prescriptions
and student support service is attendance and adherence. e
experience of the participating students was collected through
focus groups.
Focus Groups
Across nine 1-h focus groups, 26 participants discussed the
intervention and their experience of engaging with the natural
environment which at university. Participants’ background varied
in ethnicities, ages, course studied, year of study and gender.
Recruitment to the study initially allowed for the groups to
be representative of the undergraduate student population at
the University of Sheeld. However, due to drop out, this
was not maintained. e set questions were based on the app
user’s experience and separately on the walk experience. It
was important that the experiences of the intervention were
allowed to be articulated by the participants and that these
experiences were considered within the data analysis. erefore,
a grounded theory approach was taken. As the data accumulated
the researcher continually assessed and then adapted some of
the questions to identify discrepancies and commonalities in
the data. is resulted in the green space questions evolving
to included conversation on preferred spaces for socialising
and taking a break.
App User Questions
Group one and two included questions on the usability, design,
visual appeal and dierent features of the app. To gauge the
apps application outside of the research study with university
students, participants were asked if they would recommend it
to a friend. is section of questions included opportunities
to discuss improvements and limitations.
Walk-Related Questions
For groups two and three, the use of drawing the group
walk and park got participants to recall the walk and generate
discussion. Once they had created their group drawn map
of the walk, participants were asked to mark any area they
particularly liked or disliked, sensory elements they may
have remembered and if the areas were familiar. Participants
were asked to describe the individual walk they went on
including, if it was part of their usual routine or new to
them. From this topic, participants discussed different areas
within Sheffield that they enjoyed or avoided walking through
(Boyd, 2022).
Green Space Questions
e questions were designed to be exible and allowed the
discussion about experiences of nature on campus. As is
important with focus groups, while the facilitator oered the
topic, the conversation was allowed to develop between
participants. Recent infrastructure work on campus and rumours
of converting a large carpark into a green space, provided
an opportunity to discuss participants’ preferences. e carpark
is a large space located between the student union, a library
and three other departmental buildings. e recent urban
infrastructure was outside the Diamond building (opened 2015)
which is central space for studying and teaching
across disciplines.
Transcription and Coding Process
e focus groups were digitally recorded, anonymised and
transcribed. Focus group transcriptions were coded through
NVivo (version 12) to identify key priorities for participants
from a nature-based intervention and developing opportunities
to engage with nature on campus. ese codes are kept as
FIGURE4 | Intervention design.
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 7 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
close to the original context as possible to allow the themes
to organically emerge before being related to one another
and pre-existing theories (Charmaz, 2006; Sbaraini et al.,
2011). Transcriptions were coded into broad categories and
then additional shared themes were created as dictated by
the data as it accumulated. As with best practice in grounded
theory, the coding went through two stages; an initial stage
in which themes emerge inductively and a second stage of
focused coding which pursues a central set of codes. is
was achieved by an initial coding of all themes within the
dataset before being rened into nal categories which are
central to the entire study and relate to one another (see
Figure 5).
Grounded theory emphasises the relationship between
coding and emergent themes. Charmaz (2006) summarises
this as ‘coding is the pivotal link between collecting data
and developing an emergent theory to explain these data.
rough coding, you dene what is happening in the data
and begin to grapple with what it means’ (p.45). It was
important that the full experience of the intervention was
considered, as without a detailed understanding of the range
of experiences the challenge of uptake and adherence would
continue. e key themes discussed in this paper emerged
from the detailed exploration of the data without pre-dened
boundaries to coding. As seen in the discussion, these codes
were compiled to form hypothesis on the role of intervention
and furthermore infrastructure. Ten percent of the transcriptions
have been checked by a second (blind) researcher to monitor
for bias in attributing codes to themes. Additionally, the
two-stage approach to the coding process supported a
comprehensive understanding of the content within the
focus groups.
RESULTS
e focus groups brought forward specic themes in relation
to urban green space design and their experience on campus
(see Ta b l e 1 ). Participants expressed concern over the safety
of some urban green spaces, including ideas that areas were
dangerous because of police cars sightings. e results relating
to the unpleasant and unfamiliar aspects of urban green spaces
have been published elsewhere (Boyd, 2022). ere was extensive
discussion on the social constructs related to dierent urban
green spaces in and around campus. Including the idea that
some areas ‘belong’ to a department. e most frequent and
broad code was the elements participants liked such as owers
in bloom and trees providing shelter. Of equal occurrences
FIGURE5 | Focus group theme codes.
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 8 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
were the aspects of design features, these were predominately
new design features that participants would like to see on and
around campus, such as ponds, picnic benches and winding
paths. In third comes, the participants disliked such as litter,
geometric design and manicured lawns. e full list of codes
and quotes is available and accessible in the author’s thesis
(Boyd, 2020).
e previously mentioned codes can beunderstood in a more
contextual factor as the grounding for ve elements of university
students engagement with urban nature. ese ve elements are
presented here alongside participant’s quotes and discussed later
in relation to the literature and place attachment.
Experience and Design of University
Spaces
ere was an incoherence between participants’ experience of
indoor and outdoor space design on campus. Recently built
urban green spaces were found to betoo busy as the benches
and planters were features of a cycle and walking route.
‘What do youguys think about the path, the bench and
stu on the other side? With the trees near it because
Idon’t know how like, Iwouldn’t really want to sit there
because everyone is always like running past youlike’.
Participants identied a lack of outdoor spaces that felt
green (contained nature) or felt that certain green spaces
were for department specic students.
M: Idon’t know if I’ve been to any that actually I’d call
green places
FN: Nor me actually.
‘I really like Firth court it is kind of my building but it’s
just nice as yougo through it’s got a massive staircase,
nice entrance then in the middle there is a courtyard it’s
just pretty, calm’.
When thinking about the possibility of new urban green
spaces, participants were interested in places which facilitated
their priorities around studying and socialising. Oen the type
of spaces found in the library or student union but recreated
with trees, benches and shrubbery.
‘Mhmm well Iguess make it more of a meeting space for
people. Which would also need to incorporate some
greenery and spaces and structures that can beused for
a variety of things, as part of the built landscape but
youcan use built structures or whatever to sit or stand or
lean on or anything like that and also areas where youcan
meet, like under this tree or this post’.
Socially Constructed Elements of Green
Space
ere was a strong desire for sociable spaces. A place to eat
lunch, meet friends and relax away from work. is was oen
expressed through the desire for seating, particularly benches
which were not in a straight line. As expressed by
these participants:
KB: Ithink like benches but erm bench where youdon’t
sit in a row. as they are very unsociable
F: facing each other?
KB: yeah that why I think I like picnics benches are
attractive and yeah like nice ower plants.
e urban green spaces on campus were heavily inuenced
by participants perception of danger or cultural expectations.
For example, an idling police car suggesting crime or a
decommissioned cemetery retaining cultural social signicance.
‘and even like Western Park which is like right on the main
road yousee police cars there and stu all the time so its
like Idon’t really want to go in there’.
TABLE1 | Occurrences of codes in relation to green spaces with illustrative example quotes.
Green Space Code occurrence Example quotes
Animals 8I felt warm while watching the ducks, pigeons, pets, colourful owers
Design Features 67 some rocks and then like there’s a little pond fountain thing, just a little one, doesn’t have to bea lake, just one to the
side, like a tear fountain
Dislike 47 because owers on there, it feels unnatural, like someone’s planted them and yeah it’s pretty but it doesn’t feel natural
Like 68 I think Ialso appreciate, trees, just trees a lot of, a bunch of trees like in this place
New and on campus 22 I felt very relaxed during the walk, probably again because of the company, although the escape from there busyness of
the city certainly helped
Travel preference 30 I like would not walk down there either, like heard that […] mushroom lane is quite a dodgy at night
Urban Green Space
and Stories
12 You know Ithink you're asking for trouble if you're walking through a public green space if it’s dark and late at night
Use 32 sometimes youwant to beable to sit on a bench instead, maybe even like picnic tables or something because
sometimes benches can bea little bit anti-social if there’s quite a few of you
Weather 25 Some shelter if it’s a sunny day or rain if youwant to sit there in the rain.
New Experience 23 I’ve walked past Crookes Valley Park but I’ve never been in it [before the research]
Not outdoorsy 4I’m not very in tune with nature I’m a much more urban person
Safety 16 and even like Western Park which is like right on the main road yousee police cars there and stuff all the time so its like
Idon’t really want to go in there.
Social pressure 2bench where youdon’t sit in a row […] they are very unsociable
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 9 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
‘for me it’s weird seeing people who just walk on the grass
around graves and stu because wehave like erm, a how
to say, wehave respect so wehave to avoid stepping on
the ground near graves’.
Shelter From the City
Sheeld is a large busy city, the campus is situated close to
some major roads and hospitals. Participants reected on the
noise and busyness this creates by requesting trees as a way
to shelter from the sights and sounds of the city.
‘And youfeel sort of, youcan escape into there […] As
long as its also like, youknow surrounded by something.
Maybe trees or youknow like in Firth Court’.
‘I think wecould use trees for a shield for the city. So
yousee as little building as possible if that makes sense?
Because if youhave, if youwalk along and you’re like oh
Ican see the trees and oh Ican see the arts tower at the
same time. that’s why Ilike Graves Park because its so big
and there are so many layers to it youget to the middle
youcan’t hear, youcan’t see anything [urban]’.
Wildlife and Wild
e desire for wildlife and wildness occurred in two forms,
rst as a direct requestion for more plants, variety and landscapes,
and second as a discontent for green spaces which were
perspective as heavily managed. For example, the previously
mentioned Victorian designed Western Park.
M: Lots of trees.
FN: Water, water.
M: Oh yeah, preferably wildlife as well as water. Lots of
benches because Ithink, Ilike sitting on the ground but
for when it’s a bit damp.
‘it’s really like everything is cut clearly and this stu is
really clean for nature. It’s really articial’.
‘It feels like somebody designed western bank [park] with
like a geometry set’.
Attitudes to Visiting the Natural
Environment
While the predominate narrative was a positive response to
more nature and there was a minority (15%) of participants
who did not consider themselves to have a proactive attitude
towards visiting the natural environment. ese participants
cited the demand of university work or an urban upbringing
as a background to their lack of engagement with the
natural environment.
‘To behonest Ihaven’t le my house much with the strikes’.
‘I don’t appreciate the greenery, if yousaid me to, look
how pretty the owers are, yeah Isee that but it doesn’t
change my day. It doesn’t matter to me that I’ve seen like
colourful owers and green plants’.
P: See Iwould say I’m not very in tune with nature I’m a
much more urban person, so erm, I mean there were
obviously denitely trees around and stu but there wasn’t
anything that stuck out to me there wasn’t like a big tree
or anything
P: no and especially like people who are from here, they
do like walking dates
F: do they?
P: apparently so, but honestly Idon’t know what the aim
of this is, I’m having to constantly think of things to say
and it’s like why are wewalking! Ineed a destination
basically; Ican’t just bewalkin’.
e role of unseen dimensions and cultural behaviours
contributed heavily to the lack of engagement with urban green
spaces. e participants talked at length about their love of
trees; however, their desire to stick within the status quo and
lack of integrated green spaces reduced their opportunity to
interact or visit these spaces while on campus.
DISCUSSION
e methodological grounded theory approach to allow
concepts to emerge over the course of the focus groups
which created some interesting and unexpected themes. ere
is literature detailing the social inuence on green space
especially among young adults, the experience of university
students’ and green space, and the socially constructed elements
of green space. However, the strong desire for shelter from
the city to have ‘wild’ spaces and the acute awareness of
the Sheeld street tree issues was not expected. ese six
aspects are discussed further, before considering these ndings
implications for policy.
Place Attachment
e role of the place became very apparent in how the
participants experienced the intervention. e bond which
occurs between an individual and their meaningful environment
is known as place attachment (Scannell and Giord, 2010).
is bond is associated with pro-environmental behaviour in
natural environments and positive psychological benets such
as a sense of belonging or relaxation (Halpenny, 2010; Scannell
and Giord, 2017). e individual connection with place is a
dynamic and complex relationship, inuenced by social
interactions, personal identity and the experience of the physical
place (Raymond etal., 2010). e place-attachment framework
by Scannell and Giord (2010) denes three dimensions to
the person dimension of place attachment; person-process-place.
It encompasses the inuence socially constructed narratives
have on behaviour and emotional response to an environment
or location (Scannell and Giord, 2010). e role of process
and person can beevidenced in the experience of young adults
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 10 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
and natural environments (Bell etal., 2003; Milligan and Bingley,
2007). In contrast, the natural environment can be a place to
escape to, with teenagers reporting the more unkempt spaces
providing a place of peace without judgement (Bell et al.,
2003). ese elements may present themselves dierently for
a young adult compared to an employee or visitor to a space.
Beyond the physical elements, a space is constructed by individual,
social and behavioural dimensions, and these unseen dimensions
contribute to the way a space is experienced and used (Raymond
et al., 2010; Scannell and Giord, 2017).
Experience and Design of University Spaces
In the case of university open spaces, focus group participants
reported that the perception of those spaces had a greater
inuence on the way those spaces were used/not used and
the benets derived from them than the reality of the space
themselves (Beckers et al., 2016; Hipp et al., 2016). is
aligns with research on study space design for university
students, which highlighted that the perceived value of a
space was more important than its experienced value (Beckers
et al., 2016).
Previous research has suggested that the campus environment
should be designed to have open spaces which create an
integrated blend of sheltered spaces for study and open spaces
for collaboration (Beckers et al., 2016). ese spaces should
be clearly dened to denote expected behaviour within the
space and so reduce the stress that can occur when a space
is not coherent (Lau etal., 2014). e desire for collaborative
and sheltered spaces was qualied through this study focuses
group ndings. In alignment with this and others’ research,
campus design is emerging as a potential wellbeing component
of the university experience (Hipp etal., 2016). Previous research
has considered the biophilic campus, campus design to integrate
sustainability and promote learning and collaboration (Ibrahim
and Fadzil, 2013; Matloob etal., 2014; Abdelaal, 2019). Future
research into campus design could take these ideas further by
working in collaboration with the users’ perceptions and lived
experience of campus green space. rough the focus group
discussion, this research found three key dimensions
of importance:
Socially Constructed Elements of Green Space
ere are attributes in the design of urban green spaces which
impacted the participants ability to engage with a space (Seaman
etal., 2010; Bell etal., 2014). e complexities which surround
a green space on campus are enwrapped in the socially
constructed narratives and personal preference. As discussed
by Bell etal (2014), these personal preferences are susceptible
to change as inuenced by circumstantial priorities and
place practice.
In the focus groups and through the survey feedback, the
social narrative surrounding the risk of entering urban green
space in the dark was reected across nationalities, age and
gender. ese university students had heard stories related to
incidents on campus or had personal experience of them.
Urban green spaces being considered dangerous at night heightens
the argument for providing accessible green spaces that are
appealing during the day, as well as reducing students’ fears
to use campus space outside daylight hours. Most of the
university term occurs in the less climate favourable time of
year between September and April. Daylight hours and weather
conditions can reduce the opportunities to engage with the
natural environment outside of university time. A prime time
opportunity is lunchtime, which participants discussed as having
limited current potential for visits to urban green space as
the spaces on campus where they currently eat their lunch
consist of various ‘grey’ concrete steps.
Shelter From the City
Urban green spaces can oer respite from the city soundscape
and busyness of campus (Windhorst and Williams, 2015). As
found in other research, participants valued the opportunity
to feel protected from the sounds and sights of the city (Birch
etal., 2020). Previous research has found participants reported
feeling calm and relaxed by the presents of water and mature
trees (White etal., 2014; Windhorst and Williams, 2015). ese
restorative aspects of green space visits were acknowledged in
the focus groups by several participants who had attended the
group walk. is was highlighted particularly in the desire for
design features that provided sensory reoccupation such as
water fountains and large trees. ese participants were also
likely to choose a seat by the window in the library to look
at the park. In contrast, the mobile phone app only users did
not comment on how restored they felt aer the intervention.
If walking through campus provided a restorative experience
similar to walking through the park, it could support better
mental health. McDonald et al. (2018) argue for integrating
green prescriptions and city designs which harness nature into
urban development. erefore, this research suggests that
university campus green space design should bein coordination
with interventions, such as introducing green trails alongside
cycling schemes.
Wildlife and Wild
Unexpectedly from the author’s perspective, focus groups
participants all talked about animals and wildlife found in
the urban green spaces with aection. Some participants
wanted to see wildlife beyond just pigeons, and this could
represent a desire for more biodiversity within the spaces
they visit. In agreement with this nding, evidence does
suggest the role of perceived nature to have a strong inuence
in the restorative eect of the space, with those with higher
nature connection more perceptive of ora and fauna diversity
(Hipp et al., 2016; Southon et al., 2018). As previously
suggested in the literature, the connection created with city
wildlife provides a vital relationship (contributing to
pro-environmental behaviour) which can aect the global
ecosystem (Dunn et al., 2006).
ere was also an attention to the management of landscape
features in the urban green space. Some focus groups participants
were strongly opposed to intense ground management. is
was particularly in reference to the Victorian planting style
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 11 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
scheme and manicured grass found in Weston Park. Crookes
Valley Park’s area of naturalistic woodland was commented
on for oering tranquillity and cover from the city. Wild can
bein relation to the perception that nature is dominate compared
to where a place looks controlled and maintained (ibid.). e
inuence perceived levels of design and management have on
individual’s attachment to a place as ‘wild’ can be replicated
in this nding to include dierence of preference in a place
in relation to its perceived level of design, management and
wildness (Colley and Craig, 2019). e dierent forms and
how they are perceived may oer an opportunity to develop
established ideas of aesthetic preference, for university students
in this research there was a strong preference for less
managed environments.
Attitudes to the Natural Environment
Young people are oen attributed with generational decrease
in their connection or knowledge of the natural environment;
nature decit is deemed the result of decreased engagement
with the natural environment (Louv, 2008; Moss, 2012).
Coinciding with the drop (during adolescence) in nature
connection young adults are expected to attribute less importance
to the natural environment (Bird, 2007; Hughes et al., 2019;
Richardson et al., 2019). While the focus group participants
in this study discussed prioritising their studying and socialising
(and gave these priorities as reasons for dropping out), there
was passion and value for the natural environment. is was
most apparent when talking about trees.
As with understanding people’s attitudes towards a physical
space, specic elements of the natural environment are also
exposed to socially constructed narratives. Sheeld and its
trees are an unusual case, as during this research there was
a conict between the local community and the council
about street tree management (BBC, 2019). During the focus
groups participants in this study spoke passionately about
the desire for more, and especially large, trees. Previous
research into individually valued restorative space on campus
found a positive association with mature trees (Windhorst
and Williams, 2015). Specic preferences for dierent types
of plants have not been comprehensively considered within
literature on campus green spaces, whereas participants in
this research discussed their preference for mature trees,
owering plants, shrubs and natural planting schemes. Further
to this, this nding challenges the notion that young people
do not value the natural environment, but highlights that
they express this in a dierent way, with alternative unaccounted
ways to connect with nature (such as house plants; Birch
etal., 2020). Natural England (2019) MENE report identied
generational dierences in attitudes towards intention to make
lifestyle changes to protect the environment. On average 16%
of those asked intended to make changes, with young people
(16–24 year old) 10% more likely than older people (over
65 years old; Natural England, 2019). is study’s ndings
qualify research from Birch et al. (2020) in young people’s
experience of urban green spaces and the tangible connection
to plants such as trees. ere is further opportunity for this
relationship to beexplored within campus and urban green
space design.
UK Policy
Within the context of UK policy, DEFRA’s 25 year environmental
plan included the natural environment as a resource for
population level health (Defra, 2018). While there is no single
government department or body tasked with ensuring the
potential benets between the natural environment and improved
population health, many third sectors organisations have begun
to acknowledge this within their practice and policy, for example,
Mind and the Wildlife Trust (Lovell et al., 2018). e evidence
in this research further supports the vital role urban green
spaces play in facilitating positive mental health, especially
when accessible and of high quality.
University Policy
While universities compete to be at the top of leader boards
for academic attainment, world class research and cutting-edge
facilities, it may betime to contemplate the role of the natural
environment in supporting wellbeing in the university student
experience. Considering the impact of mental health on grade
attainment, retention and social cohesion, university campus
landscapes could become the next league table. e introduction
of a Charter Award Scheme in association with the University
Mental Health Charter means that this aspect of the university
sector will soon be under closer scrutiny, with an expected
assessment and therefore possible comparison as part of the
award (Hughes and Spanner, 2019). Universities need to develop
proactive, coordinated and strategic approaches to delivering
accessible and inclusive wellbeing support that are responsive
to the needs of the student population (Priestley et al., 2022).
In agreement with other research and as part of the ‘live’
dimension of the Charter, this study has found that university
green spaces can bepart of that strategy as a wellbeing resource
for students and sta (Hipp et al., 2016; Hughes and Spanner,
2019). e University Health and Wellbeing service should
consider the opportunities working in partnership with the
Student Union to oer volunteering and outdoor activities in
a social prescribing style scheme. It is recommended that these
spaces include physical features that facilitate socialising and
studying as a priority. At the University of Sheeld specically,
there is a need to provide shelter from the noise and sight
of the city, and accommodate for the poor weather during
term time.
ere is a need for green spaces which accommodate
university students; spaces that are not seen as limited to
members of the department associated with the nearest
building. is facilitation should also be achieved through
the spatial design. Students are focused on their university
studies and socialising. It became apparent that lunch is the
time university students take a break and are likely to seek
an alternative environment. A successful green space would
provide opportunities for both if it provided shelter from
the weather and practical seating, which allows for both
studying and social lunches.
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 12 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
Limitations and Future Research
As accounted in the literature, there is a known inuence to
gender in the eect of connecting with nature in the workplace,
if more data and resources had been available it would have
been desirable to examine participants experiences through a
more detailed lens. Future research should consider examining
participants’ previous experiences with nature and the inuence
this has on their desire work and social spaces. ere is
opportunity to explore the role of gender and background on
university students connection and engagement with
urban nature.
It would also beinteresting to further this area of research
through a comparison of how these environments are
measured in relation to green space, biodiversity and landscape
architects design plans compared to how they are used
across dierent universities. Future research should
determine the value of trees in the immediate environment
to university students to provide an accurate account of
change in value when expanding campus buildings results
in a loss of trees.
CONCLUSION
is research focused on undergraduate university students
(known as Generation Z), and as with other research into
workplace design, the ability to implement behavioural change
or create spaces which will be used by the target group relies
on the ability of practitioners and decision makers to understand
the realities of generational similarities and dierences (Deal
et al., 2010). To engage with university students in their
requirements from the green spaces on campus requires
consideration beyond the expected stereotypes. erefore,
translating this research’s ndings into a real world application
should be done with the collaboration of the intended
user community.
e policy and practice implication from this research relates
primarily to the use and design of nature-based interventions
for university students within the university environment.
Second, but no less crucial, are the broader implications for
wellbeing interventions and urban green space development
within the UK context.
Human health and wellbeing in the natural environment
continue to develop as a field of research. Progress has
been made in the spaces which are considered within this
area, for example, the developed version of MENE (now
known as People and Nature Survey) now includes questions
on personal gardens. The King’s Fund policy brief on gardens
and health highlights the importance of further integration
of gardens into mainstream health practice (Buck, 2016).
This approach should betaken in the evaluation of university
campus design. As previously discussed, mental health issues
reduce students’ attention and attainment; integrating spaces
designed for students to use as study and social spaces
could support a preventative approach to wellbeing on
campus. The design of these spaces needs to consider the
desired use of the space beyond the physical appearance,
and as previously discussed campus space operates under
social constraints similar to the workplace. Future research
could trial the elements proposed in this research and
investigate ways to create outdoor social and study spaces
on campuses. Ultimately, it is about the integration of
infrastructure and interventions into every day for students’
wellbeing.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
e original contributions presented in the study are included
in the article/Supplementary Material; further inquiries can
be directed to the corresponding author.
ETHICS STATEMENT
e studies involving human participants were reviewed and
approved by the Department of Landscape in accordance with
procedure laid down by the University of Sheeld’s Research
Ethics Committee, which monitors the application and delivery
of the University’s Ethics Review Procedure across the University,
reference number: 016529 and 014504. e patients/participants
provided their written informed consent to participate in
this study.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
e author conrms being the sole contributor of this work
and has approved it for publication.
FUNDING
is work was supported by the University of Sheeld as
part of a research project funded by the Natural Environment
Research Council, ESRC, BBSRC, AHRC, Defra, and IWUN
[NE/N013565/1].
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the support of colleagues,
friends, and my PhD supervisors Prof. Anna Jorgensen,
Prof.Miles Richardson, and Dr. Paul Brindley in the completion
of this research.
SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL
e Supplementary Material for this article can be found online
at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.865422/
full#supplementary-material
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 13 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
REFERENCES
Abdelaal, M. S. (2019). Biophilic campus: An emerging planning approach for
a sustainable innovation-conducive university. J. Clean. Prod. 215, 1445–1456.
doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.185
Active Fife (2019). Bums o seats. Available at: https://www.activefe.co.uk/
bums-o-seats/ (Accessed January 18, 2020).
Astell-Burt, T., and Feng, X. (2019). Association of Urban Green Space With
Mental Health and General Health Among Adults in Australia. JAMA Netw.
Open 2:e198209. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.8209
Barton, H., and Grant, M. (2006). A health map for the local human habitat.
J. R. Soc. Promot. Heal. 126, 252–253. doi: 10.1177/1466424006070466
BBC (2019). Sheeld trees saved from felling aer council U-turn - BBC News,
BBC News Website. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-
south-yorkshire-48934794 (Accessed July 29, 2019).
Beckers, R., van der Voordt, T., and Dewulf, G. (2016). Learning space preferences
of higher education students. Build. Environ. 104, 243–252. doi: 10.1016/j.
buildenv.2016.05.013
Bell, S., ompson, C. W., and Travlou, P. (2003). Contested views of freedom
and control: children, teenagers and urban fringe woodlands in Central
Scotland. Urban For. Urban Green. 2, 87–100. doi: 10.1078/1618-8667-00026
Bell, S. L., et al. (2014). Green space, health and wellbeing: making space for
individual agency. Health Place 30, 287–292. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2014.10.005
Benson, M., and Jackson, E. (2013). Place-making and place maintenance:
performativity, place and belonging among the middle classes. Sociology 47,
793–809. doi: 10.1177/0038038512454350
Birch, J., Risbeth, C., and Payne, S. (2020). Nature doesn’t judge you – how
urban nature supports young people’s mental health and wellbeing in a UK
city. Health Place[Epub ahead of print] 62:102296. doi: 10.1016/j.
healthplace.2020.102296
Bird, W. (2007). Natural thinking. Royal Soc. protec. birds, 1–116.
Boyd, F., White, M. P., Bell, S. L., and Burt, J. (2018). Who doesn’t visit natural
environments for recreation and why: A population representative analysis
of spatial, individual and temporal factors among adults in England. Landsc.
Urban Plan. 175, 102–113. doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2018.03.016
Boyd, F. (2020). Tailoring Engagement with Urban Nature for University of
Sheeld Students’ Wellbeing. PhD thesis, University of Sheeld.
Boyd, F. (2022). “University students noticing nature: the unpleasant, the
threatening and the unfamiliar,” in Unfamiliar Landscapes 1st Edn. eds. T.
A. Smith, H. Pitt and R. A. Dunkley (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan).
Buck, D. (2016). Gardens and Health: Implications for Policy and Practice. e
King’s Fund, London.
Cage, E., Jones, E., Ryan, G., Hughes, G., and Spanner, L. (2021). Student
mental health and transitions into, through and out of university: student
and sta perspectives. J. Furth. High. Educ. 45, 1076–1089. doi:
10.1080/0309877X.2021.1875203
Campisi, T., Caselli, B., Rossetti, S., and Torrisi, V. (2022). e evolution of
sustainable mobility and urban space planning: exploring the factors
contributing to the regeneration of car parking in living spaces. Transport.
Res. Procedia 60, 76–83. doi: 10.1016/j.trpro.2021.12.011
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded eory: a Practical guide through
Qualitative Analysis. ousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Colley, K., and Craig, T. (2019). Natural places: perceptions of wildness and
attachment to local greenspace. J. Environ. Psychol. 61, 71–78. doi: 10.1016/j.
jenvp.2018.12.007
Dallimer, M., Davies, Z. G., Irvine, K. N., Maltby, L., Warren, P. H., Gaston, K. J.,
et al. (2014). What personal and environmental factors determine frequency
of urban greenspace use? Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 11, 7977–7992.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph110807977
de Vries, S., van Dillen, S. M. E. E., Groenewegen, P. P., and Spreeuwenberg, P.
(2013). Streetscape greenery and health: stress, social cohesion and physical
activity as mediators. Soc. Sci. Med. 94, 26–33. doi: 10.1016/j.
socscimed.2013.06.030
Deal, J. J., Altman, D. G., and Rogelberg, S. G. (2010). Millennials at work:
what we know and what we need to do (If anything). J. Bus. Psychol. 25,
191–199. doi: 10.1007/s10869-010-9177-2
Defra, J. (2018). A Green Future: Our 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment
Exford, England Elsevier.
Dunn, R. R., Gavin, M. C., Sanchez, M. C., and Solomon, J. N. (2006). e
pigeon paradox: dependence of global conservation on urban nature. Conserv.
Biol. 20, 1814–1816. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00533.x
Friends of Crookesmoor Parks (2020) Crookes Valley Park. Available at: https://
crookesmoorparks.wordpress.com/about-the-parks/crookes-valley-park/
(Accessed January 28, 2020).
Frumkin, H., Frank, L., and Jackson, R. J. (2004). Urban Sprawl and Public
Health: Designing, Planning, and Building for Healthy Communities.
Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Halpenny, E. A. (2010). Pro-environmental behaviours and park visitors: e
eect of place attachment. J. Environ. Psychol. 30, 409–421. doi: 10.1016/j.
jenvp.2010.04.006
Hartig, T. (2006). Where best to take a booster break? American J. Prevent.
Med. Elsevier. 31:350. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2006.06.003
Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., de Vries, S., and Frumkin, H. (2014). Nature and
health. Annu. Rev. Public Health 35, 207–228. doi: 10.1146/annurev-
publhealth-032013-182443
Hipp, J. A., et al. (2016). The relationship Between perceived greenness
and perceived Restorativeness of university campuses and student-reported
quality of life. Environ. Behav. 48, 1292–1308. doi: 10.1177/001391651
5598200
Historic England Archive (2004). Weston Park Sheeld. Available at: https://
historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1001340 (Accessed January 28,
2020).
Hitchings, R. (2013). Studying the preoccupations that prevent people from
going into green space. Landsc. Urban Plan. 118, 98–102. doi: 10.1016/j.
landurbplan.2012.09.006
Holt, E., Lombard, Q., Best, N., Smiley-Smith, S., and Quinn, J. (2019).
Active and passive use of green space, health, and well-being amongst
University students. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 16:424. doi: 10.3390/
ijerph16030424
Hughes, G., and Spanner, L. (2019). e University Mental Health Charter.
Leeds: Student Minds.
Hughes, J., Rogerson, M., Barton, J., and Bragg, R. (2019). Age and connection
to nature: when is engagement critical? Front. Ecol. Environ. 17, 265–269.
doi: 10.1002/fee.2035
Hunter, M. C. R., Gillespie, B. W., and Chen, S. Y. P. (2019). Urban nature
experiences reduce stress in the context of daily life based on salivary
biomarkers. Front. Psychol. 10:722. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722
Hunter, R. F., Cleland, C., Cleary, A., Droomers, M., Wheeler, B. W., Sinnett, D.,
et al. (2019). Environmental, health, wellbeing, social and equity eects of
urban green space interventions: A meta-narrative evidence synthesis. Environ.
Inter. Pergamon 130:104923. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.104923
Ibrahim, N., and Fadzil, N. H. (2013). Informal setting for learning on campus:
usage and preference. Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 105, 344–351. doi: 10.1016/j.
sbspro.2013.11.036
Jones, D. R. (2013). ‘e Biophilic university’: a de-familiarizing organizational
metaphor for ecological sustainability? J. Clean. Prod. 48, 148–165. doi:
10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.02.019
Kaplan, R. (1993). e role of nature in the context of the workplace. Landsc.
Urban Plan. 26, 193–201. doi: 10.1016/0169-2046(93)90016-7
Lau, S. S. Y., Gou, Z., and Liu, Y. (2014). Healthy campus by open space
design: approaches and guidelines. Front. Architec. Res. 3, 452–467. doi:
10.1016/j.foar.2014.06.006
Liprini, R. M. (2014). Students’ Perceptions of green space on a University campus:
an Attention Restoration eory Perspective. South Africa: University of Pretoria.
Louv, R. (2008). Last Child in the Woods. Second. Chapel Hill, North Carolina:
Algonquin books.
Lovell, R., Depledge, M., and Maxwell, S. (2018). “Health and the natural
environment: A review of evidence, policy, practice and opportunities for
the future”. 1–161.
Lumber, R., Richardson, M., and Sheffield, D. (2017). Beyond knowing
nature: contact, emotion, compassion, meaning, and beauty are pathways
to nature connection. PLoS One 12:e0177186. doi: 10.1371/journal.
pone.0177186
Maller, C., Townsend, M., Leger, L. S., Henderson-wilson, C., Pryor, A., Prosser, L.,
et al. (2009). Healthy parks, healthy people: e health benets of contact
with nature in a park context. e George Wright Forum 26, 51–83.
Boyd Between the Library and Lectures
Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 14 June 2022 | Volume 13 | Article 865422
Matloob, F. A., Sulaiman, A. B., Ali, T. H., Shamsuddin, S., and Mardyya, W. N.
(2014). Sustaining campuses through physical character–e role of landscape.
Procedia Soc. Behav. Sci. 140, 282–290. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.421
McDonald, R. I., Beatley, T., and Elmqvist, T. (2018). e green soul of the
concrete jungle: the urban century, the urban psychological penalty, and
the role of nature. Sustain. Earth 1, 1–13. doi: 10.1186/s42055-018-0002-5
McEwan, K., et al. (2020). Shmapped: development of an app to record and
promote the well-being benets of noticing urban nature. Transl. Behav.
Med. 10, 723–733. doi: 10.1093/tbm/ibz027
McFarland, A. L., Waliczek, T. M., and Zajicek, J. M. (2008). e relationship
Between student use of campus green spaces and perceptions of quality of
life. Am. Soc. Horticult. Sci. 18, 232–238. doi: 10.21273/HORTTECH.18.2.232
Milligan, C., and Bingley, A. (2007). Restorative places or scary spaces? e
impact of woodland on the mental well-being of young adults. Health Place
13, 799–811. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2007.01.005
Moss, S. (2012). “Natural Childhood,” London: National Trust.
Natural England (2019). Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment:
Headline Report 2019.
Panno, A., Carrus, G., Lafortezza, R., Mariani, L., and Sanesi, G. (2017). Nature-
based solutions to promote human resilience and wellbeing in cities during
increasingly hot summers. Environ. Res. 159, 249–256. doi: 10.1016/j.
envres.2017.08.016
Priestley, M., Broglia, E., Hughes, G., and Spanner, L. (2022). Student perspectives
on improving mental health support services at university. Couns. Psychother.
Res. 22. doi: 10.1002/capr.12391
Pritchard, A., Richardson, M., Sheeld, D., and McEwan, K. (2019). e
relationship Between nature connectedness and Eudaimonic well-being: A
meta-analysis. J. Happiness Stud. 21, 1145–1167. doi: 10.1007/
s10902-019-00118-6
Raymond, C. M., Brown, G., and Weber, D. (2010). e measurement of place
attachment: personal, community, and environmental connections. J. Environ.
Psychol. 30, 422–434. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2010.08.002
Redondo, R., Valor, C., and Carrero, I. (2021). Unraveling the relationship
between well-being, sustainable consumption and nature relatedness: a study
of university students. Appl. Res. Qual. Life 2021, 1–18. doi: 10.1007/
S11482-021-09931-9
Richardson, M., and Sheeld, D. (2017). ree good things in nature: noticing
nearby nature brings sustained increases in connection with nature / Tres
cosas buenas de la naturaleza: prestar atención a la naturaleza cercana
produce incrementos prolongados en conexión con la naturaleza. Psyecology
8, 1–32. doi: 10.1080/21711976.2016.1267136
Richardson, M., et al. (2019). A measure of nature connectedness for children
and adults: validation, performance, and insights. Sustainability (Switzerland)
11:3250. doi: 10.3390/su11123250
Sbaraini, A., Carter, S. M., Evans, R., and Blinkhorn, A. (2011). How to do
a grounded theory study: A worked example of a study of dental practices.
BMC Med. Res. Methodol. 11:128. doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-11-128
Scannell, L., and Giord, R. (2010). Dening place attachment: A tripartite
organizing framework. J. Environ. Psychol. 30, 1–10. doi: 10.1016/j.
jenvp.2009.09.006
Scannell, L., and Giord, R. (2017). e experienced psychological benets of
place attachment. J. Environ. Psychol. 51, 256–269. doi: 10.1016/j.
jenvp.2017.04.001
Seaman, P. J., Jones, R., and Ellaway, A. (2010). It’s not just about the park,
it’s about integration too: why people choose to use or not use urban
greenspaces. Int. J. Behav. Nutr. Phys. Act. 7:78. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-7-78
Shanahan, D. F., Bush, R., Gaston, K. J., Lin, B. B., Dean, J., Barber, E., et al.
(2016). Health benets from nature experiences depend on dose. Sci. Rep.
6:28551. doi: 10.1038/srep28551
Southon, G. E., Jorgensen, A., Dunnett, N., Hoyle, H., and Evans, K. L. (2018).
Perceived species-richness in urban green spaces: cues, accuracy and well-
being impacts. Landsc. Urban Plan. 172, 1–10. doi: 10.1016/j.
landurbplan.2017.12.002
Speake, J., Edmondson, S., and Nawaz, H. (2013). Everyday encounters with
nature: students’ perceptions and use of university campus green spaces.
Hum. Geogr. 7, 21–31. doi: 10.5719/hgeo.2013.71.21
Tyrväinen, L., Ojala, A., Korpela, K., Lanki, T., Tsunetsugu, Y., Kagawa, T.,
et al. (2014). e inuence of urban green environments on stress relief
measures: A eld experiment. J. Environ. Psychol. 38, 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.
jenvp.2013.12.005
White, M. P., Wheeler, B. W., Herbert, S., Alcock, I., and Depledge, M. H.
(2014). Coastal proximity and physical activity: is the coast an under-
appreciated public health resource? Prev. Med. 69, 135–140. doi: 10.1016/j.
ypmed.2014.09.016
Windhorst, E., and Williams, A. (2015). ‘It’s like a dierent world’: natural
places, post-secondary students, and mental health. Health Place 34, 241–250.
doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2015.06.002
Zhang, J. W., Howell, R. T., and Iyer, R. (2014). Engagement with natural beauty
moderates the positive relation between connectedness with nature and psychological
well-being. J. Environ. Psychol. 38, 55–63. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.12.013
Author Disclaimer: e views expressed in this publication are those of the
authors and not necessarily of the funders or data providers.
Conict of Interest: e author declares that the research was conducted in
the absence of any commercial or nancial relationships that could beconstrued
as a potential conict of interest.
Publisher’s Note: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the
authors and do not necessarily represent those of their aliated organizations,
or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may
be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is
not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Copyright © 2022 Boyd. is is an open-access article distributed under the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). e use, distribution or
reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the
copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal
is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or
reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Available via license: CC BY
Content may be subject to copyright.
