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Greenspace and mental wellbeing: the evidence

Greenspace and mental wellbeing: the evidence. Branching Out Seminar 20th March 2012 Herriot Watt Conference Centre Edinburgh. Ian Crawford Get Active National Programme Manager. SAMH. Scotland’s leading mental health charity Established 1923 We support over 3000 people across Scotland

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Greenspace and mental wellbeing: the evidence

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  1. Greenspace and mental wellbeing: the evidence Branching Out Seminar 20th March 2012 Herriot Watt Conference Centre Edinburgh

  2. Ian Crawford Get Active National Programme Manager

  3. SAMH • Scotland’s leading mental health charity • Established 1923 • We support over 3000 people across Scotland -Policy & Campaigns -National Programmes -Fundraising -Community based services

  4. Improving Mental Health through contact with the Natural Environment Get Active Demonstration Projects • Branching Out • Step It Up Highlands • Walking with Friends • DAMH Cycling Project SAMH Services • Redhall Walled Garden • Chrysalis • Evergreen

  5. Isolation Low Self Esteem Lack of Motivation Culture Anxiety – It’s New Lifestyle choices Communication Lack of Confidence Loss of Purpose Loss of Identity Reluctance Barriers “It really helped me going with friends…. I wouldn’t have mixed as much… been like a crab….. wouldn’t have had the confidence to go into town or walk home .” Male, Age 24, Glasgow

  6. “If everyone in Scotland changed just one aspect of their lifestyle, such as walking to the shops instead of taking their car, it could make a huge difference to their physical and mental health. I would like to encourage everyone to Get Active.” Sir Chris Hoy SAMH Ambassador

  7. National Awareness Raising Campaign National Event Community Engagement Demonstration Projects Learning and Education Modules

  8. Street Soccer drop in Walking with Friends Ayr United Project Glasgow life/Kelvingrove Tennis Project SAMH/Dundee United Project Branching Out Step it Up Highlands Get Active: Get Sorted Street Soccer Academy DAMH/NHS Tayside Cycling Project Get Active10 demonstration projects 1000 participants since 2009.

  9. Funding was secured for external Evaluation of demonstration projects • Interim report has been produced • Final report due early 2012 Evaluation

  10. Interim Evaluation Findings Interim report has highlighted significant outcomes for participants: • 78% reported improved fitness • 90% felt happier • 87% felt more confident • 95% learned a new skill • 84% made new friends

  11. Interim Evaluation Findings Other benefits included: • Improved mood • Better sleep • Feeling happier • Having more energy (the buzz!) • Improved internal and external confidence (how they felt about themselves and how they felt others perceived them) • Improved relationships with friends and families (many made new friends as part of the process) • Reduced isolation • Increase self-worth and self-belief • Increased aspirations

  12. “Being outdoors has helped me to live indoors” Quote from a SAMH Service user participating in Branching Out

  13. Greenspace & Mental Wellbeing • Restoration and stress reduction • Restoration and cognitive functioning • Improving Mental health • Ecotherapy and civic environmentalism • Social interaction, greenspace and mental health

  14. Mental Health • Around 1 in 4 people will suffer from some form of mental illness at some point in their lives • By 2020, depression will be the second largest single cause of ill health • In urban areas incidences of depression, psychiatric morbidity, alcohol and drug dependence are higher

  15. Foundation Stone - SAMH campaign for new mental health strategy National Policy Impacting on Mental Health • TAMFS Policy & Action Plan 2009 -2011

  16. Around 93% of General Practitioner's admit that they have prescribed antidepressants against their better judgement due to a lack of alternative treatments. Mind: 2007

  17. The social and economic cost of mental health problems in Scotland has reached £10.7 billion per year, an increase of nearly a quarter on figures from 2004/05.

  18. How can greenspace help?

  19. There is strong evidence which suggests that green spaces have a beneficial impact on mental well-being and cognitive function through both physical access and usage, as well as through access to views. • In particular greenspaces have been shown to provide a restorative environment which helps alleviate stress and mental fatigue. • While the potential benefits of green space for physical health may be significant, ‘it is the restorative effects of greenspace and contacts with nature where evidence is most compelling’ • (Croucher, K. et al. The links between greenspaces and health: a critical literature review. Greenspace Scotland, Stirling)

  20. Restoration and Stress Reduction Passive or less strenuously active contact with greenspaces can also be psychologically and physiologically restorative An experiment where 112 participants were randomly assigned to a gentle walk in either an urban or a natural setting provided evidence of the positive impact of natural settings on improved attention functioning, emotional gains and lowered blood pressure (Hartig et al. 2003. Tracking restoration in natural and urban field settings. Journal of Environmental Psuchology 23: 109-123)

  21. Other Studies • An American study found that people living in urban public housing close to vegetation, were significantly more effective in managing major life issues and better equipped to cope with stress. (Kuo, F. E. 2001. Coping with poverty: Impacts of environment and attention in the inner city. Environment and Behaviour 33: 5-34) • A study focusing on patients recovering from surgery in a hospital found that those with a view of nature healed faster than those without such a view. (Ulrich, R. S. 1984. View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science 224: 420-421) • An experimental study which involved participants watching a stress inducing video followed by either a video of natural settings or urban settings found that those who viewed the natural settings had a significantly better recovery from stress. (Ulrich et al. 1991. Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology 11: 201-230)

  22. People have a well-developed awareness of the stress reducing benefits of nature. • A large postal survey in Sweden found that when asked what they would recommend to a friend who was feeling stressed and worried, taking a walk in the forest was ranked highest by most respondents. • This study also found that statistically significant relationships were found between the use of urban greenspaces and self-reported experiences of stress. (Grahn, P. and Stigsdotter, U. A. 2003. :Landscape planning and stress. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 2 (1): 1-18)

  23. Restoration, Cognitive Functioning and Mental Health Two studies looking at children aged 7-12 found that greenspace can have a beneficial impact on concentration and on the ability to focus attention. (Taylor et al. 2001. Coping with ADD: The surprising connection to green play setting. Environment and Behaviour 33 (1): 54-77; Wells, N. M. 2000. At home with nature: Effects of ‘greenness’ on children’s cognitive functioning. Environment and Behaviour 32: 775-795) Intensity of restorative experience was greatest for those with the worst mental health Roe, J et al. 2009. Forest School. Evidence for the restorative health benefits in young people

  24. Greenspace and Mental Health A large-scale study of around 17,000 inhabitants looked at self-reported health data and land use data and found that living in a greener area was positively related to self-reported mental health (de Vries et al. 2003. Natural Environments – healthy environments? An Exploratory analysis of the relationship between greenspace and health. Environment and Planning A 35 (10): 1717-1731) A postal survey in Greenwich confirmed an association between the physical environment and mental well-being. (Guite et al. 2006. The impact of the physical and urban environment on mental well-being. Public Health 120 (12): 1117-1126

  25. Ecotherapy • Ecotherapy is the name often given to the green agenda for mental health whereby people are engaged in greenspace-based activities as part of their treatment programme. • One study found that for 90 per cent of people involved in a green exercise programme the combination of nature and exercise was the most important factor in determining how they felt. (MIND, 2007. Ecotherapy: The Green Agenda for Mental Health. Mind week report, May 2007. http://www.mind.org.uk/mindweek • Another study looking at the effects of horticulture projects on 137 people with severe mental health problems found that they had multiple positive beneficial effects. (Sempik et al. 2005. In touch with the earth. Mental Health Today 23: 6)

  26. Civic Environmentalism • Townsend (2006) evaluated the impacts of participation in civic environmentalism for people suffering from depression and concluded that there are significant benefits, but not just for mental health. • Factors that can make it difficult for people with depression to get involved in such activities: • Shyness • Fear of stereotyping (greenie) • Relative openness and accessibility of groups • Lack of recognition of health benefits • Lack of awareness of groups and how to get involved • Busy lifestyles • Practical issues such as lack of transport and childcare • Greater access might be facilitated through diversity training among support group leaders, greater promotion of health benefits of forest activities among support groups and medical practioners, and provision of practical support

  27. Social Interaction, Mental Health and Greenspace • Initiatives in groups also provide benefits in terms of social interaction between participants which can further enhance mental well-being and help reduce feelings of social exclusion • A study using ‘adventure therapy’ with nine people with severe mental health problems found that participants changed dramatically when introduced to nature (Surridge et al. 2004. cited in Davies and Deavillle. 2008. Natural Heritage: A Pathway to Health CCW Policy Research Report 07/20. CountrysideCouncil for Wales.

  28. Limitations to the evidence • Causal relationships between the components of urban greenspaces and health are not easy to establish. • Majority of studies self-reported data using questionnaires • However, while in the minority, other studies that use objective measurements do exist and their findings confirm the self-reported data.

  29. Thank You Samh.net www.forestresearch.gov.uk/peopleandtrees

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