Using secondary data to examine whether a programme of physical and social interventions in urban forests enhances community health and wellbeing
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Edinburgh
Department Name: Edinburgh College of Art
Abstract
This research addresses urgent questions faced by Scottish Forestry, alongside forestry agencies across the rest of the UK, Europe and internationally, who want to know how they can respond positively to global challenges for sustainability and human health while satisfying demands for more tree cover. In addition, public health policy-makers and planners, land managers, spatial planners and land development agencies and third sector organisations want to know how to invest scarce resources in ways that maximise benefits for people as well as planet.
So our focus is on urban forestry and how to provide better evidence of the contributions it can make to human wellbeing, child development and health equity. Our increasingly urban population is experiencing rising levels of mental illness and non-communicable disease; in addition, there is concern about the long-term effects of urban living on the kinds of environments children experience. There is evidence that access to natural environments such as woodlands can offer health benefits, especially in relation to mental wellbeing, and support healthy child development. In addition, it appears that more socially disadvantaged people may gain most from improved opportunities to visit and enjoy urban forests and other natural environments. We plan to provide evidence on the effectiveness of practical ways in which forestry can be used to benefit such populations. Our study examines whether existing programmes for urban forestry, such as Scottish Forestry's (formerly known as Forestry Commission Scotland) Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme, are effective in their aims of improving community wellbeing and quality of life by bringing neglected urban woodland near deprived urban communities into active management and working with local people to help them use their local woodland.
We are taking advantage of new opportunities to link existing population, health and child development data for a large number of people, together with data on WIAT projects that have been undertaken near where these people live at any point in a ten year period (2005-2015). This will be done in a secure and ethically approved manner so that there is no risk of individuals or their personal data being identifiable. It is an exciting opportunity because of the high quality data available across a representative sample of Scotland's population; for the first time we can link information such as prescriptions data for anti-depressants, or child gross and fine motor skills development, with data on the location, cost, timing and extent of a national urban forestry programme. The results will indicate whether, for example, the extent of new footpaths and improved forest entrances, alongside activities to bring children and adults into the forest, makes a difference to health and child development outcomes for people living near the urban forest. We'll look at whether benefits from WIAT are experienced only by those living very close to the forest, how long it takes for any benefits to appear after a WIAT project is completed, whether benefits are sustained and whether there are differences in benefit according to people's age, gender, or socio-economic status.
Our findings will be published not only in academic journals but also in ways that are most helpful for different stakeholders, from forest and land managers and environmental agencies to health and child development policymakers. We will be working closely with Scottish Forestry and other public agencies across the UK and Europe to find the best ways of doing this. We'll also make our findings accessible to local communities and the wider public. Ultimately, we hope that urban communities will benefit from better evidence as to how government departments and public and private agencies can support people's access to urban forests to support their, and their children's, wellbeing and quality of life.
So our focus is on urban forestry and how to provide better evidence of the contributions it can make to human wellbeing, child development and health equity. Our increasingly urban population is experiencing rising levels of mental illness and non-communicable disease; in addition, there is concern about the long-term effects of urban living on the kinds of environments children experience. There is evidence that access to natural environments such as woodlands can offer health benefits, especially in relation to mental wellbeing, and support healthy child development. In addition, it appears that more socially disadvantaged people may gain most from improved opportunities to visit and enjoy urban forests and other natural environments. We plan to provide evidence on the effectiveness of practical ways in which forestry can be used to benefit such populations. Our study examines whether existing programmes for urban forestry, such as Scottish Forestry's (formerly known as Forestry Commission Scotland) Woods In and Around Towns (WIAT) programme, are effective in their aims of improving community wellbeing and quality of life by bringing neglected urban woodland near deprived urban communities into active management and working with local people to help them use their local woodland.
We are taking advantage of new opportunities to link existing population, health and child development data for a large number of people, together with data on WIAT projects that have been undertaken near where these people live at any point in a ten year period (2005-2015). This will be done in a secure and ethically approved manner so that there is no risk of individuals or their personal data being identifiable. It is an exciting opportunity because of the high quality data available across a representative sample of Scotland's population; for the first time we can link information such as prescriptions data for anti-depressants, or child gross and fine motor skills development, with data on the location, cost, timing and extent of a national urban forestry programme. The results will indicate whether, for example, the extent of new footpaths and improved forest entrances, alongside activities to bring children and adults into the forest, makes a difference to health and child development outcomes for people living near the urban forest. We'll look at whether benefits from WIAT are experienced only by those living very close to the forest, how long it takes for any benefits to appear after a WIAT project is completed, whether benefits are sustained and whether there are differences in benefit according to people's age, gender, or socio-economic status.
Our findings will be published not only in academic journals but also in ways that are most helpful for different stakeholders, from forest and land managers and environmental agencies to health and child development policymakers. We will be working closely with Scottish Forestry and other public agencies across the UK and Europe to find the best ways of doing this. We'll also make our findings accessible to local communities and the wider public. Ultimately, we hope that urban communities will benefit from better evidence as to how government departments and public and private agencies can support people's access to urban forests to support their, and their children's, wellbeing and quality of life.
Organisations
Publications
Description | TCPA/Green Infrastructure Partnership conference: Hope for the future: why caring for green infrastructure is vital for thriving people and places |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
Impact | A conference attended live by 230 participants, mostly from local authorities, and a further 300 signed up to view recordings of presentations, with the aim of helping local authorities to better manage their green infrastructure resource and be equipped with the scientific arguments for benefits arising from investment in green infrastructure, especially for public health and wellbeing. |
URL | https://www.tcpa.org.uk/event/hope-for-the-future/ |
Description | GroundsWell: Community-engaged and Data-informed Systems Transformation of Urban Green and Blue Space for Population Health |
Amount | £7,116,894 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MR/V049704/1 |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2021 |
End | 09/2026 |
Description | 49th Spanish National Congress of Parks and Public Gardens (PARJAP) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | 'Healthy Parks and Open Space: the Salutogenic Environment'. Invited keynote to 49th Spanish National Congress of Parks and Public Gardens (PARJAP) on theme of 'Parks and Gardens - Natural Health Systems', Asociación Española de Parques y Jardines Públicos (AEPJP), Madrid 2023, 15-17th February 2023. Presented to an international (but mostly Spanish) audience of c. 200 parks, gardens and public open space planners and managers, public authority representatives and a few academics. https://twitter.com/AEPJP/status/1625957285775257601 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.aepjp.es/parjap-2023/ |
Description | Cambridge Zero Climate Change Festival 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Environments for Mental Wellbeing: Salutogenic Landscapes. Invited talk as part of Cambridge Zero Climate Change Festival 2022, organised by Cambridge Public Health, on the theme of 'Climate change - what's health got to do with it?' 14th October 2022. (Presented online to a virtual audience of 6 panellists and 24 academics and policy-makers/advisors.) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://climatechangefestival.zero.cam.ac.uk/ |
Description | Development of a Scottish Open Space and Health Outcome Framework |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Invited participation in a workshop chaired by Public Health Scotland to contribute to development of an Open Space and Health Outcome Framework. This will contribute to Scottish Government Open Space Strategy guidance and subsequently help local authorities in the development of open space strategies to ensure these maximise health benefits and consider the impact on health inequalities. Identifying the outcomes and the routes by which to achieve these will both help inform local decision-making and support monitoring and evaluation. The first workshop was held on 2nd February 2022 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | EFRA Urban Green Spaces Inquiry |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Attendance as invited expert witness at Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Urban Green Spaces Oral Evidence Session 2, House of Commons parliamentary inquiry, Westminster, London. There were 5 members of the committee present, plus the chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, several support staff/ and a Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology Fellow to assist. The session was filmed and streamed on Parliament Live TV, and the recording made freely available afterwards on the UK Parliamentary website for the public. The transcript is also freely available via the same website. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/8f0b4a81-e9e7-42d7-aba1-07be3fb46f57 |
Description | Ecotones - UK/S Korea connections |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Urban park design and conservation, inclusive access to outdoor environments, and salutogenic landscape design Invited contribution presented to Ecotones: Soundscapes of Trees research network workshop, funded by an ESRC/AHRC and a UK/South Korea Connections Grant. Glasgow, 26th July 2022. (c. 8 academic and practitioner attendees (limited due to COVID) from UK and Korea). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Introduction to evaluability assessment |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Rich Mitchell gave a talk to SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) on nature and health, and particularly on evaluability assessment as a key part of the process of identifying impacts of interventions. Subsequent dialogue took place and SEPA have now earmarked budget and plans to take EA forward for their river realignment projects. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | SLU Landscape Architecture 50th anniversary talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Landscape architecture in the 21st century - creating salutogenic environments. Invited keynote presentation to the Landscape Architecture department of Swedish Agricultural University (SLU), as part of the 50th Anniversary celebrations of their Landscape Architecture Programme, given as part of the 'Landscape Days' event, Alnarp, Sweden,12th-13th October 2022. (C. 40 attendees, mostly faculty of the University). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |