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Mental Vitality: Assessing the Impact of a Walk in the Woods

Mental Vitality: Assessing the Impact of a

Walk in the Woods

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the

Professional Doctorate in Education at

London South Bank University

August 2015

Revised April 2016

Mark F. Bowen

Dissertation Committee:

Prof. Stephen Lerman

Prof. Paula Reavey

DEDICATION

Dedicated to the furtherment of Ecopsychology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank Professors Lerman and Reavey for their expert and tireless

guidance in this dissertation process. Additionally, the entire team of professors at

LSBU who instructed us illuminated my path and opened up new ways of thinking

during the programme and for that I am very grateful.

Additionally, I would like to thank my focus group of students who provided feedback

and advice on my initial research proposal and helped shape my final research

project: Amilee Bishop, Julia Colleluori, Emma Imbert and Yunting Huang.

And finally, I thank my ever-so-patient partner, Gabriel English, who ended up with

many, many weekends of my household chores so that I could focus on completing

this dissertation.

iii

ABSTRACT

As pressures mount in the world, they take a toll upon our mental and physical

capacities. A foundational principle of ecopsychology is that connection with nature

positively impacts our mental and psychological health and well-being. While much

research has focused on children and adults, no research into the influence of nature

specifically targeting 16-18 year olds has been conducted. Additionally, this doctoral

dissertation addressed the calls from literature and the gaps in the knowledge base

regarding employing just one independent variable and one dependent variable in

ecopsychology nature walk research. Existing commentaries are critical of many

extant research projects which have sought to measure too many outcomes (in their

opinion) in one study. Mixed methods research was justified and employed based

upon the researcher’s philosophy and the goals of the research project. This

investigation examined the effect of nature walks on a population of 16-18 year olds -

- students at an international school, or Third Culture Kids (TCKs), defined as a child

living outside of their parents’ native culture, a further novel innovation in this area of

research. This study measured one aspect of mental vitality, that of mental acuity.

Using the d2 Test of Attention as a quantitative measure to evaluate the impact of

regular nature walks and personal reflection journals as a qualitative measure, this

study found a significant improvement in participants’ mental acuity in both the

quantitative and qualitative results after a regular, twice weekly, 40 to 60 minute

duration nature walk intervention. Implementation of nature walks into schools is

highly recommended to benefit students’ psychological health and well-being.

Recommendations for additional research are also suggested.

Table of Contents

Dedication………….………………………………………………………………………...i

Acknowledgments..……………………………………………………………………...ii

Abstract……………….………………………………………………………….…………...iii

Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………..iv

Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………...1

Chapter 2: Literature Review………………………………………………………...13

Chapter 3: Methodology………………………………………………………...…....72

Chapter 4: Results………………………………………………………………………….100

Chapter 5: Discussion…………………………………………………………..…….....123

Chapter 6: Conclusion……………………………………………………………....…..131

List of References……………………………………………………………………….….135

Appendix I: Publicity Poster…………………………………………………..……….144

Appendix II: Initial Information Sheet……………………………………………..145

Appendix III: Informed Consent……………………………………………………...146

Appendix IV: Weekly Theme Handouts……………………………………..…...149

Appendix V: Debriefing Document……………………………………………..…..151

Appendix VI: d2 Answer Sheet…………………………………………………….….152

Appendix VII: d2 Instructions…………………………………………………….…...154

Appendix VIII: Word Analysis………………………………………………………....157

Appendix IX: Raw Data/Inferential Statistics…………………………..………162

Appendix X: Two Participants’ Full Journal Entries………………………….165

Chapter 1

Introduction

"As long as this exists," I thought, "and I may live to see it, this

sunshine, the cloudless skies, while this lasts, I cannot be unhappy."

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go

outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens,

nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it

should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple

beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I

know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever

the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings

solace in all troubles.

-- Anne Frank, excerpt from The Diary of a Young Girl.

So wrote Anne Frank during her ordeal before she and her family were discovered

by the Nazis. Her insight and analysis reflects the common wisdom shared by

humans regarding the positive effects nature can have on the human psyche and

well-being. As with many other subjects of “common knowledge,” until the past 40 to

50 years, these ideas were not subjected to scientific methodology. But the concept

of nature influencing not only mental, but physical, health has had a long intuitive

influence even in the absence of empirical evidence over time.

As recently as 2003, for example, a comprehensive UK government White Paper

could reliably note: “Intuition and experience seem to support the notion that nature

contact should be seen as a positive health intervention, yet health professionals

have not yet widely adopted horticulture, wilderness, nature or animal therapy….It is,

in other words, insufficiently evidence-based”. (Pretty, Griffin, Sellens & Pretty, 2003,

p. 21). The report continues with a critique of much of the published research in this

area as being not well designed and therefore not reliable enough to establish a

cause and effect relationship.

This present research project sought to examine the specific effect of nature walks

on the participants’ psychological health and well-being by examining cognitive

functioning using both quantitative and qualitative measures.

Historical Precedent

Restorative gardens and natural areas were key parts of infirmaries and hospitals

going back to the Middle Ages in Europe. Marcus and Barnes (1999) recount the

inclusion of these features beginning with the writings of Saint Bernard as far back

as the twelfth century CE to illustrate the origins in Western culture in places of

healing. (Marcus and Barnes, 1999). Marcus, writing alone the following year states:

“In past centuries, green nature, sunlight and fresh air were seen as essential

components of healing in settings ranging from medieval monastic infirmaries, to

19th century pavilion-style hospitals, to early 20th century asylums and sanatoria”.

(Marcus, 2000, p. 461).

As Enlightenment and scientific revolution ideals took hold and spread, the approach

to treating the mentally ill, then known as the “insane,” affected treatment protocols.

Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride, who served as Superintendent of the Pennsylvania

Hospital for the Insane from 1841 to 1883 believed that surroundings and

environment could have a complementary effect on the healing process:

Kirkbride’s principles of design for moral treatment of the insane came to be

known as the Kirkbride Plan, and influenced the design of virtually all

American mental institutions in the late nineteenth and early twentieth

centuries…...And he believed in beauty. In his 1854 On the Construction,

Organization and General Arrangements of Hospitals for the Insane, he wrote,

‘The surrounding scenery should be of varied and attractive kind and the

neighborhood should possess numerous objects of an agreeable and

interesting character.’ The hospital building had to be situated so as to assure

views from every window, especially from the parlors and rooms where

patients congregated during the day. Flowers were to be grown in

greenhouses, and picked daily to decorate the halls and common areas of the

hospital. (Sternberg, 2009, p. 232).

But as the 19th century progressed into the 20th century and society became less

comfortable with the visibility of those with mental health issues, these principles

were abandoned. Mental institutions returned to the status of near prison like

conditions.

However, there has been a resurgence of these healing principles through

Ecopsychology in the 21st century which affirms that Kirkbride’s basic principles

should still be followed for maximum complementary benefits which have been found

to improve emotional outlook and mood. It is noted that these design features should

be included in all health care facilities be it for mental or physical health. More and

more research is acknowledging that simply attending to the physical parts of healing

is not enough but that there is a psychological component to any injury which the

body receives, which has long been unacknowledged or ignored (Sternberg, 2009).

And in the treatment of purely medical (as opposed to mental) conditions, there was

a parallel development in hospitals, with a prominent advocate like Florence

Nightingale.

After the war, she was a major proponent of British architect Henry Currey (the

designer of St. Thomas Hospital in 1868). It was based upon the pavilion principle

which originated with French architect Bernard Poyet, drawing upon the natural

sunlight, ventilation and airiness even in the absence of other natural elements due

to its location in urban London. In Poyet’s designs he incorporated large bays of

windows with long hallways to facilitate airflow, placed the sanitary facilities well

away from the patients, and located each bed near a window bay (Sternberg, 2009).

Nightingale’s ideas and concepts crossed the Atlantic and were incorporated into the

design of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Canada in 1893. Features were incorporated

such as twelve foot ceilings and large windows to allow sunlight and air into the

public wing and maternity wards, while affording views of the hillsides and woods

with the express intent of allowing patients to view nature. The nearby Children’s

Hospital included allowing the children outdoor time within their limitations which was

seen as crucial for their healing (Sternberg, 2009).

The relationship between stress reduction and viewing nature scenes was

demonstrated empirically shortly after Ulrich’s ground-breaking 1984 study detailing

accelerated recovery from surgery for subjects who had a nature view during

recovery. Ulrich et al. (1991) designed an experiment to artificially stress participants

through the viewing of a video and then viewing one of six “recovery” videos -- two of

nature scenes and four urban. 120 undergraduate volunteers (60 male/60 female)

participated and had 4 physiological measures taken immediately before and

throughout the viewing of the videos. These were Electrocardiogram (EKG), pulse

transit time (PTT), spontaneous skin conductance responding (SCR), and frontalis

muscle tension (EMG). “The results strongly support the conclusion that recuperation

was faster and more complete when subjects were exposed to natural settings rather

than the various urban environments”. (p. 222).

And right up to the current day, the importance of the environment in helping to

reduce stress to improve healing can be seen in Maggie’s Centres throughout the

UK and around the world. Charles Jencks, along with his late wife Maggie Keswick

Jencks, formed the charity to encourage complementary therapeutic treatments

incorporating features championed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry. “The

architect Charles Jencks, when interviewed in a PBS television documentary

directed by Sydney Pollack, said that Gehry ‘is committed to a notion of an

architecture that relates to healing.’ Jencks should know. Gehry designed a tranquil,

restorative refuge in memory of Jencks’ wife, Maggie Keswick, who died of cancer.

This small, whimsical, modernist building, reminiscent of a thatched-roof cottage, is

set in the rolling countryside near Dundee, Scotland, and is one of a series of

Maggie’s Centres designed by master architects. It is filled with places for reflection,

and provides views of the peaceful hills all around”. (Sternberg, 2009, p. 166).

Early Psychologists’ Views on Nature

“You must go in quest of yourself, and you will find yourself again only

in the simple and forgotten things. Why not go into the forest for a time,

literally? Sometimes a tree tells you more than can be read in books.”

The Earth Has a Soul: C. G. Jung on Nature, Technology & Modern

Life ed. by Sabini

After psychology had become a separate discipline from philosophy in the latter part

of the 19th century, two influential popular figures were Sigmund Freud and Carl

Jung. Their theoretical formulations are considered less scientific nowadays than

later psychologists as many of their concepts were built upon anecdotal data, but the

quote above emerges from Jung’s experience with Analytical Psychology. And, while

still anecdotal, is an opinion moving closer from simply “common knowledge” to that

of an experienced psychologist. Jung believed in an intimate inter-relationship

between each human being and the world around them. His admonition recognizes

the same common wisdom humans seem to instinctively know: that contact with

nature can make us “feel better.” This innate feeling is many times at direct odds

with our current age, however, as the number of people dwelling in cities and having

little contact with nature is at a record level, replaced by increasing contact with

virtual reality and technology (Pergams and Zaradic, 2008).

Consequently, humankind is facing increasing physical and psychological challenges

from the accelerating pace of modern life -- from the overwhelming quantities of

information inundating individuals during 24 hours of each day, to the constant

sensory stimuli from a variety of media, including mp3 players, televisions, mobile

phones, and the Internet. Meanwhile, social pressure within the workplace to

increase effort contributes to additional mental fatigue. The cumulative effect of

these has been observed to take a toll on an individual’s physical health,

concentration, alertness and focus (American Psychological Association, 2013;

Bratman, Hamilton and Daily, 2012; Buzell and Chalquist, 2015; Kaplan and Kaplan

1989; Tennessen and Cimprich 1995; van den Berg, Hartig & Staats, 2007).

While there are various approaches and strategies to address these issues,

ecopsychology is the specialization within psychology in which the disconnection of

the individual/patient from nature is seen to contribute to her/his problem; the

counterbalance indicates that the reconnection of the individual with nature is part of

the solution (Roszak, 1992). Ecopsychology is influenced by biophilia which is

defined as “...a human dependence on nature that extends far beyond the simple

issues of material and physical sustenance to encompass as well the human craving

for aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive, and even spiritual meaning and satisfaction”

(Kellert and Wilson, 1993, p. 20) and leads to healthiness and wellness, but

conversely, can lead to various forms of dysfunction -- if there is a disconnect from

nature.

Many subdisciplines of psychology also recognize a nature-psyche connection, even

if their main focus is not ecopsychology. Gardner (2006) in his Multiple Intelligences

theory proposes a naturalistic intelligence which suggests a human cognitive

connection to nature. Psychodynamic theorists also note a strong connection

between nature and psychological health (Jordan 2009). Maslow, a key humanistic

theorist, includes place-based elements in the two basic levels of needs:

physiological and safety. Elements in both of these include the need for physical

shelter and the ability to feel safe and secure (or attached) to the place in order to be

psychologically healthy (Maslow, 1943). Louv (2005) focused on the lack of

connection to nature with a number of psychological conditions among children, and

similar to Roszak, proposes that at least a part of the solution is helping children to

interact with nature more frequently. This disconnection from nature has been further

documented by Pergams and Zaradic (2008, p. 2295) where “...all major lines of

evidence point to an ongoing and fundamental shift away from nature-based

recreation.” And disturbingly, the shift appears to be because of videophilia -- defined

as overly attached to televisions and tablets -- placing further distance between

humans and nature. Orr (2004) reflects on the importance for each of us to connect

with nature, “I do not know whether it is possible to love the planet or not, but I do

know that it is possible to love the places we can see, touch, smell, and experience”.

(ebook Loc. 1786).

Contemporary Structural Obstacles

But current thought questions the ability of humankind to solve the environmental

problems facing the world today due to both a willful disregard of the underlying

causes as well as the basic economic structure of the world. Commenting on the

plethora of environmental problems constantly surrounding us, Orr (2004) reflects:

“These facts only appear to be random. In truth, they are not random at all but part of

a larger pattern that includes shopping malls and deforestation, glitzy suburbs and

ozone holes, crowded freeways and climate change, overstocked supermarkets and

soil erosion, a gross national product in excess of $5 trillion and superfund sites, and

technological wonders and insensate violence. In reality there is no such thing as a

“side effect” or an “externality.” These things are threads of a whole cloth. The fact

that we see them as disconnected events or fail to see them at all is, I believe,

evidence of a considerable failure that we have yet to acknowledge as an

educational failure. It is a failure to educate people to think broadly, to perceive

systems and patterns, and to live as a whole person”. (p. 91).

Orr, 2004, continues in his introduction to dissect this continued duality of thought

where humankind acknowledges grave environmental issues while continuing to

engage in destructive behaviours in this introduction to a collection of essays

regarding the interaction of the mind and nature:

They are joined by the belief that the environmental crisis originates with the

inability to think about ecological patterns, systems of causation, and the long-

term effects of human actions. Eventually these are manifested as soil

erosion, species extinction, deforestation, ugliness, pollution, social decay,

injustice, and economic inefficiencies. In contrast, what can be called

ecological design intelligence (italics original) is the capacity to understand the

ecological context in which humans live, to recognize limits, and to get the

scale of things right. It is the ability to calibrate human purposes and natural

constraints and do so with grace and economy. Ecological design intelligence

is not just about things like technologies; it also has to do with the shape and

dimension of our ideas and philosophies relative to the earth. At its heart

ecological design intelligence is motivated by an ethical view of the world and

our obligations to it. On occasion it requires the good sense and moral energy

to say no to things otherwise possible and, for some, profitable. The surest

signs of ecological design intelligence are collective achievements: healthy,

durable, resilient, just and prosperous communities. (p. 104).

Koger and Winter in 2010 add further commentary to this phenomenon of denial:

“Somehow, people must split off their awareness so that they understand

environmental problems and yet forget them at the same time. Apparently, people do

not behave as intelligently and consciously as they think they do. These

considerations lead us to consider the enormous contributions of psychoanalytic

psychology, and its founder Sigmund Freud, the first and most influential

psychologist to theorize about the unconscious”. (p. 63).

One suggestion is that the very foundation of the Western mindset perpetuates the

misuse of the natural world and resources: “In this way, Western thinking is

dominated by a line -- of progress, of power, and of consciousness (or closeness to

God). The line is a potent basis of modernist visions. It sanctions and promotes the

idea of growth, which is good, and diminishes the value of sustainability, which is

stagnation. The line promotes resource extraction, production, consumption and

waste to the detriment of finding ways to reuse waste as food for the next

cycle….Here our point is that people in industrialized societies are deeply wedded to

the hope of progress, improvement, growth, ascendance, and enhancement”. (Koger

and Winter, 2010, p. 56). With a defining philosophy such as this, then, the very

foundation of the definition of success in Western society would exclude the concept

of something being “merely” sustainable, and in fact, make sustainability

undesirable.

This theme -- the suggested incompatibility of acting to prevent further climate

change with capitalism -- has been picked up and analysed fully in a book-length

examination by Naomi Klein (2014) This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The

Climate. In this detailed analysis, Klein points out the fundamental incompatibility

between capitalism and ecologically sensible policies. She calls attention to the

disconnect between the core tenets of capitalism which include ever-expanding

markets and unlimited resources and the realities of the world. Indeed, so many

resources are very limited, while many other resources are reaching the end of their

supply or becoming so polluted as to be unusable. Climate change is wreaking

havoc on areas of the world and presently the state of California in America is

experiencing its worst drought in history, highlighting the devastating effects that

continuing to follow market principles has on the environment. She can confidently

conclude: “Right now, the triumph of market logic, with its ethos of domination and

fierce competition is paralyzing almost all serious efforts to respond to climate

change”. (p. 23).

Given these challenges, is there evidence to support the concept of nature contact

being beneficial to human psychological health and well-being?

Study Development

This modest research project has attempted to study the intersection of nature and

its various restorative influences upon the human psyche. There is much intuitive

knowledge that informs humankind’s opinions regarding the beneficial effects of

nature-related experiences on human health and well-being, but gaps exist in the

literature to support this intuitive understanding with empirically-based evidence. The

effect on mental functioning of direct contact with nature in the form of nature walks

is what the present project undertook to examine. Responding to calls in the

literature for narrowly focused research projects, only one independent variable and

one dependent variable were studied -- the nature walk and a measure of mental

functioning, respectively.

The target population group for this study has been 16-18 year old students. This

has been an overlooked population in previous research studies which have tended

to either focus on children up to about age 16 or university age and higher adults.

Further, a subset of this group, students at an international school, were examined.

This is because while developmentally all 16-18 year olds are defining themselves

and making connections, students at an international school may in fact feel less

connection to the world around them because of their peripatetic lifestyle situations.

Contact with nature could also enhance their grounding and identity as they

continued to grow and develop, in addition to the psychologically restorative effects

on cognitive functioning.

Therefore, the research questions to be examined are:

To what extent do nature walks have a positive impact upon psychological

health specifically cognitive attention?

How do participants describe the nature walk experience?

Organization of Dissertation

There are six chapters to this dissertation. Chapter 1 contains the research question

and sets the topic in context. Chapter 2 discusses relevant background research and

related-field research. Chapter 3 presents theoretical and practical methodology

principles. Results are detailed in Chapter 4, while Chapter 5 interprets the results

and Chapter 6 discusses practical implications and recommendations for further

research.

Chapter 2

Literature Review

In this chapter, I will examine the literature relevant to the background of the current

study. I will also provide working definitions for the concepts being explored. The

topic of the impact of nature upon psychological health and well-being is by definition

cross-disciplinary and so correlates and precursors from a wide variety of fields will

be examined. This chapter will be subdivided into General Background and Topic

Specific Research sections.

Following this review, the limitations from prior studies will be identified as well as the

knowledge gaps which emerged and will be presented along with the research

question and hypothesis. Finally, key terms will be identified and defined.

General Background Studies and Antecedents

Philosophical Foundations: Evolutionary Psychology and/Biophilia

Many practicing ecopsychologists feel that Ecopsychology itself draws inspiration

from another subfield of psychology, that of Evolutionary psychology. Sampson, in a

chapter written in 2012, makes explicit this connection and proposes the Topophilia

Hypothesis which he defines as humans’ innate desire to bond with a local place

including both living and nonliving elements. Evolutionary psychology examines

characteristics of the human psyche through the lens of humankind’s evolutionary

development. By examining contemporary human experiences and comparing that

with a variety of historical sources including both anthropological and archaeological

evidence, logical conclusions can be drawn as to how and why humans behave

currently, and in the past, and the evolutionary path that connect the two.

One hypothesis arising from evolutionary psychology is the Biophilia hypothesis.

Biophilia entered into the lexicon of psychology with Erich Fromm. For Fromm, it was

a more general term: “Biophilia means, of course, love of life. For Fromm, biophilia is

the essence of humanitarian ethics, which is the central theme of every one of his

books”. (Eckardt, 1992, p. 233).

Edward O. Wilson, explaining his expanded concept of biophilia in his 1984 book

Biophilia, defines it as “the innate tendency to focus on life and lifelike

processes….We learn to distinguish life from the inanimate and move toward it like

moths to a porch light…...to explore and affiliate with life is a deep and complicated

process in mental development.” (Wilson, 1984, p. 1-2). He thus locates the

propensity of human beings to affiliate with nature and nature-like settings with our

evolutionary history.

In a follow up volume edited by Kellert entitled the Biophilia Hypothesis, the

explanation was expanded to note that the innate dependence on nature evolved in

our species and manifests itself in every level of human functioning: affective,

cognitive, spiritual, and physical, and therefore should affect our species desire to

preserve and conserve the natural environment. (Kellert, 1995).

Besides this innate attachment, what are the specific mechanisms that are proposed

that engender this continued appreciation and attachment to nature? One such

explanation involves a “re-balancing” of internal thoughts and feelings. In a

beautifully poetic passage Kellert (2003) observes: “Perceiving beauty in nature can

engender feelings of harmony, balance, and symmetry, no matter how fleeting or

even illusory these feelings may be. Certain elements of the natural world offer a

model of perfection in form. We discern unity and symmetry in the brilliance of a

colorful butterfly or crane, the flowering of a desert cactus or rose, the funneling of

breaking waves, the grandeur of snow-capped mountains, the breaching of

humpback whales, the bugling of elk at the height of their breeding impulse. Each

suggests a glimpse of perfection in a world where frailty, shortcoming, and chaos

often seem normative. These encounters may be infrequent, but they occur with

sufficient regularity to suggest an ideal of perfection in nature and life”. (p. 36).

Wilson focuses on the concept of “wonder” in humankind’s interactions with nature:

“Now to the very heart of wonder. Because species diversity was created prior to

humanity, and because we evolved within it, we have never fathomed its limits. As a

consequence, the living world is the natural domain of the most restless and

paradoxical part of the human spirit. Our sense of wonder grows exponentially: the

greater the knowledge, the deeper the mystery and the more we seek knowledge to

create new mystery. This catalytic reaction, seemingly an inborn human trait, draws

us perpetually forward in a search for new places and new life. Nature is to be

mastered, but (we hope) never completely. A quiet passion burns, not for total

control but for the sensation of constant advance”. (Wilson, 1984, p. 10).

While humankind has made vast progress in the last 10,000 years, moving from

hunter gatherer tribes, to modern day urban dwellers for the most part, our

evolutionary psychology has yet to catch up; humankind still essentially is wired to

live out among nature. Our natural environment has to have had an impression upon

our cognitive and emotional abilities. “This process is referred to as a gene-culture

coevolution wherein a certain genotype makes a behavioural response more likely”.

(Gullone, 2000, p. 295).

As with other concepts within evolutionary psychology, biophilia proves challenging

to be able to test empirically. By the very nature of the discipline, extant evidence

and records are consulted and conclusions drawn which do not lend themselves to

testability. However, Kahn in 1997 designed a research project directly based upon

testing the biophilia hypothesis with children. In a cross cultural study of children

conducted by Kahn in 1997 in the USA, Canada and Brazil, children were

interviewed concerning their level of awareness, knowledge and appreciation of

nature which data could then be used to conclude about biophilia. “Empirically, my

collaborative research supports the biophilia hypothesis, and fleshes it out

developmentally. Our research, for example, reveals ways in which children have an

abiding affiliation with nature, even in economically impoverished urban communities

where such affiliations seem least likely…..Thus, in line with the biophilia hypothesis,

it may be that there are aspects of nature itself, that help give rise to children’s

environmental constructions”. (Kahn, 1997, p. 54).

But multiple other branches of psychology also lend support to this intricate

relationship between nature and the human psyche. In Cognitive psychology, for

example, Howard Gardner in modifying his Multiple Intelligences theory, proposes a

naturalist intelligence. He feels that the “...the evidence for the existence of a

naturalist intelligence is surprisingly persuasive”. (Gardner, 2006, p. 18). This

intelligence involves the ability to “distinguish the diverse plants, animals, mountains,

or cloud configurations in their ecological niche”. (p. 19).

Psychodynamic theorists also have noted a relationship between “person and

planet” (Jordan, 2009, p. 26). Essential to this theory is a healthy and secure

development of the concept of self and others. According to this perspective, those

who do not, may experience psychological issues. In the contemporary expanding

view of “others,” attention has been directed to the inclusion of the nonhuman

environment in this description. “...(N)ature can be seen as representing a secure

base, an aspect of both our internal and external relational world that can provide

great comfort”. (p. 28).

Ecopsychology: Counterculture Movement to Mainstream Science

Ecopsychology began its re-emergence into mainstream science and psychology in

the 1990’s. One major stream of influence that contributed to Ecopsychology was

Psychoecology, a term coined by Robert Greenway in a 1963 essay he published at

Brandeis University (Schroll, no date). In the 1960’s and 1970’s, however, while

psychoecology had a scientific following, it also became a movement embraced by

the counterculture movement which therefore diluted its scientific bona fides. It was

not until 1992, though, when a graduate student of Greenway’s had begun a

discussion group about psychoecology in California that attracted the notice of

Theodore Roszak, who in turn published an essay and then a book in 1992 entitled

The Voice of the Earth, that it began its truly scientific rise. In it Roszak

communicated his view of Ecopsychology, perhaps wanting to avoid the possibility of

being called a “Psycho Ecologist!” The movement then began its slow scientific

resurrection. (Schroll, no date).

Ecopsychology continued to plod along until a kind of convergence of a variety of

factors. During the first decade of the 2000’s, it became apparent that the predictions

of seeming doom and gloom about the future of the environment were indeed

coming true. Al Gore toured the United States and parts of the world, raising

awareness of the reality of the environmental crisis approaching largely through his

“An Inconvenient Truth” tour. And a professional peer-reviewed journal entitled

“Ecopsychology” was founded in 2009. These events propelled the status of

ecopsychology from a little-known subdiscipline of psychology with New Age ties to

the mainstream of psychology as a full-fledged reputable part of mainstream

psychology.

Divisions still remained, however. Those who had joined the “ecopsychology

movement” and had little interest in the science side did not go away. And there

remain basic philosophical differences even among the scientists in the discipline,

but it has emerged to be the force it hoped to become to help both the environment

and people’s psychological health and well-being at the same time by raising

awareness that these two things are not at all unrelated, but rather actually intimately

interrelated to one another for the health of both (Doherty, 2009).

The intimate relationship between nature and healing was explored by Hegarty in

2010. In his article he notes that “Nature-connectedness is a core concept in

ecopsychology” (p. 64). He states that it is difficult to design research specifically to

test the hypothesis of the positive benefits of nature on psychological health because

of the possibility of so many confounding variables. So, he designed a “qualitative,

narrative, and ethnographic” (p. 66) study to try to overcome those issues. He

sampled the opinions of two groups regarding the participants’ nature

connectedness, disconnectedness, and connectedness and self-healing. The two

sample groups were “17 members of a European research group on ‘green care and

health’” and “26 university postgraduate counselling students ranging in age from 22-

62 years”. (p. 67). While acknowledging the inbuilt bias in the samples, he believes it

is still indicative of “the notion that connectedness to nature is a concept that is in at

least some people’s everyday experience and that they can relate it to their health”.

(p. 79). In response to the first question which all participants responded to regarding

connectedness to nature, “The positive emotional tone runs through all the

contributions to Question 1”. (p. 69). His findings regarding the second question

which dealt with nature disconnectedness and which was answered by all

participants were: “The answers to Question 2 hint at those to the final question,

showing that people found nature-contact personally meaningful and emotionally

valuable”. (p. 75). The third question asked the participants to consider the

relationship of nature and their own well-being. This was a semi-structured question

in that there was a Likert scale with room for additional comments. “Thirty-eight of

the 43 respondents ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ with the statement….’Being

connected with the natural world is a positive force for healing’”. (pp. 75-6). Question

4 was open ended to expand upon their standardized answer in question 3.

“Furthermore, their responses show that some individuals regularly seek out nature-

experiences to help their emotional or physical health, or link a nature-connected

experience to an important psychological time in their life”. (p. 79). He concludes:

“Based on the data reported here, nature-connected experiences seem to be

strongly emotional, and positively so. Emotions include not only relaxing and

pleasant ones but also those which are described as religious”. (p. 80). Thus this

empirical research strongly supports the biophilia hypothesis, as well as nature-

based interventions to improve psychological health and well-being as advocated by

ecopsychology.

The focused attention on the influence of environmental factors on various aspects

of human health and well-being is giving rise to new fields of study and

specializations. This includes, for example, the discipline of acoustic ecology. While

it had precursors in the 1960’s, similar to ecopsychology, it has garnered much more

attention and involvement, particularly since 2000, when its peer-reviewed journal,

The Journal of Acoustic Ecology, was launched. One of the major ways in which the

surrounding environment is mediated to human beings is through the sounds

received by each of our acoustic receptors -- or ears. And this particular discipline

examines both the positive and negative impacts that sound from the surrounding

environment, and the interpretation of sound, can have on our well-being (Wrightson,

2000).

Turning to children specifically, in 2002, the issue of the importance of the

consideration of the various influences that environment can have on children, was

examined by Isenberg and Quisenberry. They observed: “Outdoor play is

significantly different from indoor play. The outdoor environment permits noise,

movement, and greater freedom with raw materials, such as water, sand, dirt, and

construction materials.” (p. 35). While not directly addressing the specific benefits to

children of contact with nature, they do highlight the importance of outdoor play

which would be an underlying principle to that specific outdoor environment.

Richard Louv, in 2005, published a provocatively titled book, Last Child in the

Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder. His analysis connects

many contemporary behavioral and psychological “issues” among modern children

to their disconnection from nature:

The postmodern notion that reality is only a construct—that we are what we

program—suggests limitless human possibilities; but as the young spend less

and less of their lives in natural surroundings, their senses narrow,

physiologically and psychologically, and this reduces the richness of human

experience.

Yet, at the very moment that the bond is breaking between the young and the

natural world, a growing body of research links our mental, physical, and

spiritual health directly to our association with nature—in positive ways.

Several of these studies suggest that thoughtful exposure of youngsters to

nature can even be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit disorders

and other maladies. As one scientist puts it, we can now assume that just as

children need good nutrition and adequate sleep, they may very well need

contact with nature. (Louv, 2005, p. 3).

From this we can see, based upon empirical data and theoretical interpretation, that

there is an intimate connection between quality of psychological health and well-

being and connection with the natural environment. Nature-deficit disorder posits that

many modern psychological “issues” are nothing more than the requisite nature

connection which our psyches long for.

Indeed, a public service guide published by the USDA Forest service in 2010 cited

further research into the importance of outdoor activities for children and

recommends: “Educational theory suggests that contact with nature facilitates

children’s development of cognitive, emotional, and spiritual connections to social

and biophysical environments around them”. (Wolf and Flora, 2010, p. 3).

This concept was validated in a recent Annal of the New York Academy of Sciences

issue which focused on The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology 2012. One of

the reports reinforced this identical point: “As we move into cities and indoors at an

unprecedented rate, we are faced with a rapid disconnection from the natural world,

and this opens a suite of critical questions about repercussions for psychological

well-being”. (Bratman et al., 2012, p. 119).

A recent news story on the American National Public Radio show “All Things

Considered” covered an elementary school in the state of Vermont where a

kindergarten class spends every Monday out in the forest -- no matter the weather.

Called “Forest Monday” the teacher and the principal cite a plethora of benefits, not

the least of which are improvement in noncognitive skills such as persistence and

self-control. The classroom is a natural setting for contextualized learning and

according to the principal of the school, “When the kids come back from the woods,

they look healthy and happy” (Hanford, 2015) which is an anecdotal illustration of the

positive impact that nature can have on psychological well-being.

Emotional Benefits, Social Work, Place Attachment, and Political Science

While the previous section focused on some of the cognitive benefits involved with

nature and attention restoration, research is also being conducted into emotional

benefits of nature interactions. Building upon generations of “common knowledge”

regarding the importance of place, and in particular, nature in the role of healing and

healthiness, many related disciplines have contributed to, and benefit from, this

renewed attention to Ecopsychology.

Research by Marselle, Irvine and Warber from 2014 examined effects of nature

walks upon various affective measurements among a large sample (N=1516) of

mainly age 55+ individuals (88.3% of sample). They were able to support their

hypotheses that nature walk participants “reported significantly less depression,

perceived stress, and negative affect and significantly greater mental well-being and

positive affect than individuals who did not take part in the group walks”. (p. 141).

This result supports the efficacy of nature walks in helping humans with the affective

domains.

One example of an emergent discipline which has manifested in the academic field

of geography is medical geography. This is an evolving field which has become very

focused on the therapeutic value of certain places and the commonalities which they

share which seem to contribute to healing. “Symptomatic of such changes in the

discipline has been emergence of a significant body of research focused on the

relationship between place and varied therapeutic practices”. (Smyth, 2005, p. 488).

Examining the development of this discipline, Smyth recounts the history of the

discipline as beginning with examinations of places of “extraordinary” healing such

as Lourdes, Bath, etc. Throughout time, humans have associated healing properties

to basic elements such as water, fresh air, and landscapes. Indeed, one only needs

to consider the development of various institutions of healing going back to the 19th

century and beyond to see this influence. “The location of institutions of health care

has tended to reflect the ways that diseases and health are socially constructed. In

the nineteenth century, for example hospitals were designed to incorporate fresh air,

adequate daylight and low population densities (Gesler et al., 2004)...In essence,

philanthropists of the time sought to bring elements of rurality into the institution and

thereby, address the suspected cause of much illness, namely urban living“. (Smyth,

2005, p. 490). She concludes her article by observing that based upon emerging

research, planning spaces for therapeutic treatment can incorporate features to not

only cure disease but promote health.

One unique piece of research also ties into the concept of nature and place

attachment. As is discussed elsewhere regarding the population studied, Third

Culture Kids, these results can be highly relevant. “An element of emotional

happiness can be attributed to familiarity with place or place attachment. Processes

of attachment and emotion regulation are highly related…...The possible next step

may be to experience safety in the place, and feeling of security did indeed emerge

as a theme in the narratives reported by Morgan (2010). It may even be possible to

speak of the place as a secure base, and even nature itself as a secure

base…..People may enter into relationships with specific natural places, feel safe,

and feel soothed by being in a specific place”. (Johnsen, 2011, p. 180).

The issue of the interrelationship between the natural environment and our

psychological health and wellbeing is not confined to academia. An article in “Wired”

magazine in 2008 entitled “Clive Thompson on How the Next Victim of Climate

Change Will be our Minds” outlines the problems and challenges faced by individuals

as the natural environment around them changes. “Their environment is moving

away from them, and they miss it terribly” (Thompson, 2008). He goes on to

conclude that: “Ironically, we may simply be rediscovering a syndrome that we

thought was dead and buried. Back in the 1940s, the military considered

homesickness to be a serious and potentially fatal illness, because drafted soldiers

who got shipped overseas would often become savagely depressed…..Few of us

have the experience of being unmoored in the world”. (Thompson, 2008). Then in

2010, a New York Times Magazine piece further brought the matter to the general

public presenting the case for “solastalgia” which involves an involuntary break with

the surrounding natural environment due to external forces beyond the control of the

individual such as strip mining or mountaintop removal mining. The article recounted

in depth Glenn Albrecht’s pioneering work in the field and examined both supporters

and critics (Smith, 2010).

Back in academia, though, the emerging research indicates that at times it is

possible to become disconnected from one’s home “place” and nature without

leaving -- rather when the natural landscape is drastically changed or disrupted by

human interventions, such as coal mining or when it is affected by changing weather

patterns caused by human induced global warming. Albrecht, Sartore, Connor,

Higginbotham, Freeman, Kelly, Stain, Tonna and Pollard (2007) have proposed a

new condition known as solastalgia: “solastalgia is the distress that is produced by

environmental change impacting on people while they are directly connected to their

home environment”. (Albrecht et al., 2007, p. S95). They further propose that this

condition is a psychoterratic illness. “Psychoterratic illness is defined as earth-related

mental illness where people’s mental wellbeing (psyche) is threatened by the

severing of the ‘healthy’ links between themselves and their home/territory” (p. S95).

Research leading to this proposal came from two separate studies. In the first, 60

people in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales in Australia were

interviewed. This location was chosen in response to many local people in the

community reaching out to Dr. Albrecht complaining of symptoms which resembled

severe homesickness but paradoxically all of whom were still living at home. The

research team conducted key informant, community member, and group interviews.

What they found in common was that: “Their sense of place, their identity, physical

and mental health and general wellbeing were all challenged by unwelcome change”

(p. S96). Themes emerged which included: “the loss of ecosystem health and

corresponding sense of place, threats to personal health and wellbeing and a sense

of injustice and/or powerlessness”. (p. S96). This qualitative data was validated by

use of a quantitative instrument, the Environmental Distress Scale.

The Environmental Distress Scale (EDS) was validated in a separate work by

Higginbotham, Connor, Albrecht, Freeman and Agho in 2006. The purpose of the

development of the instrument was to offer a quantitative measure for the distress

associated with a changing environment -- where the subject has not changed, but

rather the ecological setting around them has. “The EDS is designed to measure

distress either from direct experience of environmental disturbance or from the

anticipation of potential disturbance…...In areas devastated by human and natural

events such as mining, drought, hurricanes, and even war, the EDS can identify that

component of people’s distress arising from solastalgia, the lived experience of

home and home environment desolation”. (Higginbotham et al., 2006, p. 253).

Additional empirical support for the condition of solastalgia can be found in a recently

published research article by Sangaramoorthy, Jamison, Boyle, Payne-Sturges,

Sapkota, Milton and Wilson (2016). The researchers targeted Doddridge County in

West Virginia, based upon extensive fracking which was occurring along the

Marcellus Shale (one of the largest shale formations in the USA) and the potential for

disruptions in the environment due to this development. Subjects were recruited

using various public media to invite anyone who felt that their lives had changed

since the fracking began. Thirteen subjects participated in two focus groups using

open ended standardized questions. Those who were long-term residents described

their feelings of loss and distress over the deterioration of the surrounding natural

environment. Because of the decline in property value, many could not leave and

this factor compounded their feelings of loss and stress. While the authors of this

study did not specifically use the term solastalgia (even though Albrecht is included

among their background sources) these symptoms are consonant with the condition

as proposed by Albrecht, et al. (2007).

Hasbach (2015) acknowledges solastalgia as a condition to be considered by

psychotherapists which contributes to “eco-anxiety.” Recommendations for

treatments with the consciousness of this new etiology included three points. The

first is to broaden the therapeutic focus from just intrapersonal and

interpersonal/social to include the person in environment as a possible factor in

diagnosis/treatment. This would include the second point of expanding the intake

interview to include questions about the client’s relationship with nature and the

environment. And finally, when appropriate, to assign nature-based homework for

clients or “rewilding therapy” (p. 207) as she terms it.

Similarly, the concepts surrounding place attachment have value for related

disciplines such as social work. A key concept underlying social work is that the

individual feels a part of a group or something greater than her/himself, and not just

limited to other human beings as discussed in a 2009 piece by Norton: “We are

disconnected when we experience detachment from nature and view it as a separate

or other, instead of something of which we are a part” (p. 140). She argues that

ecopsychology can inform and complement traditional social work: “However, just as

ecopsychology can help explain the human etiology of environmental destruction, it

can help social workers transform the notion of person-in-environment to include the

natural world in a way that promotes a broader view of human empowerment and

well-being. Connection to the natural world occurs when we are in relationship with

nature, experiencing a deep attachment to the planet. Connection also occurs when

we place ourselves in the larger ecosystem equally with other living things and do

not seek domination over the natural world”. (Norton, 2009, p. 140).

Concepts regarding place attachment and ecopsychology impact many political

discussions and decisions, but a particular political movement is based upon

organizing political divisions on ecological biosystems. This system is known as

bioregionalism. “Bioregionalism is a body of thought and related practice that has

evolved in response to the challenge of reconnecting socially-just human cultures in

a sustainable manner to the region-scale ecosystems in which they are irrevocably

embedded”. (Aberley, 1999, p. 13). This could be thought of as place attachment

translated into a political governing unit, or state, based upon biosystemic

completeness. A particularly long lived movement is the Cascadia independence

movement which one pro-independence organisation describes as: “a unique coastal

bioregion that defines the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada,

incorporating British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, parts of Idaho, southern Alaska

and northern California. This area is in many ways geographically, culturally,

economically and environmentally distinct from surrounding regions”. (Cascadia

Now, 2015). This is but one example of worldwide movements seeking to realign

political designations around ecological biosystems.

Ecotherapy

A related field to this research project is Ecotherapy. “Ecotherapy is an umbrella term

for a gathering of techniques and practices that lead to circles of mutual healing

between the human mind and the natural world from which it evolved”. (Chalquist,

2009, p. 64). Chalquist (2009) in a comprehensive review examined evidence of

ecotherapy practices and their efficacy. His conclusion based upon this analysis

included that disconnection from the natural world produces a variety of

psychological symptoms and that reconnection (he specifically mentions nature

walks outside as one modality) can alleviate these deficits and even contribute to a

renewed sense of purpose in life.

The current research project is focused on maintaining everyday mental health while

Ecotherapy is therapeutically assisting individuals to resolve various psychological

issues using nature and the environment, so both are related disciplines, in much the

same way that medicine and preventative medicine are related fields.

Ecotherapy as a practice long pre-dated the current text entitled Ecotherapy (Buzzell

& Chalquist, ed.) from 2009, but this volume collected writings from various

practitioners in the field. In the Foreword, David Orr traces the recognition and

attention that connecting nature and psychological health and wellness is currently

receiving. Research into ecotherapy, or integrating nature into treatments and

therapeutic interventions, has also seen an increase. As a recent article in the APA’s

Monitor on Psychology notes, “More psychologists are using the wilderness as a

backdrop and therapeutic tool in their work”. (DeAngelis, 2013, p. 49). In this same

article psychologist Scott Bandoroff, who uses nature and the wilderness as an

integral part of his therapeutic treatments, was interviewed and this was noted: “For

Bandoroff, there is no doubt that the combination of being in a beautiful natural

setting and working through your issues with highly trained professionals is a winning

one that more psychologists should consider exploring”. (DeAngelis, 2013, p. 52).

While it seems intuitive that nature could help with human psychological health and

restoration, these beliefs and claims have not been well documented and supported

by empirical testing.

One piece of research whose main focus was integrating physical activity into the

treatment plans for persons suffering from serious mental illness, did consider the

benefits of walking. “Although structured group programs can be effective for

persons with serious mental illness, especially walking programs, lifestyle changes

that focus on accumulation of moderate-intensity activity throughout the day may be

most appropriate”. (Richardson et al., 2005, p. 324).

In a comprehensive White Paper prepared in 2007, Mind, the UK charity formerly

known as the National Association for Mental Health, reviewed the findings to that

point of research and original articles concerning the possible benefits of

Ecotherapy. A summary of some of the key findings follows here (Mind, 2007):

“Research has found that there is a relationship between lack of green space in

urban areas and levels of stress (Grahn and Stigsdotter, 2003).” (p. 5)

“Terry Hartig argues that nature can restore deficits in attention arising from

overwork or over-concentration…” (p. 7)

After participating in Mind’s ecotherapy programmes, “Ninety-four percent of those

surveyed highlighted particular mental health benefits. Many respondents said that

they felt mentally healthier, more motivated and more positive. They felt the green

exercise helped to lift depression and instill feelings of calm and peacefulness. Their

overall mood, confidence levels and self-esteem all improved.” (p. 20).

Finally, the conclusion to the report suggested: “Ecotherapy is emerging as a

clinically valid treatment option for mental distress, and a core component of an

adequate public health strategy for mental health”. (p. 28).

In their follow-up report some six years later (2013), Mind in a report entitled “Feel

better outside, feel better inside” was able to observe regarding the various research

projects over the six years: “Seven out of ten people experienced significant

increases in wellbeing by the time they left the project. The type of project people got

involved in didn’t seem to make any difference, nor did their age”. (p. 21). Among

many other noticeable benefits: “With mental health problems such as anxiety and

depression increasing significantly, ecotherapy can improve physical health and

mental wellbeing. Its flexibility as an intervention means it can be used as a

wellbeing service that people can use to look after their mental wellbeing, an early

intervention to support people who may be at risk of developing a mental health

problem, or as a treatment in its own right”. (p. 39).

However, another piece of research into a residential wilderness therapy program

unexpectedly found no improvement in participants’ mental health and well-being.

One possible explanation for this result, however, could be that participants were

only exposed to ecotherapeutic interventions for a total of 3 hours out of possible

168 hours (seven 24 hour periods) residential (Wilson et al., 2011, p. 51).

In a comprehensive review article, Brymer, Cuddihy, and Sharma-Brymer (2010)

were able to conclude: “Exposure to non-human nature has benefits for a variety of

wellness related constructs. Theoretical perspectives suggest a range of possibilities

1) contact with nature acts as a medium for restoration, 2) contact with nature

provides an opportunity for emotional care, 3) nature provides a mirror for in-depth

reflection or 4) contact with nature provides an opportunity to rekindle an innate

union. That is, theoretical perspectives point to broad possibilities as to why being in

nature enhances wellness”. (p. 24). Recommendations for incorporation of

ecotherapy are not just confined to academia, however. There are a plethora of

recent UK government initiatives and guidance regarding the incorporation of

ecotherapy in communities for a variety of benefits. For example, the above-

referenced “Feel better outside, feel better inside: Ecotherapy for mental wellbeing,

resilience and recovery,” by Mind UK (2013), recommends: “This government

framework identified five key areas for action to promote wellbeing. Ecotherapy

works across all of these domains offering a holistic service to promote wellbeing in

the community,” (p. 10) and “A recent report by Mind and The Mental Health

Foundation, identifies three key components of an effective strategy to promote

resilience and recommends that public health teams should plan to ensure access to

services, such as ecotherapy, that prioritise building resilience and preventing mental

health problems”. (p. 11).

Further research specifically examined the efficacy of allotment gardening,

examining two aspects: “doing” the gardening and “being” in the natural setting

(Hawkins, Mercer, Thirlaway, and Clayton, 2013). This was conducted in Cardiff in

Wales using 14 participants who engaged in allotment gardening. A semistructured

interview was deemed the most appropriate instrument, as the subject’s individual

impressions of the gardening experience were most relevant to the research goals.

Thematic analysis was then used to identify key themes. Their findings showed that

participants described “doing” as: (a) distraction, physical activity, doing something,

Sharing: Expertise, Sharing: Produce, and achievement. Subjects identified the

following benefits of “being:” being away, being outdoors, social interaction,

community involvement, natural environment and retirement plan. Benefits which

overlapped in both categories included: escape, enjoyment, stress reduction, and

relaxation. It was clear from their results that both doing and being in the garden

helped restore their mental acuity and focus which supported Kaplan’s Attention

Restoration Theory as the explanation for the improvements. As a final thought, they

comment: “It is important to note, however, that the participants in this study may

have attributed most benefits to the gardening itself without perceiving how the

natural environment contributed to this. The effects of the natural environment may

be more subtle or unconscious and therefore should not be underestimated”. (p.

123).

The conclusion of a comprehensive review article examining the efficacy of

ecotherapeutic techniques as complementary to more traditional forms of therapy

noted: “Despite methodological limitations, there does appear to be a growing

evidence base demonstrating the physical, psychological and, to a lesser extent,

social benefits of viewing, and interacting with, greenspace”. (Wilson et al., 2009, p.

32).

A recent study by Passmore and Howell (2014) examined the affective wellness

aspects of simply being in nature. It consisted of 84 undergraduate students at a

Canadian university. 43 were assigned to the nature condition and 41 to a control

condition. Those in the experimental condition were given nature tasks to complete

during a two week period while the control group were given cognitive performance

tasks. They were able to conclude that “ongoing nature involvement over a 2-week

period boosted aspects of both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being” (p. 152) further

demonstrating positive benefits of interacting with nature and lending support to

ecotherapeutic interventions.

Geography/Environmental Science Research and Urban Planning

A closely allied discipline to the topic at hand is environmental psychology. In its

infancy in the 70’s the main concern of the field was focused on designing pleasing

environments that helped to foster positive human behaviours and discourage

undesirable or anti-social behaviour. As concern with environmental issues has

risen, however, the focus has shifted. As Daniel Stokols, a psychologist at the

School of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine, shared for a recent

Monitor on Psychology article: “While such topics are still of interest, Stokols says,

the field has shifted to reflect modern concerns, such as ecological sustainability and

public health. As we adapt our urban environments for the challenges of the 21st

century, psychologists have a particularly important role to play in making sure

human nature is part of the plan”. (Weir, 2013, p. 51).

As the proportion of human beings living in urban environments continues rising to

all-time highs and parallels with concerns over human-produced environmental

degradation, the question of the role of the constructed environments and their effect

upon health and well-being of the humans has become the subject of much

research.

In a comprehensive review article, van den Berg, Hartig, and Staats in 2007

analysed research relating to people’s preference for nature elements even in an

urbanized setting. In the section where they examine people’s beliefs about the

restorative power of healing, they noted that in most of the studies subjects identified

stress reduction, clearing the head, getting away from civilization and time to reflect

as the chief benefits of being in nature (as opposed to an urban environment.)

Recounting their own research, they reported their results in which subjects felt that

natural settings were more effective in bringing about psychological restoration than

urban settings. Based upon their analysis, they could conclude and recommend that

urban planning should include elements of nature and green spaces in order for

urban residents to be able experience the psychological restoration needs and de-

stress.

In a meta-analysis Professor Ian Douglas writes: “For urban people, the separation

from nature is greater than in other forms of human settlement, but need not

necessarily be so. Natural vegetation fulfils many ecosystem and human well-being

functions in urban areas. One of the more important is alleged to be improvement in

mental health, through recovery from, or alleviation of, mental illness and stress and

through helping to raise a feeling of well-being among people using natural areas”.

(Douglas, 2008, p. 12). He continues that his meta-analysis revealed: “There is good

scientific evidence that contact with nature in urban areas can improve mental health

and help in the restoration of psychological well-being”. (p. 20).

The interest in the importance of human nature interactions in urban environments is

not just academic, however. A recent Washington Post article concerning the High

Line in New York City demonstrates how these principles are ever expanding into

the popular consciousness: “The success and high profile of the High Line have

served to put the practice of landscape architecture, so often overshadowed by

architecture, into the limelight. The sophistication of the plant designs is undoubtedly

lost on the great majority of visitors, but the effect -- of a restless, changing,

naturalistic form evoking the original wildflowers -- is not”. (Higgins, 2014). Similar

principles are at work in the proposed Peckham Coal Line Project in London.

(Peckham Coal Line, 2016).

An exciting cross-disciplinary development is in the field of urban planning. Human

Geographer Jennie Middleton observed in a 2010 article, “In contrast to quantitative

studies of walking as a mode of transport, the diary and interview accounts have

afforded an engagement with the experiential dimensions of walking that makes

apparent a range of issues with, and beyond, the dominant focus on the built

environment in current pedestrian policy”. (p. 591). Her research calls upon

designers and planners to take into account the content of what the person

experiences as s/he travels from one place to another -- an element which has until

recently gone unconsidered.

She further explores the value of these cross disciplinary approaches to expand the

study of patterns of walking from merely mundane transportation concerns but also

to inquire into the motivations behind walking and other sensory experiences a

“walker” has such as appreciation (or lack thereof) for surroundings and considering

internal mental processes, thereby overtly associating urban planning with the

cognitive effects these designs can have upon the individual (Middleton, 2011). This

enlightened view opens up many possibilities for future urban planning and the

incorporation of green or nature elements in those plans as the psychological

benefits are more fully researched and documented.

TCKs -- Third Culture Kids

The extant research in ecopsychology has mainly focused on youth (under 12 years

old) and adults (19 and older), while very little work has been done with high school

age students (age 15-18). Therefore, the population chosen to examine for this

project was students between the ages of 16 and 18 who attended an international

school and are known as Third Culture Kids (TCKs) or global nomads. Third Culture

Kids is a relatively new term having originated in the 1960’s. Originally, “The term

‘Third Culture Kids’ or TCKs was coined to refer to the children who accompany their

parents into another society”. (Useem, 1993). At that time the main TCKs were

children of military families, missionaries and a few global business people. This

definition was based upon Useem’s work in cultures differing from her own over the

period of two decades that then led her to examine this phenomenon on a greater

scale. In the 1960’s she observed that greater and greater numbers of families were

living in cultures different from where they were born -- particularly in military and

missionary families -- and she noticed that they shared certain characteristics such

as “the styles of life created, shared, and learned by persons who are in the process

of relating their societies, or sections thereof, to each other”. (Useem, 1993). While

Useem’s work identified a number of benefits arising from the TCK experience

including a global orientation and higher participation in tertiary education, her initial

work did not uncover disconnection on the whole “...(T)he majority in this study reject

statements of alienation and isolation such as often feeling lonely, feeling adrift, and

hesitating to make commitments to others,” but she did find that “(a) number of our

respondents continue to feel rootless, alienated, and unable to make commitments

to people or places”. (Useem, 1993).

The term TCK has been further refined a number of times so that the more widely

accepted description is by Pollock and Van Reken: “An individual who, having spent

a significant part of the developmental years in a culture other than the parents’

culture, develops a sense of relationship to all of the cultures while not having full

ownership of any. Elements from each culture are incorporated into the life

experience, but the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar

experience”. (2003, p. 13).

Subsequent work over the past 20 years has identified a number of common

characteristics shared by most TCKs, many of which positively contribute to their

adult lives, but also a few challenges which can impede their future development and

success. It must be noted, however, that these are observational and correlational

studies and do offer only valuable qualitative data. Due to the longitudinal nature of

the TCKs experience, quantitative research in order to establish specific cause and

effect becomes problematic.

Among some of the positive characteristics are: “TCKs gain a wealth of insight. They

are tolerant of diversity, become skilled observers, and can serve as a model of

multicultural principle because of their expanded world view and exposure to cultural

differences”. (Gillies, 1998, p. 36).

Limberg and Lambie (2011) described four positive qualities which many TCKs

exhibit including an “expanded world view, adaptable, cross-cultural relationships

and often multilingual”. (p. 49). However, they also identified developmental

challenges for TCKs including “identity development issues and lack (of) a sense of

belonging” (p. 49) among others.

While it is clear that TCKs or global nomads develop many skills which are positive

and adaptive in an ever-globalizing world, there is much research and commentary

identifying challenges which TCKs face, chief among these, rootlessness and

restlessness. “Often those whose parents move every two years rarely consider

geography as the determining factor in what they consider home…..They may have

moved so many times, lived in so many different residences, and attended so many

different schools that they never had time to become attached to any”. (Pollock and

VanReken, 2003, p. 121-2). With regard to restlessness later in life, “Somehow the

settling down never quite happens. The present is never enough -- something

always seems lacking. An unrealistic attachment to the past, or a persistent

expectation that the next place will finally be home, can lead to this inner

restlessness that keeps the TCK always moving”. (Pollock and Van Reken, 2003, p.

125).

Subsequent work over the past 15 years has reinforced the existence of significant

feelings of rootlessness among the TCKs and on a larger scale than Useem initially

found. “It is difficult to draw conclusions when there is evidence of conflicting

findings. It is clear that sense of belonging is a subjective, emotional response to a

place or a community of people. There is evidence that TCKs may have a multiple

sense of belonging or no sense of belonging”. (Fail, Thompson, and Walker, 2004, p.

326).

An early study by Gillies (1998) identified particular issues which were a challenge

for TCKs. His article focused upon social and cultural norm differences that required

a transition time, but that “children in the international community are prone to

loneliness, because of changing friendships as people move in and out of their lives.

TCKs tend to avoid solving interpersonal problems, side-stepping potential conflicts

because they know the problem will ‘go away.’ After all, they will be moving soon”.

(p. 37).

Limberg and Lambie, reported in their research directed to assist school counselors

of TCKs, that TCKs experience rootlessness, a lack of clear understanding of where

home actually is, and a generally ongoing sense of uncertainty since everything

seems to change every few years or so for them (Limberg and Lambie, 2011).

Bagnall (2012), writing with regard to strategies that international schools can adopt

to assist TCKs found in his research, and reaffirmed, that “global nomads carry a

challenged sense of belonging”. (Bagnall, 2012, p. 177-1).

In a paper evaluating various strategies to re-integrate the children of missionary

children, Davis et al. found that while living abroad in other cultures afforded many

unique opportunities, they also observed in their work that these same children had

“feelings of rootlessness and detachment”. (Davis et al., 2010, p. 186).

In a sociological self-reflection research paper, Russell (2011) recounts her own

personal life history and extant research regarding TCKs experiences about being

asked where she is from: “I, on the other hand, have tended to most closely align

with the chameleon’s reaction to change. This is reflected in my typical avoidance of

questions regarding places of origin or where I consider home, which make me stand

out or seem different”. (p. 32). Her metaphor involving the comparison to a

chameleon reflects her underlying understanding that her life experience differed

from most of her classmates who did indeed identify with one place or culture as

core to their identity (Russell, 2011).

Interestingly, Grimshaw and Sears in 2008, while discussing TCKs and global

nomad children, observed that: “Some students may feel that they are more

comfortable occupying the ‘third place’, which lies in between the cultural practices of

‘home’ and ‘abroad’. There, unencumbered by the associations of particular

nationalities, ethnicities or other groupings, they are able to forge alternate, self-

affirming identities”. (p. 262).

Other recent research has continued to reinforce the concept that individuals, when

interacting with nature, do build up an affinity to the ecosystem or environment.

Scott, Amel and Manning in 2014 examined 50 participants in their research project

in which their connection to nature was measured using a variety of means while

they were closely interacting with and in nature for a week. They were able to

conclude, “The statistically significant, positive correlations we found…...support the

idea that participating in nature is related to feeling of sense of ecological

connectedness”. (Scott, Amel, Manning, 2014, p. 88).

I believe that reconnecting with nature wherever that may be -- whatever nation or

continent -- can be the lingua franca or “third place” that can help international

students or TCKs reconnect with a “home”. While species may vary from place to

place, the common characteristic of living flora, of trees and plants and shrubs and

flowers along with rocks and streams and geographical topography could be the

antidote to all of these feelings of rootlessness and disconnection. Harking back to

the biophilia hypothesis, on a deeper level, the evolutionary human in each of us

may be able to connect with the primordial elements as found in the elements of

nature, and much as they feel as citizens of the world culturally, could connect as

citizens of the natural world to help overcome the alienation so many seem to

experience. This would certainly contribute an additional element to psychological

health and well-being.

Specific Rationale for This Study

Original Nature/Psychological Health Literature

Modern Ecopsychology draws its inspiration and is undergirded by the

groundbreaking research by Ulrich in 1984. In this study, Ulrich was curious about

the influence that a view through a window could have on recovery from a major

medical procedure. In order to investigate this hypothesis, 46 patient records from a

suburban Pennsylvania hospital were retrospectively obtained between 1972 and

1981 for recovery from the same surgery -- cholecystectomy. This hospital was

ideally suited for this study as the patient rooms had either a view of a brick wall

across a courtyard or of nature in the form of trees. Careful attention was paid in

order to obtain matched pairs to compare patients with views of a brick wall or trees.

“The criteria for matching were sex, age (within 5 years), being a smoker or

nonsmoker, being obese or within normal weight limits, general nature of previous

hospitalization, year of surgery (within 6 years), and floor level”. (Ulrich, 1984, p.

420). Five pieces of information were considered for comparison regarding recovery:

number of days in hospital; quantity and strength of analgesics taken; quantity and

strength of tranquilizers and barbiturates taken; any complications; and any

additional nurses’ notes relevant to recovery. “In summary, in comparison with the

wall-view group, the patients with the tree view had shorter postoperative hospital

stays, had fewer negative evaluative comments from nurses, took fewer moderate

and strong analgesic doses, and had slightly lower scores for minor postsurgical

complications…..the results imply that hospital design and siting decisions should

take into account the quality of patient window views”. (Ulrich, 1984, p. 421).

No doubt Ulrich had been inspired to conduct his hospital research by Moore’s

earlier and narrower 1981 study of views from various prison windows. In Moore’s

study, the measure examined was the usage of the prison health care facilities. In

this correlational study, it was found that prisoners who faced an internal courtyard

used these services significantly more often than those prisoners who had an

outward facing farmland vista (Moore 1981).

Previous to the groundbreaking researching in 1984, Ulrich proposed in 1983 a

theoretical explanation for the appreciation of nature based upon stress recovery

emphasizing the affective restoration experienced by humans in a nature based

setting. In this explanation, Ulrich examines a number of features in a natural setting

(ground surface texture, deflected vistas, water, complexity, depth and man-made

[sic] features) and evaluating human responses to these elements. His conclusion

was that the responses transpired at the affective level and in fact were the

explanation for the restoration. This theory has been described as psycho-

evolutionary and identifies the experience in a natural setting as recovery from

physiological stress. (Berto 2014). It has since become known as the Stress

Recovery Theory (SRT).

In 1991, Ulrich, Simons, Losito, Fiorito, Miles and Zelson published the results of a

research project wherein 120 undergraduate university students were shown a 10

minute black and white videotape of a distressing scenario involving workplace

accidents. Each subject was then shown one of 6 different “recovery” videos

consisting of two nature and four urban scenes. Physiological measurements were

taken along with the Zuckerman Inventory of Personal Reactions (ZIPERS) pre and

post intervention, which measure five different affective states: fear, positive affects,

anger/aggression, attentiveness/interest, and sadness. Results from the ZIPERS

(most relevant to the present discussion) indicated a much stronger and faster

recovery in subjects after viewing the natural settings as opposed to the urban

scenes. This also held true for the physiological measures. The results from this

study largely supported Ulrich’s SRT explanation for improved psychological

recovery from nature viewing.

In their 1989 book entitled The Experience of Nature: A Psychological Perspective,

Rachel Kaplan and Stephen Kaplan presented the results of ten years of research

into human attention and nature, building upon seminal work on attention conducted

by William James nearly a century before. The result of this decade of extensive

research was their theory called Attention Restoration Theory. While recognizing two

components to attention, involuntary and voluntary or directed attention, they

concluded that built environments, as opposed to nature environments, depleted the

mind’s ability to direct attention and that doses of nature could bring about the

restoration of attention.

In an original article in 1995, Kaplan further expands upon this theory of directed

attention having the following properties: “…it requires effort, plays a central role in

achieving focus, is under voluntary control (at least some of the time), is susceptible

to fatigue, and controls distraction through the use of inhibition….More formally, any

prolonged mental effort leads to directed attention fatigue”. (1995, p. 170). He further

outlines the conditions necessary for a restorative nature experience which engages

involuntary attention and would serve to refresh the directed attention. As a

precondition, it must hold “fascination” or the ability to engage effortlessly. Further

components include “being away” or the ability to physically move to a new space.

Another component is that the environment must have “extent” or differing elements

to contribute to the fascination. Finally, it must be compatible with what the individual

is seeking. “What one does comfortably and naturally is what is appropriate to the

setting”. (Kaplan, 1995, p. 173).

Seeking to test Attention Restoration Theory, Tennessen and Cimprich in 1995

designed a study to compare the effect on attention of nature views from a college

dormitory window. “If exposure to nature has a restorative effect on the capacity to

direct attention, then such an effect may, at least in part, explain the beneficial

effects of windows and in particular windows with a view of nature. The specific

objective of this study was to determine whether the degree of naturalness in the

view from college dormitory windows was associated with residents’ levels of

capacity to direct attention”. (p. 78). Students were assigned to their rooms based

upon seniority which introduced an element of randomness, as opposed to students

having freedom of choice as to the view from their windows. Using correlational

methods and a variety of measures, their results concluded that the students who

had nature views were better able to direct their attention than those who had views

of built elements (which included city streets, other buildings or a brick wall).

While research in this area agrees on the restorative value of nature, there are

varying opinions as to the actual mechanisms of recovery, all with some degree of

empirical support. These include a purely biopsychological viewpoint asserting that,

because of the increasing quantity and concentration of endorphin receptors in the

visual neural pathways where the colour green is perceived, the positive feelings

experienced when viewing natural settings, are due to the release of these

endorphins. (Sternberg, 2009). The preceding theories of SRT and ART are also

presented as complementary theoretical positions, both of which agree on the

restorative value of nature, but offering different explanations for the efficacy of the

restoration: SRT focusing on physiological stress while ART focuses on mental

fatigue. (Berto 2014). However, tension between the two theories and their

proponents can be felt, for example, in the comments by Hartig and Staats (2003)

where they refer the reader to the “exchange” between Ulrich and Kaplan and

Kaplan. (p. 104). In their comprehensive review article, Bratman et al. 2012 could

cite evidence in support of both SRT and ART. Finally, Duncan and Barrett (2007)

could assert from a neurobiological viewpoint that “affect is a form of cognition” thus

further complicating the attribution of recovery more to SRT or ART (p. 12).

Addressing this situation, Bratman et al. (2012) examined a third theory in addition to

ART & SRT to account for the human preference for nature which focuses on an

individual’s opinions and beliefs about nature and nature-like settings which directly

correlates their preference for, and restoration in a natural setting.

Psychologists and researchers realize that because of the complexity of the human

psyche, the underlying mechanisms to explain specific cause-effect links between

certain natural elements and either positive or negative effects may be difficult to

pinpoint: “Although it would be useful to understand how the visual presence of

plants can have a positive effect on well-being and health, one should be open for

the possibility that the natural environment influences subconscious parts of the

brain in ways that cannot easily be described. Objects within the field of vision may

in fact exert an influence even if the conscious brain does not recognize their

existence. The classical example is the response evoked by a twig on the ground if it

remotely resembles a snake: The fear is initiated prior to any visual inspection of the

twig. Similarly, plants may impact on brain processes through unconscious

mechanisms even when they are not the object of focus. The absence of plants may

suggest an ‘unnatural’ and thus potentially unsafe, environment”. (Grinde and Patil,

2009, p. 2334).

Wells in 2000 investigated the effect of nature upon children’s cognitive functioning

as compared with the previous studies investigating attention. Focusing upon low

income children and the implications of their home living environment with their

cognitive functioning, she was able to examine the children’s cognitive functioning

before and after they had moved house relative to the level of naturalness or

“greenness” each dwelling had. She used a premove/postmove longitudinal

correlational design to measure these elements and utilized a standardized

Naturalness Scale which she had helped to develop. The Attention Deficit Disorders

Evaluation Scale is a standardized instrument normally used for the diagnosis of

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) but conversely can demonstrate high

level functioning among its 53 items. Her results were conclusive: “Children who

experienced the most improvement (increase) in the natural elements or restorative

characteristics of their home tended to have the greatest ability to direct their

attention several months after moving to the new home”. (Wells, 2000, p. 790).

Rachel Kaplan in 2001 expanded her research focus beyond just Attention

Restoration to general psychological benefits of a nature view. This study focused

upon the adult residents of six apartment communities in the Ann Arbor Michigan

area. Surveys were sent to residents who had agreed to participate based upon an

earlier mailing and relied upon self-selection and self-reporting. The survey materials

included a self-assessment of the view from their windows. Very detailed

descriptions were provided, as well as sample pictures representing varying degrees

of built vs. nature elements. The dependent elements consisted of satisfaction with

their residential environment and measures of well-being. These were self-assessed

using two different questionnaires. The satisfaction scale was 14 items with a 5 point

scale for each and the well-being questionnaire consisted of 16 brief descriptors to

which they could respond on a 5 point scale from “never or rarely” to “frequently” and

15 adjectives to which they could respond again on a 5 point scale with “not at all” to

“extremely” (Kaplan, 2001, p. 523-4). Her results found that “Nature in the window

view was a strong factor in well-being and residential satisfaction” and “Views of

gardens, flowers, and landscaped areas played a strong positive role in participants’

residential satisfaction with respect to both nature and neighborhood”. (p. 536). She

concluded: “The findings provide considerable support for the premise that the

content of the view from the window in the home setting makes a difference”. (p.

539).

A recent longitudinal study was published in which the authors sought to introduce

the examination of the element of mental health over time and compared populations

living in greener versus less greener urban environments. Their large study of over

10,000 subjects used data from the British Household Panel Survey 1991-2008,

which had maintained its representativeness as well as providing such a large

sample. The data also had the advantage of being able to look at aggregate totals as

well as changes within individuals over time. General life satisfaction had been

assessed via a life satisfaction questionnaire, while mental distress was measured

using the standardized 12-question General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). They were

able to conclude: “Our analyses suggest that individuals are happier when living in

urban areas with greater amounts of green space. Compared with when they live in

areas with less green space, they show significantly lower mental distress (as

indexed by GHQ scores) and significantly higher well-being (as indexed by life

satisfaction ratings)”. (White, Alcock, Wheeler, and Depledge, 2013, p. 926).

Berman, Jonides and (Stephen) Kaplan examined cognitive effect upon interacting

with nature among university-aged students from the University of Michigan in 2008.

Their study was composed of two experiments. The first consisted of the participants

having their moods assessed and performing a backwards digit-span task. They

were then randomly assigned to either an urban walk or walk in the Arboretum,

either of which would be 50-55 minutes. Following the walk they returned and

completed the same assessments. One week later they returned and did the

opposite walk. Both conditions resulted in an improvement on the backwards digit-

span test, but the nature walk was greater and statistically significant. For the second

experiment consisting of 12 college students and also using pre/post testing using

the standardized Attention Network Test (ANT) which measures three different

attentional functions: alerting, orienting, and executive attention; participants were

shown either pictures of nature or urban areas. Improvements were found on the

executive functioning for participants who had viewed nature scenes. The response

on this measure of the ANT was consistent with the results from the first experiment

in that executive attention is the indicator on this instrument for directed attention.

Research conducted to date on Attention Restoration has examined many variables,

but has left out a key constituency: adolescents between ages 14 and 18, as can be

seen from this overview of a research article: “However attention restoration is not

just relevant for children, but has increasing relevance for adults in the current social

and economic environment in which people are working longer hours and spending

long periods of time looking at computer screens.” (Maller et al., 2008, p. 70). This is

a true statement, but since the adolescent brain is in a state of growth and

development, and is structured differently than either a child or an adult, research

needs to target this constituency to understand if contact with nature is efficacious in

the bridge period between childhood and adulthood. The present research seeks to

examine this unexplored population group.

Nature Walk Research

Much foundational research has been conducted by Terry Hartig with various

colleagues over the past three decades in examining various levels of nature

interaction and the possible emotional and cognitive effects.

In a 1991 paper, Hartig, Mang and Evans reported on two research projects they had

designed in order to examine the effect of various types of nature interventions. In

the first the analysis was of the effect of backpacking trips in the wilderness on

various measures of human well-being including spiritual, emotional, and cognitive.

The three conditions were: wilderness holiday (N=25); non-wilderness holiday

(N=18) and no holiday (N=25). In order to try to control for self-selection, particularly

those who may be more receptive to wilderness holidays and therefore bias the

wilderness holiday group, it was decided to only use experienced backpackers for all

three conditions. All participants were university students for the quasi-experimental

design. Two self-report measures were used to record affective scores and one

measure of proof-reading task was used for the cognitive measure. All were

administered pre and post intervention. On one of the measures of affect, specifically

regarding happiness, wilderness vacationers showed a statistically significant

improvement over the other two groups. On the proofreading task, while all groups

began at approximately the same level, only the wilderness holiday group improved

while both of the other groups showed a decline in ability. They were able to

conclude that “a prolonged wilderness experience has restorative effects”. (p. 14).

For the second study, they decided to employ a true experimental design using

university students from the University of California Irvine (N=34, Mean age of 20).

The goal was to compare the effect of a nature walk versus an urban walk versus no

walk on various indicators of emotional, cognitive and physiological well-being.

Participants in the no walk group completed the experiment on the campus of UC

Irvine, while subjects in the other two conditions were given driving instructions to

reach the field location. In all conditions, tasks were given to induce cognitive fatigue,

and baseline measures for all instruments were recorded by having the subjects

complete the various instruments. The 40 minute intervention then transpired.

Physiological measurements were taken after the walk or rest period. The affective

measures were administered 8 minutes into the walk while the proofreading task was

administered at the end of the period. For both affective and cognitive measures, the

natural walk group scored better than the urban walk group who scored better than

the rest group leading them to conclude “Taken in combination, the results of the

present studies provide relatively strong evidence that experiences in natural

settings have restorative outcomes”. (Hartig et al., 1991, p. 21).

Frustrated by the lack of the precise measuring tool for their line of research, a major

step forward in the ability to objectively assess the varying levels of the effectiveness

of differing environmental criteria was established by Hartig, Korpela, Evans and

Gärling in 1997. In it they reported the results of four studies conducted to examine

the effect of the features of the design of various restorative environments which

could then be incorporated into various housing and park designs by validation

through the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS). “In identifying factors that work

to help a person replenish resources or otherwise recover from excessive demands,

research on restorative environments also points to factors that make for more

supportive environments”. (Hartig, Korpela, Evans and Garling, 1997, p. 75). This

cross cultural study consisted of American, Swedish and Finnish subjects. Through

the use of the four different studies, the validity of the PRS instrument was

established for further research into the factors that are associated with the quality of

mental and psychological restoration: “In closing, a valid, reliable measure of

perceived restorative quality in environments provides a way to examine the

interplay of theoretical factors and the links those factors may have with specified

outcomes of experiences in given settings. Such a measure also has practical value;

it can be used to assess the restorative potential of existing and proposed settings,

and so to inform various kinds of design efforts. The present version of the PRS is a

needed attempt at such a measure, one which present studies suggest can serve

the purposes just mentioned”. (Hartig et al., 1997, p. 193).

Building upon the validation of the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), Hartig

embarked upon examining the restorative quality of various places, this time with

Korpela, Hartig, Kaiser and Fuhrer (2001). They were specifically examining the

importance of place identity and place attachment and how these relate to

restorativeness. “Restorative experience is an inherent potential in emotion and self-

regulation. Following negative antecedents such as stress and attentional fatigue,

restorative experiences may involve positive mood change, renewal of directed

attention capacity, contemplation on one’s self and the like. Places that a person can

rely on for restorative experiences are thus more likely to be places for which

attachments develop over time and that in turn comes to figure in place identity”. (p.

573). To test this hypothesis 197 college students from the University of California

Berkeley were used. This was conducted in a laboratory where they were asked to

envision “that one place in which you have most enjoyed spending time” and then

given the PRS and open ended questions to balance both quantitative and

qualitative data.

The highest rated qualities about the favorite place from the PRS were “being away,”

“fascination,” “coherence,” and “compatibility.” Using frequency analysis for the open

ended responses, far and away the most common characteristic was “relaxed, calm,

or comfortable” at 77 times, followed by “happiness, enjoyment, or excitement” at 35

times, followed by “beauty” 29 times. The results confirmed their hypothesis

regarding the restorative nature of favorite places. “Natural settings clearly

predominated among favorite places and were underrepresented places. Moreover,

restorative outcomes characterized natural favorite places in particular. The feelings

most frequently associated with favorite places would contribute to emotional well-

being -- relaxation, calmness, and comfortableness in the first place, with happiness,

enjoyment and excitement as the next most frequently mentioned”. (p. 586-7).

A particularly relevant piece of research was conducted by Hartig, Evans, Jamner,

Davis and Gärling in 2003 examining restoration in both urban and natural settings.

The heart of this experiment compared various measures of the subjects, some of

whom experienced an urban walk and some of whom experienced a nature walk.

The experiment consisted of 112 college students from the University of California

Irvine. The procedure involved being randomly assigned to one of four groups:

Natural walk, task; natural walk, no task; urban walk, task; urban walk, no task. The

task consisted of a stroop and binary exercise. The procedure was quite involved.

The experiment began at the college’s psychology lab in the city with the pretest

procedures. They were then given instructions to drive to either their urban or natural

walk location (approximately 40 minute drive). Upon arrival, they were seated in

either a room with a tree view for the natural task or a viewless room for the urban

task. There were physiological readings taken and the completion of three

instruments: Zuckerman’s Inventory of Personal Reactions (ZIPERS), the Necker

Cube Pattern Control task (NCPCT) and a version of the Search and Memory task

(SMT) by Smith and Miles (defined as a “test of attentional performance from the

memory-loaded search task” (p.113)). The NCPCT was further administered half

way through the walk and post-walk, along with the only administration of the Overall

Happiness Scale (OHS). Finally, post-walk the ZIPERS and SMT were also re-

administered. Of most relevance to the current discussion are the NCPCT and SMT,

the two which deal with cognitive ability and nature walks. It was observed that for

participants in the two nature walk conditions (task, no task), their ability to focus as

measured by the NCPCT improved, while the participants in the urban walk saw their

results decline halfway through the walk. The results for all groups remained stable

between the midpoint measure and the posttest measure leading to the conclusion,

“Apparently, the performance gap that had opened up near the halfway point in the

two walks remained largely open into the postwalk period”. (p. 119). The pretest-

posttest SMT results showed no significant difference in performance on this

cognitive task. Overall, the results of this study led the authors to conclude: “First

and foremost, our results speak to widely held beliefs that natural surroundings aid

the physical and psychological restoration of people living in cities”. (p. 119). Of most

relevance to the current research project, one of the two cognitive tasks showed

significant improvement when comparing between all nature walk participants and all

urban walk participants: “Finally, postwalk performance on the NCPCT confirmed our

hypothesis of greater improvement (or a smaller decrement) in performance

following the walk in the nature reserve (Hypothesis 5)”. (Hartig et al., 2003, p. 122).

Staats, Kieviet and Hartig (2003) analysed subjects’ preferences of place for

recovery from attentional fatigue. Using 101 students from a Dutch university,

participants were randomly divided into two groups. They were then to imagine

themselves as either attentionally fatigued or fully refreshed. Afterwards they viewed

slides of either a nature walk or urban walk; evaluation of the possibility of recovery,

reflection and social stimulation followed. And they were then shown the opposite

walk slides and again asked to evaluate. The results showed a clear preference for a

forest walk over the urban walk in the attentional fatigue condition. They point out

that this study lends support to ART.

Staats and Hartig (2004) next turned their attention to the social aspects of walking.

Using 106 students from a Dutch university, they examined 12 hypotheses regarding

psychological restoration in nature vs urban settings and the social context of

walking alone or in groups. Conditions participants were asked to assume for their

simulated walks included either walking alone or with a friend and either attentionally

fatigued or fully refreshed, they were then randomly shown slides of either a nature

walk or urban walk. Following that, the entire procedure was repeated with the other

setting walk slides. As expected, those asked to assume attentional fatigue preferred

the nature over the urban walk while subjects estimated more restoration with

company on an urban walk over a nature walk. However, company was preferred on

a nature walk for restoration if safety was an issue. A notable variable not controlled,

for, however, which could possibly skew the results was the subject’s preference for

introversion or extraversion, which could have been a confounding variable in the

latter measure.

Hartig and Staats (2006) sought to overcome a shortcoming that they identified from

their own previous research which was asking the participants to assume scenarios

regarding mental fatigue or not that raised the issue for them of possible demand

characteristics affecting the results. To counter this, the 103 students at a Swedish

university were randomly assigned to either a fatigue condition in which the

procedure was performed after a day of classes or in the “less-fatigue” condition in

the morning before classes had begun. Whether less-fatigued or more fatigued, both

groups preferred a nature walk over the urban walk. However, the preference was

larger with the more fatigued subjects which Hartig and Staats observe “owes to the

more fatigued participants’ more positive evaluation of attention recovery, and a

greater judged likelihood of restoration when walking in the forest.” (p. 215).

Hartig and Staats reviewed these three pieces of research in a chapter of the book

entitled “From Landscape Research to Landscape Planning: Aspects of Integration,

Education and Application,” (2006) which undergird concepts key to the current

research project. In their overview, they point out that these three studies sought to

evaluate subjects’ attitude and preferences regarding nature vs. urban walks. A

common factor in all of the studies was the use of a “simulated” walk -- meaning

subjects were shown pictures of various natural and urban settings and asked to

respond to the various questions. It was explained by the authors that the third study

was conducted to address issues expressed after the publication of the previous two

articles. The first issue raised was the possibility of the experimenter bias interfering

with subjects’ responses by use of repeated measures. It was pointed out that by

comparing the two, subjects may have surmised that one was “better” or more

preferable than another. Therefore, independent measures were used for this study.

Additionally, the subjects were asked to imagine or envision being in the state of

either fatigued or not in the first two experiments. The question was raised about the

ability of the subjects to keep this in mind while completing all of the experiment.

They commented that all previous results were confirmed: “In each experiment, we

found a more positive attitude toward walking for one hour in a forest compared to a

familiar city centre”. (p. 289) They conclude by noting, “To some degree, our results

suggest, their preferences reflect on their needs for psychological restoration, their

positive evaluation of restoration outcomes, and their expectations about achieving

restoration with a walk in a forest”. (p. 290).

By the middle of the last decade, based on the lack of empirically based research,

Pretty, Peacock, Sellens and Griffin (2005), designed a controlled experiment to

gauge the effect of taking exercise traditionally or green exercise. This study

involved 100 participants who ranged in age from 18-60 with a mean age of 24.6.

The procedure involved the participants taking their exercise indoors, but being

exposed to a variety of different outdoor settings via a set of 30 photos within each

condition. The subjects’ mental health outcomes were measured using the Profile of

Mood States (POMS) and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Questionnaire. Subjects were

randomly assigned to one of five groups: rural pleasant, rural unpleasant, urban

pleasant, urban unpleasant and control (with no pictures). The researchers were

able to make some interesting conclusions. As expected, the rural pleasant scenes

had a positive effect on self-esteem and subjects in that group displayed

improvements in all six mood categories, though not all were statistically significant.

One anomalous and unexpected result was that even participants viewing the rural

unpleasant scenes produced mood improvement in three of the six mood categories.

Their overall results, however, led to their finding: “We conclude that green exercise

has important implications for public and environmental health”. (p. 334).

The current research project has been undertaken in direct response to their

concluding remarks: “Further research is now required to investigate the effects of

exposure to different scenes in real environments (italics mine) whilst engaging in

different types, durations and intensities of physical activity”. (Pretty et al., 2005, p.

334). Finally, De Young, in a detailed 2010 original article, suggested a specific

nature intervention in the form of nature walks to improve mental vitality which was

an additional theoretical inspiration for this project.

These findings were supported by Hinds and Sparks in a 2009 study. They

hypothesized that the “frequency of experience of the natural environment and the

degree of meaning obtained from such experience would positively predict both well-

being and environmental identity”. (p. 181). They examined this question using 39

graduate students from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom and

administered two questionnaires; the first ascertained the students’ assessment of

their own environmental identity and the second attaching a meaning to various

natural settings. Their results “support the hypothesis that environment-related

identity can be related to experiences of the natural environment,” (p. 184) and

following on from that “Personal meaning (of the place experience) was found to be

a significant predictor of affective well-being”. (p. 185). This research conducted in a

laboratory and inquiring of subjects’ impressions and opinions sets the stage for field

experimentation and achieved a notable result. “The present article gives

quantitative credence to use of the natural environment for practical interventions

aimed at building stronger human-environment relationships and promoting more

positive well-being”. (p. 185). And, following on a theme which inspires the current

research project, they observe “Although the benefits of well-being of contact with

the natural environment have been proposed and articulated for many years, it is

only recently that these ideas and anecdotes have received empirical support in

terms of quantitative findings”. (p. 185).

Even in urban settings, people desire to turn to nature elements when seeking

recovery from attentional fatigue. Staats, Van Gemerden and Hartig (2010), sought

to examine the question of location preferences for psychological restoration among

urban residents. The participants were 70 students from a Dutch university. They

were randomly assigned to the antecedent condition of either attentional fatigue or

no fatigue. They were then asked to express their preference for 15 scenarios

ranging from extremely urban built environments to locations and activities in an

urban nature park, twice: once alone and once envisioning with a close friend. Their

results again supported ART in that nature, even urban nature, was preferred over

built elements for restoration. “The strong preference for relatively natural

environments found in other studies hold true for urban nature and has important

implications.” (415).

Bowler, Buyung-Ali, Knight and Pullin (2010) conducted a systematic review of

published research related to the health benefits of nature interactions. Beginning

with a possible 20,000 published articles using various criteria, 25 studies met the

criteria for inclusion in their review. Data were synthesized from the studies and

conclusions drawn. They reported that the vast majority of studies (16) focused on

emotions. In general, the studies supported the propositions that after exposure to

nature as compared to non-nature exposure, that there was a reduction of negative

emotions such as anger, fatigue and sadness, and found some support for a positive

effect on tests of attention. They raised a concern regarding the type and means of

data collection: “The most common type of study outcome was self-reported

measures of different emotions. Given these data were self-reported, they were

therefore potentially open to bias depending on prior beliefs of the

participants…..Thus it cannot be ruled out that findings may have been affected by

participants’ pretest opinions/beliefs on the likely effects of a natural environment

rather than any actual changes in their mental health or well-being.” (8).

Johansson, Hartig and Staats (2011) sought to examine psychological benefits of

urban walks. 20 students at a Swedish university were the participants. Measures

were taken regarding their affective state and a behavioral measure of attention just

before and immediately following each walk. Subjects then took two urban park

walks or two urban center walks over a four week period. On two of these they were

instructed to bring along a friend. Results were mixed. There was an increase in

positive affect and a reduction in negative affect across both walks. There was a

greater degree of “revitalisation” when walking with a friend in the urban street walk.

Finally, there was a surprising result regarding cognitive benefit which is contrary to

the expected result and the literature. It was expected that the urban park walk would

improve cognitive ability, however cognitive ability “declined during the walk.

Moreover, it declined to a greater degree with the park walk than with the walk along

city streets.” (p. 274).

An alternative piece of research, Gatersleben & Andrews, 2013, responding to the

calls in literature to carefully examine differing independent variables in the area of

nature walk research, sought to vary the type of nature experience that subjects

would be exposed to. Building upon Appleton’s Prospect-refuge theory, they chose

natural environments with either “prospect” which is defined as a clear field of vision

and “refuge” which is defined as containing places to hide in the visual field. For their

research, they conducted two different studies. The first was a preliminary large

scale study to examine the perceived strength of correlation between degree of

restoration and environment. It consisted of 269 students and alumni of a university

in England. They were randomly assigned to groups with varying levels of prospect:

low, meaning a poor field of vision, many hiding places and poorly accessible;

medium; and high, meaning a clear vision field, not many hiding places and very

accessible. They were then exposed to photographs via an online survey exhibiting

these characteristics and asked to complete it at the end of a fatiguing day.

Following that, in order to measure the levels of fear, danger and restoration, “a

series of one-way between-subjects analyses of variances each with 3 planned

contrasts were conducted” (p. 94). They found that subjects exposed to natural

environments with high prospects and few hiding places showed lower levels of fear

and higher levels of perceived restoration compared to those exposed to lower

prospects and more hiding places. Due to the fact that this study only measured

perceived restoration and that it was an online experiment, they undertook a second

study.

In the second study a field experiment was conducted consisting of two walking

environments: low prospect-high refuge and high prospect-low refuge settings. Its

aim was solely to examine stress and mental fatigue recovery. Additionally, a

laboratory component was conducted to examine actual versus simulated

environments to compare the results. For both the field and the laboratory the N=17

in each. A number of measures were taken pre/post including measures of affect,

attention, and physiological. All participants made two separate walks -- whether live

or virtually in the laboratory after a fatiguing task. Their findings that are most

relevant to the current research revealed that high prospect and low refuge settings

improved concentration more than in the low prospect high refuge. (Gatersleben &

Andrews, 2013). Additionally, subjects demonstrated attention recovery in the field

but not in the simulated lab walks lending support to the idea that actual nature

interventions can be more effective (Gatersleben & Andrews, 2013).

On a slightly different note, Holden and Mercer (2015) sought to evaluate the effect

of the introduction of nature elements in a classroom on student mood and memory.

Thirty-six students at a British university volunteered for the project. Twenty-one

were assigned to a classroom with no nature elements (“artificial”) while fifteen were

assigned to a classroom containing nature elements (windows and plants). Both

rooms then received a lecture concerning archery. The subjects in the “nature

infused” classroom performed significantly better on the multiple choice test

immediately afterwards and one week later was still higher, though not statistically

significantly; while there was no difference demonstrated in mood between the two

classrooms. This suggested that nature interventions may have a time limited effect

on memory and need to be repeated in order to be continually effective.

Introduction to the Study: The Problem and The Question

All of these background studies inform and undergird the current research project.

As our world becomes more complicated and more technology focused, people are

becoming psychologically fatigued more regularly and more deeply, (American

Psychological Association 2013) and particularly so among adolescents (Pergams

and Zaradic 2008). Ecopsychology has been shown to offer an effective framework

in which to understand this problem and offer possible solutions. Two main

theoretical approaches, SRT (Ulrich) and ART (Kaplan and Kaplan) both explored

extensively above, offer complementary understandings of the ability of the mind to

recover from this stress and fatigue. I chose to focus on ART as it seems more

convincing in my evaluation of the extant evidence. While much research has

focused on various psychological benefits of nature walk interventions, I designed

my research project to extend the knowledge base by narrowing the focus, as called

for in the literature.

The gaps in knowledge that became apparent were threefold: populations studied,

measures employed, and perceived deficits in methodology.

Firstly, much research had been done with young children and college-age and

above participants and their interactions with nature, but studies specifically focusing

on 16 to 18 year old adolescents and their interactions were lacking. We know that

the adolescent brain is neither still a child’s, nor an adult’s and therefore may not

follow the known patterns of either. “There is insufficient empirical and quantitative

evidence on the role of natural environment in the development of children. The role

of natural environment in personal development needs more research because of

existing methodological limitations, particularly nature’s role in developing a sense of

purpose.” (Newton 2007, 32-33).

Further, research relating to the TCK subpopulation of adolescents and the influence

of a natural setting on their psychological health and functioning were completely

missing. An additional consideration is the nature of the focus of research in a

Professional Doctorate programme. A professional doctorate programme challenges

the researcher to identify and solve issues in their current work setting, as in most

cases they are not a full time university graduate student. In my setting, I work with

16-18 year old students in international schools and therefore wanted to focus on an

issue confronting this population and work to find a solution to it, namely the

depletion of mental acuity and the use of nature to help restore it.

Additionally, few of the studies used objectively verifiable measures of state of mind

or ability; most used self-reported data which are subject to criticism as being

manipulable by the subjects. (Bowler et al., 2010). It was noted that because

Ecopsychology tends to relate more to the social science side of psychology (as

opposed to the “pure science” side), published research into Ecopsychology has

been criticized for lacking hard details as found in quantitative empirical studies.

“They (well-being research in nature) have contributed towards the recognition that

wellbeing is a multi-dimensional state incorporating both objective and subjective

components. Therefore, any attempt to explore wellbeing benefits of natural

environment should capture all dimensions. Further work in this area should seek to

combine both quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the wellbeing benefits

of green spaces.” (Newton 2007 p.42-43). Responding to this call in the literature

requires a Pragmatic approach using Mixed Methods research. Only this approach

can address these concerns adequately and contribute both objectively verifiable,

non-manipulable data along with the rich personal reflections which only qualitative

data can provide. The full analysis of theoretical as well as methodological

considerations are considered in depth in the following chapter on Methodology.

Thirdly, it was noted in the literature that most studies attempted to measure a broad

spectrum of moods/skills/feelings relating to being exposed to nature but it was felt

that studies designed to measure a specific outcome from the specific intervention

would increase the knowledge base: “Additional points on gaps in evidence are:

Quantitative information on the relative risk impacts of green space on mental health

and wellbeing such that the value of psychological benefits from green space (from

physical activity and visual use) can be derived”. (Newton, 2007, p. 33). Further, the

report notes “It would appear that there is consensus that whilst there is a substantial

amount of research investigating the broad wellbeing effects of green spaces, little is

known about the impact of variation in quality of green space and variation amongst

different social groups”. (Newton 2007, p. 32). The follow up comments to this

section recommend future research hone and refine exposure to nature and how the

psychological outcomes would be measured.

Responding to the calls in literature for more targeted studies examining focused

interventions and measuring a focused outcome, I chose to focus on one aspect of

psychological health: mental acuity in the form of attention. This responds to many

criticisms in the literature that studies regarding psychological benefits of nature

walks attempted to measure too many variables. This is aptly summarized in the

recommendations contained in a 2012 Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

report: “...there remains great scope for considering more detail in measured

behavioral effects. For example, filtering tasks, complex operation span tasks,

distraction tests, and other modern psychology tests may allow for examination of

more detailed capabilities in the broad category of ‘attention,’” and “Isolating effects

that are attributable to environmental change has been of utmost importance in

recent decades for the study of population biology, climate change, and other high-

profile areas in the sciences. Similar demands for rigor and specificity on the ways in

which natural landscapes impact the mind may lead to exciting, compelling, and

even completely unanticipated results.” (Bratman, Hamilton, and Daily, 2012, p.

132). Previous research has utilized various cognitive quantitative instruments

including the Digit Span Test, Symbol Digits Modalities Test, the Necker Cube

Pattern Control, a proofreading task (Bowler, 2010, p. 5) or the Stroop Test

(DeYoung, 2014). The Necker is the only instrument to specifically focus on attention

and my selection of the d2 Test of Attention was made to cross validate previous

research on the effect on the attention aspect of mental vitality by using another

validated measure of attention,

Finally, in a comprehensive review of socio-ecological approaches to mental health

and well-being, Maller, Townsend, Pryor, Brown and St. Leger (2005) suggest:

“Although most people are aware of the health benefits of sport and recreation, the

health and well-being benefits arising from contact with nature are little understood.

(italics mine). Further empirical research is required to remedy gaps in current

knowledge, to further knowledge in this area, to facilitate decision-making and policy

formulation, and to foster interdisciplinary approaches. Findings summarized in this

paper warrant a repositioning of natural spaces in the minds of both the community

and government”. (p. 51). Maller, Townsend, St Leger, Henderson-Wilson, Pryor,

Posser, and Moore in 2008 renewed this call: “Although there is much anecdotal

evidence documenting the benefits of “being in nature,” the exact effects (for

example, by using psychophysiological measures) on the human mind, body and

spirit are still largely unknown”. (p. 61).

In a conference hosted by University College London in 2008 entitled “‘Statins and

Greenspace: Health and the Urban Environment,” the following observations were

made: “The scientific work reported here provides clear evidence that among many

sectors of society there are positive benefits for mental health and well-being to be

gained from both active and passive involvement with natural areas in towns and

cities….Walking in natural areas provides opportunities for social interaction that are

particularly beneficial for the elderly. Exposure to nature scenes reduces stress.

Trees play an important social role in easing tensions and improving psychological

health….Nonetheless, the number of studies is limited (emphasis mine) and almost

entirely confined to the USA, Europe and Australia. They sometimes embrace

subjects of varying ethnic backgrounds, but are often restricted to certain age groups

such as students or elderly people. (emphasis mine)” (Douglas 2008, p. 19).

While not able to address the geographical variable, it is in direct response to calls

such as these that the current research project was designed to target the 16-18

year old population and add to the knowledge base using a different measure of

mental acuity than previously used to give specific additional insight into the

psychological effect of nature walks.

DeYoung’s (2010) outline of suggested research provided the framework for the

design of this study. Following the lead of Pretty et al. (2005) calling for research in a

“real environment” the decision was made to use actual nature walks rather than

asking participants to imagine they were on a walk or showing them photographs.

The decision to conduct the intervention over a period of weeks was consistent with

Johannson, Hartig and Staats (2011) and conducting nature walk research over a

period of weeks is underrepresented in the literature.

Unique contributions to this subject and corpus of literature include:

● Focusing on an age group which has only peripherally been included in other

studies (16-18 year olds).

● Focusing on a population group (TCKs) never before studied in nature walk

research.

● Use of a different quantitative validation instrument for the test of attention.

● Focusing on fewer researchable conditions in one study.

● Use of personal journals to record each subject’s personal impression and

experience during the nature walk adds a new element to the research

literature allowing the original voice of participants to directly reach the

research.

● Implications for education in terms of activities for the welfare of TCK students

and beyond.

Emerging from all of this background and responding to the knowledge gaps, the

research questions thus examined are:

To what extent do nature walks have a positive impact upon psychological

health specifically cognitive attention?

How do participants describe the nature walk experience?

Previous research has not focused on changes within an individual subject’s

performance on various measures pre/post a specific nature walk intervention. The

hypothesis, therefore, is that participants will demonstrate a measurable and

statistically significant improvement (on the quantitative measure) in one aspect of

cognitive functioning, that of attention, after experiencing walks in nature, in this case

in a wood; and report a consonant result on the individual qualitative descriptions of

the nature walk experience.

Key Terms:

Green exercise -- exercise which contains elements of nature. This can be either

taking exercise in a natural environment or in the case of some studies, taking

exercise indoors while exposed to visual images of nature.

Nature walk-- a walk occurring in a complete context of nature, usually a forest with

no intrusions from the built environment. In some studies, “nature” may have been a

non-built desert environment, based upon local conditions.

Mental acuity -- mental attention or sharpness. Typically in psychology this includes

elements of memory, focus, concentration, and understanding. In the present

research, one element, attention, was chosen to examine. An aspect of

psychological health is mental acuity. The lack of mental acuity is seen as a

deficiency in the literature leading to both physiological and psychological issues and

the restoration of it is seen as healthy.

Chapter 3

Methodology

In this section, I will examine and explain my underlying rationale or philosophy of

research as it relates to this project and provide details of the methodology utilized

as a result of this analysis.

When one endeavours to undertake research, a necessary first step is for the

researcher to consider her/his position regarding ontology and epistemology. How

the researcher views these two areas will inform the type of, and approach to,

research which will be undertaken. Ontology deals with the nature of reality and what

exists in the world. Epistemology deals with how we apprehend that reality. As these

deal with the world of ideas and concepts, they are ever-evolving. One source, for

example, lists four broad categories or paradigms relating to research and ontology:

positivism, interpretivism, critical theory, and realism (including critical realism)

(Plant, 2005). A more recent source published just this year (2015) lists the four

paradigms for research as postpositivism, constructivist, transformative, and

pragmatic (Mertens, 2015), acknowledging her reliance upon Guba and Lincoln’s

2005 work.The following is a brief introduction to each of the main lines of thinking

within each paradigm using this most recent work (Mertens, 2015) as well as

Johnson and Christensen (2010):

Postpositivism (including both positivism and postpositivism) -- These have

grown out of the influence of Aristotle, Bacon, Locke, Comte, and Kant. Both

positivists and postpositivists hold that only one reality exists and that a researcher

can design research without involving his/her values. Positivists feel that a measure

can be made of this reality. Postpositivists feel that this one reality can be only be

known partially due to the researcher’s human limitations. This latter has also been

described as critical realism.

The most typical research methodology would be randomized experiments using

“objective” measures.

Constructivist -- This has grown from the influence of Husserl and Dilthey, among

others. Constructivists will deny an objective reality and argue that reality is a social

construct by individuals and that research should not try to measure objective

criteria, but rather should focus on understanding the individual’s apprehension of

the world around them. This paradigm, therefore, relies heavily upon qualitative

measures such as interviews, observations, and open-ended questionnaires. In this

paradigm, the integration of the values of the researcher is seen as integral and

inseparable from the research.

Transformative -- This has grown out of the Constructivist paradigm but includes

“critical theorists, participatory action researchers, Marxists, feminists, racial and

ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities, among others”. (Mertens, 2015, p.

21). In a way this is the constructivist paradigm, but with the purpose of explicitly

aligning the researcher and research with various groups who are underrepresented,

oppressed, and/or exploited. Even Mertens acknowledges this is a loosely defined

grouping, but all the disparate groups have four things in common. 1. It focuses on

marginalized groups. 2. It looks at why these groups have been marginalized. 3. It

specifically considers the social and political forces which have led to

marginalization. 4. It will use a transformative theory in the interpretation of data;

thus, perhaps critiquing the systemic assumptions underlying the underperformance

of various marginalized groups, rather than the underperformance of the group itself.

Therefore, this paradigm considers the cultural context of the knowledge gained

while considering the power differentials in the relationships between the group

being researched and various sources of authority. As with constructivism, this

paradigm relies upon qualitative methodology.

Pragmatic Famous pragmatists throughout history have included William James,

John Dewey and Cornel West. Pragmatists largely do not focus on the either/or

nature of postpositivists and the constructivists. They acknowledge a “both/and”

approach to the two and focus their research on the effectiveness of the research

undertaken. So, rather than debating the nature of reality or truth, they focus on the

practical nature and efficacy of the research undertaken. “According to pragmatism,

what is ultimately important is what works in practice….”. (Johnson and Christensen,

2010, p. 32). Consequently, this paradigm lends itself to the use of mixed methods

research, focusing on either quantitative, qualitative or a combination of the two as

the situation calls for.

Paradigm Wars in Social Science

While preparing for this research project, I had to consider many factors as I

developed the focus of my research question and examined these various

philosophical views and their implications for research. The research paradigm must

take both of these factors into account: what is being examined, and the researcher’s

philosophical approach to research and his/her world view.

From the start, one is confronted by the “Paradigm Wars” in social science research

waged between two extremes -- quantitative purists and qualitative purists. These

references to methodologies point to their philosophical orientations. Quantitative

purists believe there is an objective world in existence which can be apprehended

much the same way that physical scientists would regard their research, and whose

goal is to generalize results as much as possible. Their philosophy of research would

be positivist. Qualitative purists, on the other hand, do not see an objective reality but

rather that there are many constructed realities which makes generalisation

undesirable and usually impossible. Philosophical approaches here would include

constructivists and interpretivists. (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004).

Ecopsychology as a scientific discipline is a relatively newly emerging speciality

within psychology and has a philosophical divide along these same lines.

Contemporary controversies within ecopsychology trace their antecedents to two

disparate strands which each contributed to the modern discipline of Ecopsychology.

While various individuals and publications can be identified as possible catalysts for

the movement, what is indisputable is that explicit connections were starting to be

made between human psychology and the environment from the 1960’s. It largely

arose out of the “Deep Ecology” movement, which is the philosophical inquiry into

the inherent relationships between human beings and the environment. Another

early influence was Robert Greenway, a prominent humanistic psychologist.

Theodore Roszak formally became involved in this academic movement in 1990

(although his interest can be traced back in various writings to the 1960’s also) and

published in 1992, The Voice of the Earth, in which Ecopsychology started its

pathway to mainstream acceptance. However, Roszak’s former association with

counter culture movements in the 1960’s also was viewed less than favorably by

mainstream academics and psychologists.

But largely because of his publication, Ecopsychology was starting to be noticed by

more psychologists who felt that Ecopsychology could and should be a subdiscipline

of psychology. These professionals, though, felt that Ecopsychology would need to

prove its mettle by submitting its theories to scrutiny via empirical testing, much to

the chagrin, if not anathema, to the early ecopsychologists (Schroll, 2007).

Modern Ecopsychology has largely preserved the tension between these two rival

factions -- the early, more philosophical types who would self-identify as

constructivists, while those who believe that Ecopsychology must operate as any

other scientific discipline would self-identify as positivists. This philosophical division

and tension, while not quite rising to the level of hostility, still dominates the

philosophical discussions regarding what exactly Ecopsychology is.

Consequently, much of the published research is either qualitative and constructivist,

focusing on subjective data or quantitative and positivist, dismissing the “mere

opinions” of subjects which cannot be verified independently.

It is into this milieu that the current research is undertaken.

Mixed methods research, along with its philosophical underpinning of Pragmatism, is

seen as a kind of via media. In this approach, “Mixed methods research should,

instead (at this time), use a method and philosophy that attempt to fit together the

insights provided by qualitative and quantitative research into a workable solution.

Along these lines, we advocate consideration of the pragmatic method of the

classical pragmatists (e.g., Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John

Dewey) as a way for researchers to think about the traditional dualisms that have

been debated by the purists”. (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004, p.16).

Further considerations for mixed methods research include the increasing popularity

of cross disciplinary studies as well as the historical perspective that recognises that

extant methodologies can continue to preserve a predominant paradigm, thus

ignoring other non-majority influences. “The pioneering work of feminists,

postcolonialists, postmodernists, and critical theorists aims to expose subjugated

knowledge of oppressed groups that has often been left out of or ignored in

traditional research. These new paradigms look at the intersections of race, class,

gender, nationality, and other hierarchical forms of social identity and often pinpoint

subjugated groups as the focus of social inquiry”. (Hesse-Biber, 2010, p. 2).

Pragmatism and its methodology, Mixed Methods Research, acknowledges the

value and desire, when appropriate, to utilize both quantitative and qualitative

methods in the same research study, thus acknowledging the strengths of each

method and that they can indeed complement one another rather than compete with

one another (Povee & Roberts, 2015; Bishop, 2015).

Within Mixed Methods Research are two possible typologies: mixed model and

mixed method, the former being “mixing qualitative and quantitative approaches

within and across the stages of research,” while the latter “are based on the crossing

of paradigm emphasis and time ordering of the quantitative and qualitative phases”.

(Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004, p. 19.)

My Stance

Eventually everyone must decide what philosophy of life fits for them, not just for

research purposes but as a guidepost throughout life. As a result of studies and life

experience, I find that I agree with elements of both positivism and constructivism. I

certainly believe that there are events which, were we to be able to strip away any

and all subjective filters, would be objectively verifiable. As a psychology

professional, I am also aware that the way a person represents the events in their life

IS the reality for them regardless of the objective/subjective nature of these events.

This contrast and controversy has been going on for centuries and is not to be

resolved simply by me and my research project. That is why Pragmatism truly

represents where my philosophical position lies. While acknowledging and valuing

parts of both Positivism and Constructivism and acknowledging that those

differences will not be bridged anytime soon, Pragmatism rather is the via media in

declining to spend time debating between these two, but stressing a practical

solution that works in the situation and not getting bogged down with an unresolvable

philosophical question. So, for me Pragmatism and the use of the accompanying

Mixed Methods makes perfect sense. A quantitative measure answers to my

Positivist tendencies and a qualitative measure answers my Constructivist

tendencies and both of them together give a more complete picture of the outcomes

of the nature walk experience for the participants thus fulfilling my Pragmatist belief.

The value of Pragmatism was validated for me in the analysis of a piece of research

regarding hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. (Frederickson, Grewen, Coffey,

Algoe, Firestine, Arevalo, Ma and Cole, 2013). Pragmatism gave them the freedom

to assess subjects from both a constructivist viewpoint and from a positivist

viewpoint. Data on the subjects’ experiences and opinions of life happiness was first

collected and categorized as either hedonic or eudaimonic. Then a blood sample

was collected and submitted for analysis regarding “leukocyte basal gene expression

profiles.” (p. 13684). Both the hedonic and eudaimonic states demonstrated a similar

level of affective correlates. However, there was wide divergence in their

microcellular level of stress hormones with the hedonic exhibiting an “up-regulated

expression of a stress-related conserved transcriptional response to adversity

(CTRA)” while the eudaimonic showed a down regulated expression. This indicates

that “the human genome may be more sensitive to qualitative variations in well-being

than our conscious affective experiences.” (p. 13684). This illustrates the value of

research from the Pragmatic paradigm. Had this research been conducted from a

positivist viewpoint, the physiological results would have been the same but the data

could have been misinterpreted by assuming that the individuals were consciously

experiencing more or less stress, as the case may be, which they were not. Had this

research been conducted from a constructivist viewpoint, the conclusion would have

been that there was no differential in effect between a hedonic and eudaimonic

experience of life, which also would have been incorrect. It was only by approaching

the topic from a Pragmatic viewpoint that the data could highlight the contradictory

nature between the conscious experience of the individual and the underlying

genomic activity.

Ecopsychology is a relatively young subdiscipline in the field of psychology and

consequently is in the process of producing convincing literature to support the many

theories and hypotheses which are being proposed. While much qualitative data has

been collected in support of concepts and proposals, the over-reliance on this

qualitative data at the expense of quantitative data has been noted in the literature.

Consequently, there has been a call for experimental data which can be objectively

observed. The current research project is designed to address this call for

quantitative data, while providing the richness of qualitative data. Quantitative data

can record observable changes in behaviours but only qualitative data can give

insight into the interior processes and perceptions which each participant

experienced.

Therefore, this research project will use the Pragmatic philosophical approach and

utilize a mixed-model design.

Pilot Project

One year before the final research proposal, I decided to submit my initial research

proposal to a Focus Group in order to receive feedback from similar-aged students

and seek evaluation in order to improve all elements of it for my final research

proposal.

The Focus Group consisted of 5 recent graduates of my International Baccalaureate

Higher Level Psychology class. I knew that all were well-versed in research

principles, as well as ethical principles. (For background to the reader -- the LSBU

Master’s Level Module in Research Methods, is virtually identical to the major points

of the Research Methods units which are taught in IB psychology. Therefore, even

though all of these were only high school graduates, I knew that they had the

knowledge to critique my research plan from a higher level of understanding than

their academic credentials might suggest). Additionally this group was similar in age

to the proposed subject group so could offer feedback from a potential participants’

viewpoint and were familiar with the institutional peculiarities (calendar, time

constraints, etc) of typical students.

They were given a document which contained the following key points and a lengthier

detailed explanation:

INITIAL RESEARCH PROPOSAL

1. “Describing the student populations and observation of place

disconnectedness; relationship to Third Culture Kids theory.

2. Describing implications of place disconnectedness for psychological health.

3. Recounting research related to place disconnectedness and potential threats

to academic preparedness/psychological health.

4. Recounting research related to green connectedness and potential benefits.

5. Research Question: Can integration of green exercise/connectedness

improve school performance and/or psychological health?

The Focus Group (FG) was provided this document approximately two weeks before

our meeting and were asked to review it. Our initial meeting took place on 15 June

2011. Students who were part of the FG had finished all coursework, taken IB

exams, and had graduated, so there was no external influence upon the group to

respond in any particular way. We discussed points for approximately one and a half

hours. I took notes of suggested changes which arose from the group discussion. I

was impressed with the quality of the suggestions made by the FG. It was clear that

they had thoroughly acquainted themselves with both the theoretical and practical

aspects of the proposed project as their suggestions were well thought out, cogent

and valid. I found their comments extremely valuable in moving to the next stages of

research and incorporated their recommendations.

FG participants had agreed to review the revisions and offer any additional input

upon receiving the revision.

The following addition was made to the original document and then sent to all of the

participants via email (as all had now left Switzerland to attend university.)

Changes arising from focus group feedback in June 2011:

Concerns were expressed regarding some methodology. Even though I am

proposing action research which is a bit radical in that the researcher can be

involved and actively advocating a change with the participants, the point was made

that my research could be lent extra credibility by the addition of at least a small

comparison (control) group to measure for the same criteria of the experimental

condition.

Concern was expressed over the subjective nature of relying solely upon self-report

instruments. Since the students were familiar with my interaction style, there is the

possibility that subjects in the experimental group might demonstrate demand

characteristics to “assist” the researcher. Some remedies were suggested, in

addition to the original proposed evaluation tools, which included at least one

“objective” measure of mental ability which is not controllable by the will (eg. a

memory test, an organizational task) to supplement the self-reports and the

suggestion of pre and post test measures of basic physiology (eg blood pressure

and pulse)(see below). Additionally, the suggestion was made to ask the subjects to

record perceived changes on an ongoing basis during the trial period, thus allowing

the researcher to identify if there truly had been a pattern of change or growth, rather

than a simple pre/post report.

Partially as a screening for health issues, but also in response to collecting more

“objective” data, a mini physical will be administered by the school nurse, consisting

of blood pressure, pulse rate and temperature pre and post. In many of the reported

research pieces, there was physiological improvement as the study progressed,

though not a goal in any of them.

Also, the possibility was suggested of measuring some other observable behaviour

in which a second rater could be employed to validate the results by introducing

inter-rater reliability.

If the group is self-selecting, a suggestion was made to screen for bias of students

who already prefer nature/natural settings versus ambivalent or those who do not

prefer nature at all. It is anticipated that participants will indeed be self-selected

through the school’s after-school programme, but that volunteering for the project

would not necessarily guarantee participation. This would give the researcher the

flexibility perhaps to control for this variable.

Specific valuable comments were also offered regarding our school’s population. My

original proposal specified either 11th or 12th graders. Students pointed out that the

first semester (the time frame I am proposing) for 12th graders is the busiest of their

entire school careers and therefore it would be unlikely that any could be recruited.

Therefore, they recommended 11th graders only.

Also, attention was directed to the fact that the timeframe could be problematic. The

original proposal was 12 weeks. As some of the measures to be examined include

mental acumen and performance, there is the question of how much a student would

naturally develop his/her abilities in that time frame as they are entering into the IB

university preparation programme. Additionally, the issue of getting a 12 week

commitment, even from 11th graders, was seen to be problematic. Therefore, the

revised proposal will be for 5 weeks 2 times a week, which will fit into our school

calendar, as half term occurs approximately 8 weeks after we begin, so students

would know that they could volunteer for this study and be finished before that time.

The revised proposal was then sent out. All responded within one week with positive

comments regarding the changes that had been suggested and incorporated into the

revision. No additional modifications were suggested.

Based upon the information from the literature, there is a strong desire for those

involved in Green Exercise or Ecotherapy to see more research studies replicated.

There are numerous studies which support the efficacy of green interventions, but it

is felt that the research is rather “thin.” To give that breadth to the research, I have

included both qualitative and quantitative measures in the design. Qualitative results

will allow the participants to share their motivations and interior processes and will

not force them into a category which surveys and questionnaires with predetermined

answers can do. However, qualitative research has its shortcomings too, not the

least of which would be demand characteristics. Since there will be no deception

involved with the research, participants will be fully apprised of the point of the

research, thus possibly unconsciously prompting the answers the researcher is

seeking on these qualitative instruments. However, much of the extant research has

used these instruments, so in order to partially replicate these earlier studies, I want

to include their use. My choice of personal journaling was made in order to give

subjects maximum flexibility in sharing their experiences. The lack of prompts had

the advantage of not directing their comments in any particular direction, while the

independent recording of their thoughts and feelings was therefore not subject to

demand characteristics which could occur in a one on one interview.

Quantitative results will supplement the data that the qualitative instruments

collected. This would involve the measuring of physical characteristics (heart rate,

blood pressure) along with an objective test of mental acuity, most likely a

proofreading task, which is not manipulable.

All measures will be taken pre and post research with the only goal of comparison

within each participant rather than among group members. This is crucial as the

research seeks to discover any individual improvements as a result of the Green

Exercise, and not in any way to introduce a competitive element among participants.

The final point which the Focus Group assisted with was in the naming of the

intervention I am proposing. As this is an emerging discipline there is no generally

accepted term. There is the field of Ecotherapy, but “therapy” implies a deficit of

some sort which is being overcome. This study is about improving wellness

regardless of the participant’s current status, thus no “therapy” is being suggested.

Therefore, we are looking solely at improving wellness and therefore need a new

term to encompass these goals. The Focus Group was called upon one last time. I

proposed two terms, but also solicited other suggestions: Wellness Eco Walks or

Eco Walks for Wellness. The Focus Group unanimously chose “Eco Walks for

Wellness” which does have a pleasing sonorous quality linguistically as well as being

overtly descriptive of the intervention.

Research Project

Research Questions:

1. To what extent do nature walks have a positive impact upon

psychological health specifically cognitive attention?

2. How do participants describe the nature walk experience?

Hypothesis: Nature walks will result in a statistically significant improvement

in mental acuity as measured by the d2 Test of Attention and related

qualitative reports.

Null Hypothesis: Nature walks will not not result in a statistically significant

improvement in mental acuity as measured by the d2 Test of Attention and

related qualitative reports.

Study Design

The experimental pre-test, post-test design integrating both qualitative and

quantitative measures will be used. The efficacy of nature walks has already been

established in the literature so this study will be designed to answer the call from

previous research to examine which specific components of psychological health

and well-being are affected by nature walks. To that end, one aspect of mental

acuity, specifically attention, will be examined. Following a Mixed Methods design, I

chose to utilize both a quantitative and a qualitative measure. The quantitative

measure to be used is the d2 Test of Attention and the qualitative measure will be a

personal journal where each participant could record thoughts and reflections during

the period of the walks. All participants will attend a measurement session in which

the d2 will be administered immediately prior to the first nature walk and also

immediately following the final nature walk. They will be provided with a standard

journal in which to record their thoughts and reflections during the walk period. The

intervention will consist of twice-weekly nature walks over five weeks. An objective

instrument could record any changes in individual functioning as a result of the

nature-based intervention using repeated measures. Therefore, the manipulated

variable is the nature walk interventions and the dependent variables are the test-

retest scores on the d2 Test of Attention. The qualitative data would add richness

and depth to the quantitative results, giving further insight into the introspective

interior impressions of each participant.

METHOD

Target Population

The target population of this research is 16-18 year old TCKs at international schools

and the unit of analysis is the individual participant.

Ethics UREC Number 1262

In planning this research project, it involved low risk of harm to the participants, as

the intervention was a walk in the woods near the school. To insure participant

health and safety in case of any unforeseen situations, it was decided that the

experimenter would accompany students on all the walks. Since it is a public

woodland, the experimenter could be available to ensure participant safety.

Ethical approval was sought from the LSBU University Ethics Research Committee

and was received. It was assigned UREC Number 1262. Approval was received to

use the d2 as the quantitative instrument and journals as the qualitative instrument,

but due to the fact that the researcher is not a medical professional, the use of

physiological data as a measure to be examined for the study was not approved.

However, the use of the physiological data to safeguard student health and safety

was allowed.

Safeguarding participants and their information is of paramount importance in any

research project. (Hesse-Biber and Leavy, 2010). Therefore, standard procedures

were followed to insure this. Informed consent was the first procedure employed to

insure willing voluntary participation. This consisted of an information sheet

distributed upon first demonstration of interest. If still interested 24 hours later, the

researcher conferred individually with each potential participant reading through and

explaining each section of the informed consent agreement. Upon receiving approval

and after passing the health screening, they were admitted to the research

experiment. (As explained elsewhere, the LSBU UREC approved the research

project, but did not want the physiological measures included as part of the criteria

measured, as the researcher is not a medical health professional.) Each participant

was assigned a number so no research document (quantitative or qualitative)

contains the subject’s identity on it. The researcher has kept a master list apart from

the original research documents to preserve the anonymity of the results at all times.

Journals and test results were kept in a locked cabinet to further safeguard the

information.

Provision was made for the school guidance counselor to be available should any

unexpected issues surface from a participant during the nature walk research

project. Physical safety was provided by the researcher being physically present

along the trails while the walks took place.

Two possible issues to be aware of are demand characteristics and experimenter

bias. The use of Mixed Methods design was partially to offset the possibility that the

qualitative journal record keeping could be subject to demand characteristics where

the participant biases their results based upon what they assume is the point of the

experiment. Since there was no deception involved for this research, this was a very

real possibility. The use of the non-manipulable instrument (the d2) was a cross

check to this point. Experimenter bias can enter into any research project, but

particularly with the interpretation of qualitative data. The use of inductive content

analysis as the preliminary stage before thematic analysis was designed in order to

partially offset this concern.

After the journals were collected, care was taken to preserve the identities and the

data contained therein. As mentioned above, the journals only contained their

participant number and not their names. At no time was the student identity and data

contained within the same document to preserve their confidentiality.

Students were debriefed following the final administration of the d2 and the collection

of the personal journals. They were told that they could withdraw their results if they

so desired, that if any issues surfaced that they could come back to see me and

finally information was provided should they wish to see the final research product.

Participants

The subjects were 11 students enrolled in an international school in Switzerland in

11th grade which equaled 8.3% of eligible students in the class, none of whom were

students directly taught by the researcher. There were 3 males and 8 females. All

the students met the description of TCK, and all of whom most recently came from

schools in different countries, with a mixture of different passport countries and

native languages, but all of whom were proficient in English which is the language of

their instruction. Countries of origin included Germany, Switzerland, France, Austria,

Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, with a variety of experiences at

international schools ranging from being their first to fourth country of residence

outside their home culture. The average age was 16 years 10 months with a range

from 16-17.

Due to the small number of volunteer participants, it was decided to forego a control

group. Had the 11 students been divided into control and “experimental” groups, it

would have provided an abnormally low number of five in one group and six in the

other, thus making it difficult to make any conclusions regarding the results.

However, the researcher was satisfied that the total of 11 participants, which was

8.3% of the eligible members of the category of participant, was significant.

Materials

Measurements

A basic physical screening was done by the school nurse consisting of blood

pressure, pulse and temperature and also to alert the researcher of any physical

conditions which might prevent participation. This was not a measure of the research

but a pre-screening procedure to assure the health and safety of the participants. No

student had to be excluded due to this screening procedure.

Quantitative measures: To measure one aspect of the effect of nature on

psychological health and wellness and mental vitality, namely mental acuity, the d2

Test of Attention was employed.

Measure of Attention: d2 Test of Attention

This instrument was originally developed for use in Switzerland and Germany as a

measure for young adults’ attentional ability in preparation to receive a driver’s

license, but it has subsequently been normed for English speaking subjects in recent

years as well as for multiple age groups (Brickencamp and Zillmer, 1998). The d2

Test of Attention handbook explains the concepts of selective attention and mental

concentration as the “continuous and focused selection of stimuli” (Brickenkamp and

Zillmer, 1998, p. 3). Further research was continued the following year to establish

the construct validity of the d2 (Zillmer and Kennedy, 1999).

This measure was chosen because of its high degree of validity and reliability in

assessing attention. “Results suggested that the d2 Test is an internally consistent

and valid measure of visual scanning accuracy and speed.” (Bates and Lemay

2004).

An additional consideration for the d2 was that it manifests no learning effect from

multiple administrations. The test has strong test-retest reliability from five hours up

to 40 months which suggests that no learning effect has been observed in 28

separate research studies (Brickenkamp and Zillmer, 1998, p. 18). This means that

the results pre-test vs. post-test can be attributed to the intervention and not any

familiarity with the instrument itself.

The d2 Test of Attention has been used extensively in research in the medical

profession (for example: Seidl, Peyrl, Nicham and Hauser, 2000; Marshall, Molle,

Hallschmid, and Born, 2004; Wassenberg, Hendriksen, Hurks, Feron, Keulers, Vles,

and Jolles, 2008; Porbadnigk, Gornitz, Sannelli, Binder, Braun, Kloft, and Muller,

2014), but is relatively new in Ecopsychology research, this project perhaps being

the first usage. This history further demonstrates its appropriateness for this type of

study. While this instrument was originally designed for 17-26 year olds, it has now

been normed for older and younger age groups, which includes this study’s target

population of 16-18 year olds. This standardized instrument is an objective measure

of individual attention and concentration performance which are two components of

mental acuity and vitality. Its validity and reliability has been established through

documented research, and was developed expressly for the age range of this study,

although it has now been standardized for children and adults also.

The d2 Test involves the task of discriminating certain target symbols and crossing

them out. Subjects are told to identify these characters in each line of type and only

mark those. They are given 20 seconds per each line which consists of 47 items per

line and 14 lines to evaluate. No other characters are to be marked through. This

instrument has many subscores but the most meaningful for this research project are

Total Number Processed (TN) (a measure of speed) and Concentration Performance

(CP) (a measure of accuracy). Briefly, the TN “is a highly reliable and normally

distributed measure of attentional allocation,…..processing speed, amount of work

completed, and motivation,” while the CP focus is “normally distributed, is highly

reliable and provides an excellent index of the coordination of speed and accuracy of

performance”. (Brickenkamp and Zilmer, 1998, p. 11). Therefore, these two

measures give a broad overview of mental acuity using two slightly differing criteria.

Qualitative measures:

The use of qualitative data adds richness to research data by the participants

sharing the inner world of their thoughts and feelings, particularly when an

intervention covers a period of time. The use of personal journals allowed maximum

flexibility from the participants so they would not feel constrained to answer in any

particular way as even a semi-structured interview could introduce demand

characteristics. Additionally, by the participant recording their results privately and

not face to face with an interviewer, the researcher would not be able to explicitly or

inadvertently influence answers to various questions (experimenter bias.)

Participants were told they could record their responses via word, picture or drawing

-- any way which they felt accurately portrayed their lived experience during the

walks in the wood. This flexibility is the main advantage of the use of journals in

research. The participants in this study are highly motivated, well-educated

individuals who attend a school with a curriculum that focuses on writing and

constant reflection (the International Baccalaureate curriculum), which would mean

that most likely the participants would be able to fully and accurately represent in

words, or pictures, or drawings, their experiences in their journals. This illustrates

both the strength of this instrument as well as overcoming the main concern in the

use of journals -- that participants may not have the writing ability or sophistication to

utilize them to their fullest potential to achieve the research goals.

Procedure

Recruitment. Posters around school publicized the project. (Appendix I) Students

voluntarily responded to a call for participants in a psychology research project

involving nature walks called “Eco Walks for Wellness.” Students were given a

detailed Participant Information Sheet (Appendix II) which outlined purpose,

expectations and requirements. They were then given a day to further consider if

they wished to participate. Subsequently, the researcher met individually with each

participant and discussed the project in greater detail and explained each section of

the Informed Consent Form (Appendix III), and then obtained each of their written

consents. No compensation was given, but students were allowed to claim an hour-

for-hour credit towards their 150-hour school requirement for action and service. The

target population of this research is 16-18 year old TCKs. Students were asked to

commit to twice weekly nature walks for up to 5 weeks, with consistency of

participation stressed. Each student participated regularly.

Interventions

The school has public woods with nature trails within 500 meters which was utilized

for the walk. It is heavily forested so when on the nature trails, only natural elements

are experienced; the woods are far enough away from any highways that no noise

external to the woods can be heard (see Figures 1-4).

Figures 1-4. Views of the Nature Environment.

Students were led on the walks by the researcher twice a week, immediately

following the school day for one hour. This was important in that following an entire

school day, the students would be in a state of cognitive fatigue, an element which

was mentioned as crucial in many of the precursor studies -- making sure that the

subjects were in a state of cognitive fatigue (Hartig et al., 1991). Therefore, no

artificial “cognitive fatiguing” activity was employed. It was a non-strenuous walk to

accommodate all students, regardless of physical fitness. A theme was proposed

each of the five weeks for students to focus on while walking (e.g. noticing visual

stimuli, noticing fragrances, etc.) which would encourage engagement with natural

elements. Participants were asked to turn off or silence any electronic devices. The

researcher purposely engaged in little conversation with students and usually

maintained a physical distance between the subjects and himself, although his

presence was required for health and safety considerations of the school age

population.

The study was run for five weeks from September through October to take

advantage of the relative warmth and sunny days in Switzerland at that time of year.

Additionally, the forest was still green, as the leaves fall in Switzerland towards the

end of October or November, thereby obscuring any built elements which could be

visible if the trees were leafless. Students took two nature walks per week: one on

Monday or Tuesday and the second on Thursday or Friday. These immediately

followed the school day. The walks were from 40 to 60 minutes depending upon the

pace the individual student took. While each walk began as a group, students ended

up walking individually or in dyads or triads for most of the duration of the walk. For

each of the five weeks, a theme was suggested for them to focus on centering on a

different sense: visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile. (Appendix IV).

At the pre-intervention administration, the researcher distributed the d2 Test of

Attention answer sheet with the practice side facing upward (Appendix VI). The

standardized instructions script as found in the d2 Manual was employed in the

administration with no anomalies (Appendix VII). This administration gave the

baseline data for each participant on the d2 for comparison after the nature walk

interventions.

Also at the pre-intervention administration, a standard journal was distributed to each

participant. They were asked to record any thoughts, feelings or reflections regarding

the walks and make their entries as soon after each walk as possible. It was

reiterated that they could use words, pictures, drawings, etc, as each felt most

comfortable.

Subsequent to the nature walk interventions, immediately following the final walk the

same procedure was followed to measure their post-intervention d2 results. Each

participant was debriefed and given the Debriefing Document. (Appendix V). In

addition, journals were collected in the days following. Nine journals were returned

for analysis, as two students chose not to record in their journals.

Results of both the quantitative and qualitative data were compiled and analysis was

conducted. (Appendix VIII & IX).

Quantitative

d2 results were tabulated using the standardized procedures for scoring as found in

the Test Manual.

Qualitative

Upon completion of the nature walk interventions, students returned the previously-

provided journals in which they had been asked to record their thoughts and

reflections immediately following or by the end of the day of each walk. Nine of

eleven participants chose to record in their journals and returned them following the

intervention period. The journal entries were transcribed into digital format and then

inductive content analysis was employed first using the writewords.org.uk website,

and then manual interpretation of the data. Content analysis involves the analysis of

text allowing the identification of themes and inductive content analysis allows

themes to emerge from the text rather than deductive content analysis where the

researcher is only looking for specific topics. Inductive content analysis is considered

theory generating while deductive content analysis is considered theory testing

(Braun and Clarke, 2006; Elo and Kyngas, 2008; Franzosi, 2008, pp. 549-563).

Results were transcribed into an electronic format for ease of analysis. Inductive

content analysis was employed for this study, as mentioned above, to allow themes

to emerge from the participants’ own voices. Inductive content analysis introduced

an objective measure into the interpretation of the data. This consisted of using word

count software.

Next, the data was explored and themes were identified. There are competing and

sometimes contradictory positions in the literature regarding where inductive content

analysis ends and thematic analysis begins. Braun and Clarke take the position,

mistaken in my opinion, that themes cannot “emerge” from the data. While they

rightly call attention to the fact that experimenter bias is always a possibility, taking

their position to the extreme would discount any interpretation of qualitative data as

any researcher, regardless of how objective they try to be, would inject their own

biases, and any theme identified could be just a projection of the researcher.

However, this extreme position negates the very voice of the subjects’ experiences

by denying that the themes can reside in the data to be discovered by the

researcher. For if the themes are not “residing” in the data collected from the

subjects, where is their voice? Their only voice is contained in the words which they

choose to share. Steps can be taken to minimize the experimenter bias and indeed

identify the themes that do “emerge” and which “reside” in the data, for example by

using inductive content analysis in the first case.

While Braun and Clarke have the most prescriptive model of how to engage in

thematic analysis, there are a variety of other models and opinions in the literature,

ranging from inductive content analysis being identical to thematic analysis, “So CA

and TA can be very similar/identical….:it depends on how people make sense of,

and use, both of these methods.” (https://www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/our-

research/research-groups/thematic-analysis/frequently-asked-questions-8.html), to

differing simpler applications, to Braun and Clarke’s own admission: “Thematic

analysis is a poorly demarcated and rarely-acknowledged, yet widely-used

qualitative analytic method (see Boyatzis, 1998; Roulston, 2001) within and beyond

psychology.” (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Therefore, the model utilized was Millward

(2006) from Research Methods in Psychology. (Millward, 2006).

The results of the inductive content analysis were then used to help identify themes

which emerged from the data. As noted above, this was to minimize experimenter

bias in the identification of such themes. This information, taken along with reading

and rereading the journals allowed the identification of the themes emerging from the

subjects’ experiences during the nature walk interventions.

Taking this information and re-reading the journals paying especial attention to the

most frequently used terms revealed two main themes from the participants: 1.

comments noticing affective changes as a result of the nature walks, and 2.

comments noticing cognitive changes as a result of the nature walks.

My role and reactions

My goal and desire in this endeavour was and is to end up helping people improve

their lives. Building from my anecdotal life experiences of the restorative power of

natural settings inspired me to pursue this particular research project.

While my decision to participate on the nature walks was mainly motivated by the

health and safety factor with regard to the participants, it was fortunate that that is

how the procedure worked out. In spite of being the researcher on the project and

overseeing the participants during the walk, I was able to feel a sense of recharge

and refreshment during each of them. For me personally, I felt both stress relief and

a restoration of my attention capability. While never formally diagnosed with ADD, I

believe that I have exhibited those tendencies throughout my life and this experience

confirmed for me the ability of nature to help soothe and calm me at the end of a

particularly stressful day. It was gratifying, too, to witness this calming effect taking

place in the participants as it was occurring. Because of that, the results scored and

recorded by the participants were not surprising. I think my most meaningful

moment, albeit anecdotal, was at the end of one of the nature walks when one of the

participants who had complained of a headache at the beginning of the walk (and I

had offered to let her skip the walk in case it was too much for that day) said that by

the end of the walk that the headache had gone away completely. As it appeared

that the participants were outwardly benefitting from the nature walks as originally

conceived, no adjustment to the procedures were deemed to be necessary or

desirable during the course of the research project.

When one is part of the research, sometimes results can challenge the assumptions

that the researcher originally held. That was not the case here. The research rather

confirmed these beliefs which further strengthened my resolve to fully implement for

myself, and encourage others to benefit from, nature by immersing themselves in as

much of it as they can as often as they can.

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Chapter 4

Results

In this chapter I will report the results obtained from the research project. This

research project employed Mixed Methods and therefore the results will need to be

presented and analysed consonant with this approach. Mixed methods gives greater

depth to the meaning of the results obtained by considering quantitative and

qualitative results and also cross correlating these results. Therefore, the data from

this research project has been subjected to the rigor of three different means of

analysis. Consequently, this chapter will present firstly the analysis of two different

scales from the d2 Test of Attention which was the quantitative measure. Secondly,

thematic results will be presented and analysed as extracted from the individual

participants’ journal entries for the qualitative analysis. Thirdly, each individual

participant’s quantitative and qualitative results will be individually integrated to

determine if the quantitative and qualitative data reinforce one another, followed by

an analysis of these integrated results.

Research Question: To what extent do nature walks have a positive impact upon

psychological health specifically cognitive attention?

Hypothesis H1: Nature walks will result in a statistically significant improvement in

mental acuity as measured by the d2 Test of Attention and related qualitative

reports.

Null Hypothesis H0: Nature walks will not not result in a statistically significant

improvement in mental acuity as measured by the d2 Test of Attention and related

qualitative reports.

Quantitative Data Analysis

Two measures of the d2 were utilized for this analysis -- the Total Number processed

(TN) and the Concentration Performance (CP). The TN reflects the speed of

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processing while the CP reflects the accuracy. Total Number scores can range from

215 to 652 according to the norming tables while CP scores could range between 16

and 298.

The pretest mean for TN was 511.5, with a range between 426 and 602 and the

posttest mean was 578.5 with a range of 502 to 652, demonstrating a notable

increase in total items completed. The pretest mean for CP was 212.2, with a range

between 173 and 268 and the posttest mean was 251.7, with a range of 210 to 298,

again a notable increase in accuracy of completion. As the focus of this study was

only analyzing individual participant changes, group measures of variability would

not be relevant.

Figure 5. Total Number (TN) Pre and Post Intervention

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Figure 6. Concentration Performance (CP) Pre and Post Intervention

The raw data reflected an observable difference between pre nature walk and post

nature walk performances on both measures. (see Appendix IX).

For the TN, ten of eleven participants demonstrated an increase in number of items

completed and for the CP, ten of eleven participants demonstrated an increase in

items completed accurately. In the TN, the participant who declined in total items

completed, did increase their CP which indicates an improvement in accuracy post-

test. In the CP, another participant increased their TN, but their CP declined which

was anomalous with the rest of the group results. Upon more detailed analysis, this

anomalous CP result was brought about by the participant completing fewer answers

(slower speed) and committing fewer errors post vs. pre, but still because their

overall total items marked through declined slightly, their CP declined, but their

accuracy for items completed increased, which is not reflected in any of the

subscores.

With the TN, further analysis revealed that the majority of the participants pre

intervention began with a median percentile rank of the 88.5th percentile and ended

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with a median of the 96.9th percentile. The only outlier scored in the 50th percentile

pre and ended in 95.5th percentile post. Excluding the outlier, this means that

participants began with percentile ranks between 69.2 and 99.2 and ended with

percentile ranks between 81.6 and 99.9 highlighting the large improvement in spite

of relatively high pre intervention results. Except for the outlier, no matter where a

subject began, all ended up in the 90th to 99.7th percentile. The outlier who actually

declined did not score so highly that no improvement was possible (94.5th

percentile), as another participant who began at the 99.2nd percentile actually

improved to the 99.7th percentile pre/post.

For the CP the median percentile rank began at the 72.6th percentile pre-

intervention and ended up at the 97.7th percentile post-intervention. Three outliers

here showed remarkable increases: #5 -- 34.5th percentile pre and ending with

84.1st percentile post; #9 -- 50th percentile pre and 96.4th percentile post; #8 --

61.8th percentile pre and 97.7th percentile post. Once again, except for the outlier

who declined (who was a different subject from the anomalous TN score mentioned

previously), all participants ended up in the 90th to 99.9th percentile no matter where

they started from, again highlighting the notable increase in this measure.

Statistical Analysis

A t-test for paired samples was used to compare the group results as this experiment

employed a repeated measurement design with the participants’ results compared

before and after the intervention. This was calculated for both the TN and the CP,

and verified using the Laerd Statistics online calculator. For the TN, the t-test for

repeated measures t=4.17, df=10, p<.001 and for the CP, the t-test for repeated

measures, t=5.107, df=10, p<.0002. (Appendix IX).

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Therefore, based upon these quantitative results we can reject the null hypothesis

(H0) and accept the research hypothesis (H1) that nature walks had a statistically

significant positive impact upon mental acuity as measured by d2 scores. While this

provided a quantitative data set to the research study, qualitative data adds the

participants’ individual experiences and insights while this process was occurring.

Research Question: How do participants describe the nature walk experience?

Qualitative Data Analysis

Participants were given a numbered journal and asked to record their thoughts and

reflections immediately following or by the end of the day of each walk. Nine of

eleven participants chose to record in their journals and returned them following the

intervention period. Results were transcribed into an electronic format for ease of

analysis. Inductive content analysis was employed for this study, as mentioned

above, to allow themes to emerge from the participants’ own voices. The use of

qualitative data will add richness and depth of meaning to the results obtained from

the quantitative data.

In the initial reading through all journal entries, it became clear that all

participants had experienced some sort of psychological improvement which they

attributed to the nature walk intervention. By having such a small sample size,

individual results and nuances can be explored for each participant which would not

be possible in a larger study. Examples from each journal follow here:

Participant #2:

“I observed my surroundings, the forest, the trees, some flowers and how the

sunshine passed through and illuminated the leaves. It was quite beautiful. This way,

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by being in such a calm environment, with no rush or anything special to do, I felt

more relaxed, with less pressure and more awake.”

Participant #5:

“In the woods it was beautiful and I forgot every little thing that was bothering me, I

felt at peace with the whole world, but especially with myself.”

Participant #6:

“Today’s walk was very nice and relaxing; it was the most enjoyable walk and it was

stress-releasing.”

Participant # 7:

“I believe the walks provided a calm and relaxing atmosphere after such hectic days

at school. It helped take my mind off things for awhile before continuing with school

work. I would continue these walks as I felt ‘at peace.’”

Participant #8:

“I had a busy day in school today and felt tired, almost unwilling to do the walk.

Nevertheless, after the walk I seemed to feel energized again and ready to do more

work. It seemed a little break from everything had helped me to concentrate better

afterwards.”

Participant #9:

“The walk today was enjoyable and I feel that it had an effect on my mindset. I felt

calm during the walk and also afterwards. When I arrived back at school, I reflected

on the walk which also helped. I look forward to the walks as it feels as if there has

been a difference in my mental state afterwards.”

Participant #10:

“Once again I found the walk very relaxing and felt calm after it had finished. After

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the walk I also felt quite attentive and awake. I have noticed this on most of my

walks. This has enabled me to work more efficiently at home.”

Participant #13:

“I was distracted (in a good way) and forgot about what had been on my mind

before. Everything smelt quite fresh because of the rain but it was very humid.”

Participant #15:

“I always look forward to these walks now. I noticed that all the stress from school

and all the work that had been building up inside of me, gradually got less, the more

we walked.

I find these walks nice and calming.”

More in-depth analysis was conducted using inductive content analysis. To

begin with, a word frequency counter was employed and then common pronouns,

verbs, common adjectives and articles were excluded. Herewith follows the

frequency chart for the remaining keywords (Complete analysis in Appendix VIII):

Word

relaxed/relaxing

stress/stressed/stressing

nature

relaxed

enjoyed

mind

woods

mood

concentrate

calm

Frequency

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Taking this information into account, the journals were then re-read noting

particularly how these ideas/concepts/nouns/adjectives were used in sentences

(positively/negatively/neutral, etc.) to give greater context to these terms and allow

the identification of themes.

Two main themes emerged from the participants. All participants reported noticing

either some form of affective change or cognitive change or both. Those who

experienced both mentioned a simultaneous improvement in both affect and

cognitive focus. These themes will be further explored below via the following

specific categories.

Subtheme #1 Relaxation: (Theme of Affective Change)

Without exception, all nine participants mentioned the word relax or a variant of it in

their journal entries. Some used it only once, but many of them multiple times. In all

cases when it was mentioned it was in the affirmative sense of experiencing

increased relaxation after the nature walks which they directly attributed to the walk

in the woods. Relaxation is a complicated concept in that it can involve components

both physical and mental. Usually seen as a bidirectional relationship, participants in

this study as well as others, generally do not distinguish between them or report the

physical and mental effects as occurring simultaneously. In addition to the examples

cited in the introduction to this section, the following reflect comments regarding the

theme of relaxation:

Participant #5:

“I am also more calm at home and I am able to relax more and I am starting to learn

how to clear my mind also without these walks which is due to those nature walks.”

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Participant #8:

“Today I felt like I wanted to relax during the walk and enjoy the surrounding

environment. I believe it is equally important to have fitness some days but on others

just to relax and take a short break from school-life, etc.”

Participant #9:

“The walk may have subtly relaxed me, and it felt as if the relaxed mood was

sustained throughout the evening.”

Participant #13:

“I felt way more relaxed than usual when we’re on the walks.”

Participant #15:

“Taking walks generally clear my mind and I find myself very relaxed afterwards.”

Subthemes #2 and #3 Stress; Mental Acuity (Themes of Affective and Cognitive

Change)

Stress is a difficult concept to parse as it has both a physiological manifestation as

well as a cognitive/affective component. There is no clear consensus regarding

these interrelationships and stress is generally seen as having bidirectional

relationships between the physiological and cognitive/affective elements. ”Most

contemporary researchers believe that an adequate definition of stress must take

into account the interplay between external stressors and our physical and

psychological responses. This relationship is neither simple nor predictable, for it

varies from person to person and from day to day.” (Parker and Ettinger, 2010).

Subjects noticed conscious improvements in focus, attention and concentration or

mental acuity which were noted in differing ways by different subjects as reflected in

the following entries.

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These four subjects reported an explicit link between the reduction of stress and their

ability to concentrate and focus.

Participant #5

“Every time I come back home, I feel calmer and less stressful, I am able to

concentrate and work better.”

Participant #6 (after taking the d2 for the second time):

“As for the concentration test, I did notice a difference. I think I did better on this test

than on the first one…”

Participant #8:

“Nevertheless, afterwards I always find myself refreshed not only physically but

mentally as well.”

Participant #15:

“Today I knew I had a lot of homework to finish after school and I felt very stressed

because I really had no idea where to start. This walk was very helpful because after

I had a clear mind and was therefore able to concentrate better on what I had to do.

The walks are generally just helpful, because it gives me a break from school and

the homework I normally do right after.”

Participant #9 explicitly connected mood, stress, and concentration. This particular

subject benefited from increased mental acuity whether experiencing an

improvement in mood or not. This suggests that cognitive refreshing played a role in

the ability to better focus mentally.

Participant #9:

“The nature walk was also interesting as it is nice to be fully surrounded by plant life.

I did not notice a dramatic change in mood, however as the evening progressed, I

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found myself to feel more comfortable. Completing homework assignments also felt

a lot easier.”

“I was previously anxious about a maths test tomorrow, although the walk helped me

to concentrate when revising.”

“Today the walk was effective at improving my mood, stress levels and general well-

being….The walk improved my state of mind and made me look forward to the next.”

For Participant #10, while not stated explicitly, it is implied that the nature walk

helped with their concentration:

Participant #10:

“Once I got home I began to revise for my biology test which is in a few days. I found

revising today much easier than when I did it yesterday despite having less time than

yesterday. I was able to concentrate quite well when revising and so took in a lot of

information.”

Integration of Quantitative and Qualitative Results by Participant

Thus far, we have examined the qualitative and quantitative data discretely. While

this has value, it is also important to consider if there is correlation within each

participant between the quantitative and qualitative results. So, in the following

analysis, the qualitative reports will be paired with each participants’ quantitative data

in order to give depth of meaning and understanding to the previously identified

improvement in performance from that quantitative data. The significance of these

results can only be seen by an examination of each subject’s results, rather than

group analysis, which could dilute the significance of an individual’s impressions or

numerical data. Amalgamating results, as well as only reporting representative

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comments, risks losing the subtlety and nuances of the participants’ experiences,

particularly as reflected in their qualitative comments. The following analysis, similar

to a case study approach, is one of the major contributions to the literature that this

study makes in that it juxtaposed completely open-ended qualitative data with

quantitative data and was able to be analysed on a subject by subject basis in a real

woods setting, which does not appear to have been reported in previous research.

Participants’ results are reported in rank order of net change on the CP, which is a

better indicator of increase in mental acuity by measuring accuracy, not just speed.

Eight out of nine participants who kept a journal consciously noted some sort of

improvement based upon the walks. Only Participant #13 deviated from these

results: “I enjoyed the walk, but I’m not noticing any difference in how I feel on days I

have the walk and days I don’t.” His/her quantitative data showed improvement, but

s/he did not attribute this improvement to the intervention.

Participant #10

Pre/Post CP

212/278

Net Change +66

Pre/Post TN

509/612

Net Change +103

Participant number 10 exhibited the largest increase in CP pre/post testing and

fourth highest increase in TN pre/post.

This participant not only showed the largest increase in the CP, they also noted

improvement in multiple areas of psychological health and well-being over the

course of the walks which included improved affect, improved mood, decreased

stress, improved concentration, and even recovery from a headache during one

particular walk.

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This participant recorded the following thoughts:

Entry #1: “Today was the first walk. To my surprise, I quite enjoyed it, more than I

thought I would. I found that walking in the forest/nature is very calming and relaxing.

After a long day at school, this walk helped me to relax and to remove the anxiety

and stress that I had before.”

Entry #2: “Today was the second walk. After a test, it was nice to unwind by walking

through the forest.”

Entry #4: “Today was the fourth walk…..I felt very relaxed during and after the walk

despite having a lot of work to do. Although I got home an hour later than I normally

do, I didn’t feel stressed at all about having to do lots of homework. I just got on with

it.”

Entry #5: “Once I got home I began to revise for my biology test which is in a few

days. I found revising today much easier than when I did it yesterday despite having

less time than yesterday. I was able to concentrate quite well when revising and so

took in a lot of information.”

Entry #6: “Today was the sixth walk. During the walk I noticed that I felt quite happy

and optimistic more so than at school or at home. Although, I had much to do when I

got home, I knew that it would be OK so I would be able to get it all done. These

problems that I often have were cleared away during the walks.”

Entry #7: “I noticed that some of the trees have begun to shed their leaves. On other

trees the leaves have begun to change colour from green to yellow. I had a

headache for most of the day, but after the walk I forgot about it and the pain simply

went.”

Entry #8: “Today was the eighth walk. The weather was quite nice. Once again I

found the walk very relaxing and felt calm after it had finished. After the walk I also

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felt quite attentive and awake. I have noticed this on most of my walks. This has

enabled me to work more efficiently at home.”

Participant #8

Pre/Post CP

199/263

Net Change +64

Pre/Post TN

474/597

Net Change +123

Participant number eight showed the highest increase in TN pre/post testing, and the

second highest increase in CP among the group.

This participant explicitly connects the walk in the wood and attributes the

disconnection from the “outer world” to allow them to be “refreshed” and noticed

stress relief.

Participant eight reflected on these changes throughout the intervention period:

Entry #1 (after first walk): “However, the walk did ease my mind of school and stress

and let me be a bit of myself…”

Entry #4: “I enjoyed the smell of the woods we walked in, as it had previously rained,

and it seemed to refresh my brain and make me more active.”

Entry #6: “However, I had an urgent need to walk faster and get moving to release

some built up frustration during the day. I found that afterwards I had returned to

normality and was not frustrated with the experience earlier in the day.”

Entry #7: “Nevertheless, afterwards I always find myself refreshed not only

physically, but mentally as well.”

Entry #8: “Sometimes, having time for yourself allows you to think, reflect and be

detached from work to relieve stress.”

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Participant #16

Pre/Post CP

236/298

Net Change +62

Pre/Post TN

537/652

Net Change +115

Participant #16 had both the third highest increases in both CP and TN.

Unfortunately this participant did not complete a journal.

Participant #9

Pre/Post CP

178/235

Net Change +57

Pre/Post TN

426/547

Net Change +121

Participant number nine had the fourth largest increase in CP and recorded the

following thoughts.

Notable among this participant’s reflection was the first walk where they noticed a

delayed effect from the walk, with an appreciable improvement in both mood and

focus as reflected by the ability to more easily complete homework assignments. For

this participant, the theme of delayed positive outcome continued with the final entry

that the “evening after the walk was also fun.”

Entry #1 (after the first walk): “I found the walk to be enjoyable. It felt as if I had left

behind the worries of schoolwork, etc. The nature walk was also interesting as it is

nice to be fully surrounded by plant life. I did notice a dramatic change in mood,

however, as the evening progressed, I found myself to feel more comfortable.

Completing homework assignments also felt a lot easier. The walk may have subtly

relaxed me, and it felt as if the relaxed mood was sustained throughout the evening.”

Entry #3: “The walk today was enjoyable and I feel that it had an effect on my

mindset...I look forward to the walks as it feels as if there has been a difference in

my mental state afterwards.”

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Entry #4: “I feel that the walk today rid me of some stress.”

Entry #5: “Today the walk was effective at improving my mood stress levels and

general well-being. I found the walk to be relaxing and entertaining. My evening after

the walk was also fun…..The walk improved my state of mind and made me look

forward to the next.”

Participant #6

Pre/Post CP 228/280

Net Change +52

Pre/Post TN 529/623

Net Change +94

Participant number six recorded the fifth largest increased in both CP and TN. For

this participant, relaxation was the most common experienced condition as a result

of the nature walks.

Entry for Day #2: “I was also able to focus on the nature more and become more

relaxed than last time.”

Entry for Day #4: “This time I was more relaxed and I enjoyed the walk itself more.”

Entry for Day #7: “Today’s walk was very nice and relaxing; it was the most

enjoyable walk and it was stress-releasing.”

Participant #15

Pre/Post CP

220/263

Net Change +43

Pre/Post TN

519/594

Net Change +75

Participant number 15 had the sixth largest improvement in both CP and TN.

This participant also notes the explicit connection between “clearing out” their minds

during the nature walks and being able to focus and concentrate better afterwards.

Entry #1: “This was my first walk and I really enjoyed it….Taking walks generally

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clears my mind and I find myself very relaxed afterwards. I also thought that walking

in the countryside in the woods was very different to what I usually do which is walk

in the city as I live there. I noticed that I also acted more freely in the woods than I

would in a more public place.”

Entry #2: “I always look forward to these walks now. I noticed that all the stress from

school and all the work that had been building up inside of me, gradually goes less,

the more we walked. I find these walks nice and calming.”

Entry #3: “Today I was really needing this walk, as I had a lot of tests just before and

I needed to ‘air out’”.

Entry #4: “I was acting a bit ‘out of myself’ today, and I sort of showed this here,

jumping all over the place. The reason as to why I was able to show this is because I

was in the woods, outside of town and away from school.”

Entry #5: “Today I knew I had a lot of homework to finish after school and I felt very

stressed because I really had no idea where to start. This walk was very helpful

because after I had a clear mind and was therefore able to concentrate better on

what I had to do. The walks are generally just helpful, because it gives me a break

from school and the homework I normally do right after.”

Entry #6: “This was my last walk today, unfortunately, and I definitely want to have

the opportunity to continue a walk a week.”

Participant #11

Pre/Post CP 201/239

Net Change +38

Pre/Post TN 484/553

Net Change +69

Participant number 11 demonstrated the seventh largest increases in both CP and

TN. Unfortunately, this participant did not complete a journal.

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Participant #5

Pre/Post CP 173/210

Net Change +38

Pre/Post TN 547/502

Net Change -45

Participant number five demonstrated the eighth highest improvement in CP but

recorded an anomalous result in TN. While anomalous with regard to TN, their

improvement in CP, which is the measure of mental acuity, does indicate a result

consistent with the study’s hypothesis. It appears that their experience of the walk

was perceived by the participant as having a positive effect.

This participant repeatedly shares the explicit connection between experiencing

nature both via visual and olfactory means and their capacity to help them relieve

stress, improve emotions and even allow for being “at peace with the world.”

Entry #1: “Today was the first day of our nature walks...In the woods it was beautiful

and I forgot every little thing that was bothering me, I felt at peace with the whole

world, but especially with myself. I loved the smell of the wood and the smell of the

soil and the smell of the wet forest.”

Entry #2: “The second nature walk was different than the first. I believe this is due to

the fact that I am starting to know the area better. But the effect of the appearance

and smell of the woods wasn’t as overpowering as before On the other hand, the

effect of the walk had on me remained the same. The only change was that I was

able to focus more on myself and to make sure that for the time being I forget

everything that I was worrying or stressing about before. An example of this was that

I was very worried about the Celebration Evening and this walk helped me to re-gain

a hold on my emotions and to collect myself again. To be honest, it did work…..I

think that it started to have an impact on me already.”

Entry #7: “To be honest, I am really surprised of all the effect just walking in the

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woods had on me, the effects on my mind and my body. People say that massages

help to calm down, but why spend money, when a walk in the woods can have the

exact same results, maybe even better. At the same time, these walks can open the

eyes to a different world in a different light and to different smells.”

Participant #7

Pre/Post CP

199/224

Net Change +25

Pre/Post TN

479/528

Net Change +49

Participant number seven showed the ninth largest improvement in CP and eighth

largest improvement in TN. This participant experienced an evolving opinion of their

effect, from skepticism to a description of a relaxing experience.

It is interesting to note the evolution of the effects of the nature walk on this

participant, beginning with the first walk where they do not notice any difference at

home after the walk to the fifth entry where they directly attribute an increased sense

of calm and relaxation to the nature walk.

Entry #1: “Today I went on my first psychological walk. It is hard to describe exactly

how I feel. I quite enjoyed the walk as I felt care-free. I did not really think of anything

stressful as I usually do when coming home from school such as homework or

upcoming tests. I enjoyed seeing the greenery and wildlife as I found them

interesting considering I do not usually go on nature walks. It was exciting to explore

the various paths we took during the course of the walk. Even though the experience

during the walk felt effective in relieving stress, I did not really feel any different to

what I would have felt normally when I got home.”

Entry #3: “As I go on more walks, the more I enjoy them….As the physical aspect

became easier, I started noticing more around me. Despite taking the same or

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similar paths on every walk, many things went unnoticed. For example I was able to

observe and look out for wildlife and the different variety of plants and trees that

surrounded us.”

Entry #5: “I believe the walks provided a calm and relaxing atmosphere after such

hectic days at school. It helped take my mind off things for awhile before continuing

with school work. I would continue these walks as I felt ‘at peace.’”

Participant #13

Pre/Post CP

220/226

Net Change +6

Pre/Post TN

520/527

Net Change +7

Participant number 13 recorded the 10th largest improvement in CP as well as TN.

While the participant recorded a slight increase in both measures, the experience of

relaxation was not very profound.

This participant reported ambivalent results on the nature walk. Early on, the

participant reported more relaxation as a result of the walks, but in the 6th entry

(participant only made six journal entries) said that they did not notice a difference in

how they felt.

Entry #1: “I was distracted (in a good way) and forgot about what had been on my

mind before. Everything smelt quite fresh because of the rain but it was very humid.”

Entry #2: “I feel way more relaxed than usual when we’re on the walks.”

Entry #5: “I walk more slowly on these walks than when I’m walking round town,

school, etc.”

Entry #6: “I enjoyed the walk, but I’m not noticing any difference in how I feel on days

I have the walk and days I don’t.”

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Participant #2

Pre/Post CP

268/253

Net Change -15

Pre/Post TN

602/629

Net Change +27

Participant number two recorded the only result not consistent with the research

hypothesis. The participant did increase in total number of items completed (TN), but

the acuity measure (CP) declined slightly.

There is some qualitative evidence from the participant’s journal that some benefit

was experienced, however:

Entry #1: “Today we went for the first walk in the woods. I enjoyed it quite much, it

feels good to do something like this after a long day at school.”

Entry #2: “Today’s walk was definitely different than last time. Today I was very tired

during school, I wasn’t in a good mood and felt a little homesick. During the walk I

thought calmly about things, everything that made me sad, angry or happy and

questioned why it was like this. I observed my surroundings, the forest, the trees,

some flowers and how the sunshine passed through and illuminated the leaves. It

was quite beautiful. This way, by being in such a calm environment, with no rush or

anything special to do, I felt more relaxed, with less pressure and more awake.”

Entry #3: “I was ill on Monday so I wasn’t feeling extremely well, but I enjoyed it

anyway. It’s always good to take some fresh air! If not, I’m all the time inside which

affects the mood.”

Entry #4: “Today’s walk was nice, the sun was shining but the temperature was quite

cold. I thought it was relaxing because I have a maths test tomorrow so it made me

think of something else and NOT school. I enjoyed the smell of the woods, very fresh

and in some parts it smelled like fire which reminded me of when I used to go to the

mountains when I was young.”

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For this participant, in spite of the contrary quantitative result, some mood

improvement and relief of stress was experienced which lends support to the

research hypothesis when considering the qualitative data. As with some other

participants, it was noteworthy that the participant directly connected both the

viewing of nature and the scent of nature as contributing to their sense of relaxation.

Analysis and Interpretation of Integrated Quantitative and Qualitative Results

As can been seen from the above sections, when considering solely the quantitative

data, there was a statistically significant improvement in the group scores on the d2

Test of Attention which allowed me to reject the null hypothesis and accept the

research hypothesis and conclude based upon the quantitative data that the nature

walks had contributed to improved mental acuity.

Analysis of the qualitative results, the personal journals, allowed two major themes to

emerge, either improvement in affective or cognitive state; and three subthemes --

the conscious experience by participants of a reduction in stress, improvement in

mental acuity, and/or a general improvement in mood. In no case did a participant

report an opposite reaction to any of these conditions. Only one participant noted

that they did not feel either better or worse as a result of the walks, although this

participant did show improvement in both cognitive scales as measured by the d2.

A major advantage to engaging in research with such a small subject pool is the

ability to analyze the effect of the nature walk intervention on each subject

individually, as well as the group analysis. This is usually not possible with very large

subject pools where it would not be time or cost effective.

The final section, analysis by combining individual participant quantitative and

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qualitative data, revealed that each subject improved in at least one quantitative

measure from pre to post (or in 9 out of 11 cases, both), but that each participant

explicitly connected the nature walks at some point with their ability to experience

stress reduction, or improvement in cognitive acuity, or in improvement in overall

mood, or a combination thereof. Therefore, rather than there being simply a

correlational relationship between the nature walk interventions and improvement in

some aspect of psychological health, using the journal entries where participants

reflected on changes they experienced, I can safely conclude that the nature walk

interventions directly impacted this improved state of mind or affect. This result is

consistent with previous similar antecedent research results achieved.

SUMMARY

● In summary, the quantitative results were analyzed statistically which allowed

for the null hypothesis to be rejected and the research hypothesis to be

accepted.

● The analysis of the group qualitative results revealed that each participant

directly attributed an improvement in mood, affect and/or mental sharpness to

the nature walk interventions.

● Finally, each participant’s quantitative and qualitative results were individually

combined and analyzed. For 8 out of 9 participants who kept a journal, the

quantitative and qualitative results mutually reinforced one another with

quantitative data indicating an improvement in attention and qualitative data

connecting these improvements to the nature walk experience.

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Chapter 5

Discussion

This study examined the effect of a nature walk on a specific aspect of mental acuity,

that of attention. The questions the researcher asked were: “To what extent do

nature walks have a positive impact upon psychological health specifically cognitive

attention?” and “how do participants describe the nature walk experience?” These

questions required a Mixed Methods Approach as both quantitative and qualitative

data would need to be collected in order to answer these questions. The quantitative

hypothesis tested was that nature walks would result in a statistically significant

improvement in mental acuity, an aspect of psychological health, as measured by

the d2 Test of Attention. The quantitative data demonstrated a statistically significant

increase in attention after the nature walk interventions. The qualitative data

collected consisted of personal reflection journals in which subjects recorded their

impressions and experiences of the nature walks as they occurred, not

retrospectively. Similarly, eight out of nine participants who completed the journal

concluded that there had been an improvement in some aspect of mental acuity to

the nature walk intervention in their qualitative assessment journals, while all nine

attributed some improvement to the nature walks at some point during the five week

intervention. Thus both quantitative and qualitative data reinforced one another and

were found to support the research hypothesis.

Considering the specific results obtained on the d2 Test of Attention, 10 of 11

subjects demonstrated increased mental processing speed reflected in their TN

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scales. When considering their accuracy in mental processing, 10 of 11 subjects also

increased their accuracy as measured by their CP scales.

Considering the results in the aggregate on both measures, the group demonstrated

improved post-intervention scores that were statistically significant compared with

their pre-intervention scores. Because of these results, this suggests that the nature

walk intervention improved an aspect of mental acuity, that of attention, and supports

the research hypothesis.

Further, the integrated data demonstrate the mutual support of the conclusion. The

quantitative data gave a snapshot of performance on a cognitive task at two fixed

points -- once before and once after the interventions. In this case the quantitative

results can be seen as “bookends” which support the rich, more detailed verbal

descriptions and impressions which the subjects experienced and recorded over the

course of the five weeks of intervention.

These results contribute to theory. Firstly, the improvement in cognitive ability as

recorded by the subjects’ performance on the d2 Test of Attention is consistent with,

and reinforces, previous research utilizing other instruments to measure various

aspects of mental acuity and supports the Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan,

1995). Secondly, the direct attribution of this achievement (as well as improved

mood and emotional state) by the subjects to the nature walks, is consistent with

other research results.

But the unique features of this research include both the use of the d2 Test of

Attention to measure mental acuity and the use of the personal reflection journals to

record their experiences throughout the entire research period of five weeks. It is

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believed to be the first use of either of these in this manner for this type of research.

It appears to be the first time that the d2 has been used in nature walk research,

even though it is used extensively in medical research and other psychological

research. Further, it appears that this is the first use of personal reflection journals

where subjects recorded their reactions throughout an entire five week intervention

period, not retrospectively, or via individual interviews.

Comparison with Literature Review

The results of this study are consistent with similar studies and literature regarding

the potential impact of a green intervention -- in this case a nature walk -- on one

aspect of psychological health -- that of mental acuity. As this research project was

designed based upon DeYoung’s 2010 original article suggesting nature walks be

used to help restore mental vitality and making specific suggestions of the criteria for

the walks, these results can be juxtaposed with his suggestions for “many

researchable issues with theoretical and practical implications” (p. 19).

His criteria included a few basic prescribed conditions. The first was “simply to walk

in a natural setting.” (p. 19). This was accomplished by conducting the nature walks

in a nearby wood which, fortunately, were thick enough and removed enough that

outside noises or built environments did not enter the participants’ earshot or

eyeshot during the treatment, yet near enough to the school to be accessible with

only a short walk.

His second criterion included the preference to walk alone. As noted in the

methodology section, small groups of students were guided on each walk for a

variety of reasons including health and safety concerns. However, during most every

126

walk subjects either walked alone or in dyads or triads, and even then, usually

engaging in relatively little conversation, much of which was directed at observing

the surrounding environment which DeYoung notes: “....if the social interaction is

itself engaged in noticing nearby nature, then the conversation might help both

individuals to dwell more deeply in the setting and thus gain additional restoration.”

(p. 19).

A third criterion was the suggestion that perception should be directed toward the

surrounding natural features in order to maximize the restoration effect. This was

accomplished by having a suggested theme for each walk that alternated between

the various senses (see Appendix IV). As an alternative to the above, meditation

while walking was also suggested as a possibility for research but since DeYoung

speculates that it might be effective but for different reasons, it was felt that would be

most appropriate for a separate research project.

His final point regarding the possibly disruptive effects of electronic technology

during the walk was observed. All participants were asked to silence (and even turn

off the vibrate feature) all electronic devices in order to disconnect from possibly the

very sources of stress which the project was seeking to measure.

His final researchable question dealt with how much and how often the nature walk

should occur: “More research is needed to answer this question, but findings suggest

that restoration may result from exposure to very limited amounts of nature.” (p. 20).

The decision to use a two-times a week for five week schedule for the subjects was

based upon the researcher’s estimate of an efficacious timeframe since this was a

novel investigation into these particular criteria. This was consistent with another

nature walk research project which took place over a period of weeks (Johansson,

Hartig and Staats, 2011) yet shorter than another study over a 10 week period

127

investigating aesthetic appreciation and nature walks (Diessner, Woodward, Stacy

and Mobasher, 2015).

In addition to DeYoung’s research, the results achieved were similar to Hartig et al.’s

2003 study comparing urban versus nature walks using university students. This

piece of research helped establish the concepts of the content of the walk having an

effect upon the subject using a variety of measures, although using differing

instruments and a different population group (Hartig: university students and all

Americans). The current research extended their findings in a number of significant

ways: firstly, by specifically examining nature walks with a multicultural group of 16-

18 year olds in Europe; secondly, working with 16-18 year olds who are TCKs and

finally, using the d2 Test of Attention as the psychological instrument to measure

mental acuity improvement, all novel aspects in this area of research. It is believed

that this is the first project in nature walk research in Ecopsychology to utilize the d2

Test of Attention.

This study further expanded upon a number of seminal research studies which relied

upon correlational measures of observing nature from various settings. Tennessen et

al. (1995) examined the effect of the view from a college dormitory window; Wells in

2000 examined the effect on cognition of school students’ views from their homes;

Kaplan in 2001 examined Attention Restoration Theory of adults based upon the

views from their apartment windows; and Pretty et al. in 2005 examined the effect of

taking exercise while viewing green scenes. All of these found a benefit to those

observing nature scenes but did not involve direct exposure to the nature

environment. The current research advanced these concepts by immersing the

subjects in an actual nature setting while attempting to demonstrate a cause and

effect relationship rather than an observational/ correlational result.

128

Additionally, it is believed that this is the first research to specifically target, not just

16-18 year olds, which it does, but also the first to examine the effect of nature

interventions with Third Culture Kids. This may seem a limited grouping to consider,

but the trend in growth is continuing, meaning this population will continue to

increase (Hayden and Thompson, 2008). It seems that Ecopsychology and green

interventions may be able to assist in some of the attachment issues unique to these

TCKs, as reflected in some participants’ observations and comments.

Limitations

While this study did reveal significant results which have addressed a gap in the

literature, it is important to address limitations to the study. The first limitation is the

sample size. While 11 was a significant number of the population made available to

the researcher (out of a possible 85 school students), this is simply not a large

enough sample to make a conclusion to the general populace without further

replication.

Further, due to resource limitations, this was a self-selected group. Generalizability

of research is always improved by the ability to engage with randomly selected

subjects. Additionally, while it was a multinational pool of subjects, they were all

Western Europeans, and therefore share a level of homogeneity in culture.

While the focus was on Third Culture Kids (TCKs), a subject group not examined in

any of the previous literature, it must be acknowledged that universally, TCKs tend to

be students of means and therefore may not truly represent all the characteristics of

their passport nationalities such as socio-economic status and cultural connection.

129

While the lack of a control group might prove problematic for a purely quantitative

study, the same is not the case for a Mixed Methods research project. Rarely, if ever,

does a qualitative study employ the use of a control group for comparison, as the

purpose of a qualitative study is to understand a subject’s unique perspective and

internal psychological processes of the phenomenon being studied. Examining this

data in this research project revealed that all subjects at some point during the

nature walks intervention clearly identified a link directly between an improved

mood/emotion/cognition and the nature walks themselves. Further, the quantitative

results reinforced the subjects’ impressions of improved cognitive ability as

demonstrated in their performance results on the d2 Test of Attention. Further, the

question of the efficacy of nature walks was not in question. The literature agrees

that nature walks have overall positive impacts. Rather, the goal was to examine

specific effects of the nature walks. To that end and in consideration of the above, a

control group was not employed. However, a control group could have given a

comparison to a similar population’s change over the five week intervention on the

quantitative measure. In this instance, though, that would have given an

unacceptably smaller subject pool of 5 or 6 in the control group and only 5 or 6 in the

intervention group.

Finally, the subject of confounding variables which may have served to help improve

the subjects’ performance on the d2 could not be controlled as the study took place

over a five week period. For any research project intervention which takes place

more than once, this will continue to be a challenge for future researchers. However,

this concern was also partially mitigated by the use of Mixed Methods research

wherein the subjects reported qualitatively during the course of the nature walk

130

interventions that they felt that the walks themselves were a contributing factor to

their improved focus ability.

To summarize, this Mixed Methods research finding has demonstrated that subjects

described and exhibited results that confirm that nature walks helped to improve

restoration, not just of attention, but also other aspects of psychological health, in a

population of 16-18 TCKs

131

Chapter 6

Conclusion

Implications for Future Research

The findings and limitations of this study indicate the need for additional research

regarding the efficacy of nature walks on human psychological health and well-being.

There are many directions which this research can be extended. While this was a

relatively short-term intervention of only five weeks, the question arose in the

researcher’s mind what the least amount of treatment or intervention could be

effective, as well as, if there was a point of diminishing return. For the former, an

intervention of one nature walk could be the experimental condition and the mental

acuity measured immediately before and immediately following. For the latter, the

intervention could be extended to an entire semester or even school year to measure

if there is a point of saturation, but with the added concern of confounding variables.

Another suggestion for a follow up study would be to increase the sample size and

improve the means of selection to include random sampling. Both of these would

improve the generalizability of the results. Further, the use of a control group of

similar subjects could be used to compare the changes in mental acuity and perhaps

more precisely discern the change due specifically to the nature walk intervention.

While a larger sample size is desirable, the most optimal situation would be the

involvement of 16-18 year old students from differing backgrounds and cultures,

including those from more collectivist and less Western individualist cultures. Further

diversity in the sample size on many levels would make the results even more

generalizable -- this would include socio-economic background, education level, and

ethnicity.

132

Additional research into mental acuity could utilize measurements of the other

aspects of acuity: memory, focus, concentration and understanding, but still

examining only one of these at a time to answer the calls in research to have more

directed quantitative research in order to attempt to establish specific cause and

effect.

All of the above deal with measurements of the effect on mental acuity, but there is

an entire other realm of measuring the nature walk impact upon the affective side of

human personality. While the intervention (nature walk) would be similar, the

measurements would focus on the emotions and feelings, rather than on the

cognitive processes. In order to answer the call in literature for more objective data

to supplement the qualitative data, physiological or observational measures could

supplement the more subjective questionnaires or journals of participants.

Practical Implications

These results support the introduction of green interventions into a school curriculum

in order to improve psychological health and well-being. Just as pressures are

mounting for adults in the world, pressures are also mounting for students as high

stakes testing encroach further and further into the school curriculum, in many

different places. Additionally, while technology has improved many aspects of

education, it has also introduced additional stressors for children such as

cyberbullying. Therefore, green interventions could be implemented to help to

ameliorate these negatives. These interventions could take many different forms

depending upon the setting and resources available to each school.

133

In my working with high school students, the results gave impetus into a continuing

after-school Eco Walks for Wellness programme in which students chose to

participate. Based upon the demonstrated results, students were able to have a brief

mental recharge time to refocus and escape the built environment which helped

them restore mental vitality and improve their psychological well-being.

It is recommended that high schools adopt, to the extent possible, but recognizing

possible limitations due to their geographical settings, a similar programme which will

have obvious benefits to their student populations, namely a chance for them to

mentally re-charge and re-set -- to re-focus their attention, on a regular basis. If the

nearest natural greenspace is not within a practicable distance, a regular outing

should be considered to become part of the student wellness plan. Finally, as

schools are being developed, planned or renovated, provision should be made for

adequate and appropriate greenspace. This could consist of the simplest collection

of shrubbery and trees to more elaborate greenspaces allowing for students to meet

and congregate.

Additionally, building upon the results from this as well as the previously cited

studies, the introduction of nature scenes should be considered in urban school

environments which lack any access to natural green space. While not a substitute

for an actual nature experience, the direction of research in this area indicates that

even in simply viewing representations of nature, subjects may show improvement in

aspects of psychological focus and health.

134

Imperfect an analogy as it is, periodically our computers need to be shut down down

to clear out their RAM (random access memory); similarly, the human brain needs to

be able to switch off, clear out, and refresh. Sleep accomplishes some of this re-

setting; nature walks are a positive way to benefit students during their waking hours,

however. As evidenced by this research as well as the growing body of literature,

nature contact facilitates this recovery and thereby contributes to a student’s mental

vitality.

135

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APPENDIX I

PUBLICITY POSTER

After School Nature Walks

Eco Walks for Wellness

10 CAS Hours available

In the style of the Aesch campus Waldkinder programme, you can have the opportunity to

participate in the initial group to evaluate if nature walks can help improve your

psychological health and well-being among high school aged students!

What/when: One hour “Eco Walks for Wellness” on the nature trails behind the Reinach

campus twice a week for 5 weeks after school between now and October break. Plus the

opportunity to participate in a real academic research study!

FMI see Mr. Bowen or email him at markfbowen@hotmail.com

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APPENDIX II

Initial Information Sheet

Nature Walk Research Project

“Eco Walks for Wellness” is a research project which is seeking to investigate the effect of

nature walks on various measures of psychological well-being. This is NOT a therapeutic

intervention, but rather a complementary approach which proposes that being exposed to

nature via nature walks can help to reduce stress, improve self-esteem, mental acuity, and

mood.

Research on this topic dates back to 1984 with the publication of a study in which hospital

patients who had a view of nature from their rooms recovered better than those who had

only a view of the parking lot.

You are being asked to commit 11 hours of your time. 10 hours will be in the form of one

hour nature walks or “Eco Walks for Wellness” two times a week for five weeks from now

until October break and keep a journal recording your thoughts and feelings about the

Walks. The other hour is ½ hour of filling out one instrument regarding mental acuity before

the nature walks and ½ hour after five weeks for comparison purposes only. These are

NOT to diagnose you for any condition. The walks will take place on the nature trails

adjacent to the Reinach campus.

This is an extracurricular activity run by Mr. Bowen independent of the ISB, however Fr.

Jaehde has confirmed that you will be able to receive 10 hours of “Action” credit toward your

CAS requirement.

If you choose to participate, you will receive a full information briefing and need to grant your

consent; your individual data will remain confidential; you will be able to stop at any time you

would like to; and you will have the opportunity to review the results upon completion of the

project.

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APPENDIX III

INFORMED CONSENT FORM

Title of Study:

To What Extent Do “Green” Interventions

Improve Psychological Health and Well-Being?

Principal Investigator:

Mark Bowen

Department of Education

London South Bank University

+41 61 331 0961

markfbowen@hotmail.com; markbowen@lsbu.ac.uk

Background:

You are being invited to take part in a research study which has been approved by the

London South Bank University as part of a doctoral research programme. Before you decide

to participate in this study, it is important that you understand why the research is being done

and what it will involve. Please take the time to read the following information carefully.

Please ask the researcher if there is anything that is not clear or if you need more information.

The purpose of this study is to investigate if green interventions in the form of nature walks

will help improve psychological outlook using a number of methods.

Study Procedure:

Your expected time commitment for this study is: 11 hours.

Before the first nature walk, you will be asked to complete 1 very short assessment of mental

acuity. Your temperature, blood pressure and pulse will be taken by the nurse to insure your

healthiness for the study.

You will then have two 1-hour nature walks per week for 5 weeks. You will be asked to keep

a detailed journal recording your thought processes, feelings, etc. during the nature walk and

reflecting upon them afterwards. You can use words, pictures, drawings, etc as you feel

moved.

Following the last one you will be asked to complete the same assessment and have your

blood pressure, pulse and temperature taken. You will be asked to turn in your journal and to

discuss points of significance you found. Following a short debriefing, you will be released

from the research study. You are entitled to see your results as well as the overall research

conclusions by contacting me at the above email address.

Including debriefing, your participation should last no more than 7 weeks (5 weeks walking,

2 weeks for follow-up.)

Risks:

The risks of this study are minimal. These risks are similar to those you experience when you

are disclosing personal information to others; however, the confidentiality of your data is

assured. You may decline to answer any or all questions and you may terminate your

involvement at any time if you choose. The physical measurements are non-obtrusive and

low stress, the measure of acuity was originally designed for 16-18 year olds applying for a

driver’s license in Switzerland or German and so is appropriate, and the interviews will only

ask for your reflections and be non-confrontational, and therefore low stress.

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Benefits:

There will be no material benefit to you; however, if the hypothesis is correct you may

experience improved mood and outlook. This research may benefit other people by helping

us to know if activities like this can improve these dimensions.

Confidentiality:

Every effort will be undertaken by the researcher to preserve your confidentiality including

the following:

● Assigning code numbers for participants that will be used on all researcher notes and

documents.

● Notes, interview transcriptions and transcribed notes and any other identifying

participant information will be kept in a locked file cabinet in the personal possession

of the researcher. When no longer necessary for research, all materials will be

destroyed.

● The researcher and members of the researcher’s committee will review the

researcher’s collected data. Information from this research will be used solely for the

purpose of this study and any publications that may result from this study. All

participants in this study will not be identified and their anonymity maintained.

Person to Contact:

Should you have any questions about the research or any related matters, please contact the

researcher at the above phone number or email.

Institutional Review Board:

If you have questions regarding your rights as a research subject, or if problems arise which

you do not feel you can discuss with the Investigator, please contact his Supervisor, Stephen

Lerman at lermans@lsbu.ac.uk, or Joan Curzio of the London South Bank University

Research Ethics Committee at: curziojl@lsbu.ac.uk.

Voluntary Participation:

Your participation in this study is voluntary. It is up to you to decide whether or not to take

part in this study. If you decide to take part in this study, you will be asked to sign a consent

form. If you decide to take part in this study, you are still free to withdraw at any time and

without giving a reason and your records would be destroyed at that point. You are free to not

answer any question or questions if you choose. This will not affect the relationship you have

with the researcher.

Unforeseeable Risks:

There may be risks that are not anticipated. However the activity is no different than

undertaking a walk in the woods and every effort will be made to minimize any risks.

Costs to Subject:

There are no costs to you for your participation in this study.

Compensation:

There is no monetary compensation to you for your participation in this study, but you will be

allowed to claim 10 hours of Action for your Creativity, Action, Service requirement at ISB.

Consent:

148

By signing the consent form, I confirm that I have read and understood the information and

have had the opportunity to ask questions. I understand that my participation is voluntary and

that I am free to withdraw at any time, without giving a reason and without cost. I understand

that I will be given a copy of this consent form. I voluntarily agree to take part in this study.

Participant Signature ___________________________________ Date __________________

Researcher Signature ____________________________________Date _________________

(Copy to participant)

Summary Provisions:

10 one-hour nature walks spread over 5 weeks.

Up to two weeks more for follow up information.

You will be asked to record your thoughts and feelings concerning the Nature Walks

throughout in a journal to be provided.

Confidentiality of Data Assured via numbering system.

You have the Right to Withdraw at any point with no consequence.

Including debriefing, your participation should last no more than 7 weeks (5 weeks walking,

2 weeks for follow-up.)

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APPENDIX IV

WEEKLY THEME HANDOUTS

WEEK 1

Welcome to Eco Walks for Wellness!

The goal of our journeys on Eco Walks for Wellness is to both physically and mentally

leave the everyday behind. So to foster this goal, for just one hour during our time

together, please turn off all electrical equipment. On our Walks, try to focus on the

natural elements around you. This is not a silent walk by any means, but try and

refrain from rehashing the day or planning for tonight; if possible discuss elements of

nature you see around you. For each walk, I will provide you with some points to ponder

(NOT questions to answer!) regarding the natural world around you. This exercise builds

upon existing research which has demonstrated the positive influence that nature can

have on our stress levels and psychological health and well-being

Today and this week, why not focus on the visual elements around you? What colours are

you seeing? What shapes are you seeing? Are there different species of plants? What is

pleasant to you? Is there anything unpleasant to view? Why do you think that is? Do

these sights bring to mind any associations or memories?

WEEK 2

This week’s walk theme

Why not take notice of the sounds you hear?

What do you notice?

Is it quieter than you are accustomed to?

How is this different than a walk in a more urban setting?

Do you notice the sound of your own footsteps?

WEEK 3

Today’s walk theme

150

Why not take notice of the temperature today?

Do you feel a noticeable change in temperature?

Do you notice the shade areas?

Do you like feeling the warmth/chill of the woods?

Does the temperature affect any of the scents or fragrances (or odours) in the

forest?

WEEK 4

Thought for the day:

Why not focus on the scents, fragrances or even odours you experience on the

walk?

Are they the same as you experience in everyday life?

Are they different?

How?

Do you like them?

WEEK 5

FINAL WEEK THEME

Focus on the all of the surrounding natural elements and their impact upon you.

Sometimes focusing on one might be best for you and sometimes focusing on all of them

combined might be best; it’s up to you!

Have you noticed any changes by taking the afternoon walks?

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APPENDIX V

Debriefing Document

TO WHAT EXTENT DO “GREEN” INTERVENTIONS IMPROVE

PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

DEBRIEFING FORM

1. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The study in which you just participated was designed to identify the psychological benefits of

Eco Walks for Wellness.

2. METHODOLOGY

In this study you were asked to take nature walks (Eco Walks) twice a week for five weeks and

record your thoughts and reflections in journals. Additionally you participated in an objective measure

of mental acuity (the d2) pre and post walk.

3. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

For more information on the topic of this research, there are two key studies you could review:

PRETTY, J., GRIFFIN, M., SELLENS, M. and PRETTY, C., 2003. Green Exercise:

Complementary Roles of Nature, Exercise and Diet in Physical and Emotional Well-Being

and Implications for Public Health Policy. CES Occasional Paper 2003-1. Colchester, UK:

University of Essex.

DEYOUNG, R., 2010. Restoring Mental Vitality in an Endangered World: Reflections on the

Benefits of Walking. Ecopsychology, 2(1), pp. 13-22.

4. CONTACT INFORMATION

If you are interested in learning more about the research being conducted, or the results of the

research of which you were a part, please do not hesitate to contact the Principal Investigator,

Mark Bowen at markfbowen@hotmail.com or his principal supervisor, Stephen Lerman at

lermans@lsbu.ac.uk.

Thank you for your help and participation in this study.

152

APPENDIX VI

d2 Answer Sheet

153

APPENDIX VII

d2 Instructions

154

155

156

157

Word Count Results

234 i

215 the

123 to

112 walk

109 and

89 was

82 a

67 it

55 of

54 more

50 today

49 as

41 my

41 entry

40 that

40 in

39 this

39 on

36 had

34 me

28 also

27 not

27 have

26 felt

25 day

24 than

23 we

23 walks

21 with

21 which

21 quite

20 school

19 time

19 t

19 from

APPENDIX VIII

Word Analysis

158

19 do

19 be

18 during

17 when

17 very

17 is

17 for

17 but

16 people

16 did

16 after

15 relaxed

15 found

14 some

14 however

14 at

13 enjoyed

12 so

12 nature

12 feel

12 didn

12 been

12 able

11 were

11 walking

11 relaxing

11 like

11 good

10 these

10 stress

10 much

10 mood

10 lot

10 group

10 first

10 am

10 all

10 about

9 seemed

159

9 nice

9 because

8 would

8 there

8 really

8 participant

8 noticed

8 myself

8 mind

8 less

8 last

8 home

8 helped

7 woods

7 used

7 things

7 out

7 having

7 got

7 forest

7 enjoyable

7 enjoy

7 different

7 days

7 concentrate

7 better

7 although

6 work

6 usually

6 tired

6 think

6 them

6 test

6 spent

6 part

6 other

6 longer

6 if

160

6 homework

6 get

6 friends

6 find

6 due

6 could

6 calm

6 by

6 bit

6 an

5 will

5 who

5 went

5 way

5 walked

5 up

5 trees

5 thought

5 talking

5 talk

5 such

5 stressed

5 or

5 only

5 may

5 made

5 look

5 little

5 just

5 interesting

5 how

5 go

5 friend

5 fresh

5 forward

5 focus

5 easier

5 despite

5 before

161

5 around

5 are

5 afterwards

162

APPENDIX IX

RAW DATA/INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

163

CP Data

164

TN Data

165

APPENDIX X

TWO COMPLETE PARTICIPANTS’ JOURNALS

Participant #9

Entry #1

I found the walk to be enjoyable. It felt as if I had left behind the worries of schoolwork, etc.

The nature walk was also interesting as it is nice to be fully surrounded by plant life. I did not

notice a dramatic change in mood, however as the evening progressed, I found myself to

feel more comfortable. Completing homework assignments also felt a lot easier. The walk

may have subtly relaxed me, and it felt as if life relaxed mood was sustained throughout the

evening.

Entry #2

Today I did not feel very different from the walk in the woods. I was tired from the school

day, and this may have been a factor contributing to this. The walk didn’t seem to noticeably

change my mood, rather I felt more physically drained. I did however feel calmer when on

the walk.

Entry #3

The walk today was enjoyable and i feel that it had an effect on my mindset. I felt calm

during the walk and also afterwards. When I arrived back at school, I reflected on the walk

which also helped. I look forward to the walks as it feels as if there has been a difference in

my mental state afterwards. The only noticeable disadvantage of the walks is that it indirectly

adds a bit of pressure onto academic deadlines, although today was the only day I

experienced this.

Entry #4

I feel that the walk today rid me of some stress. I was previously anxious about a maths test

tomorrow, although the walk helped me to concentrate when revising. Today I looked

forward to the walk, as it often has positive impacts.

Entry #5

Today the walk was effective at improving my mood stress levels and general well-being. I

found the walk to be relaxing and entertaining. My evening after the walk was also fun. This

walk was my favourite to date, as there was a calm atmosphere within the group and

surroundings. The walk improved my state of mind and me look forward to the next.

Entry #6

Today the walk felt as if it was longer and more tiring than usual, however this may have

been due to the poor weather conditions. We also walked at a fast pace, which limited the

time actually spent in the forest. Due to less time spent in the forest, I think that the benefits

166

of the nature walks were not as pronounced. That said, I did still enjoy the walk as they help

to relieve stress after school.

Participant #10

Entry #1

Today was the first walk. To my surprise I quite enjoyed it, more than I thought I would. I

found that walking in the forest/nature is very calming and relaxing. After a long day at

school, this walk helped me to relax and to remove the anxiety and stress that I had before.

By talking to a friend during the walk, I was able to pass the time a lot easier; it also made it

more enjoyable as I was able to socialize in a more relaxing way than I am used to. The only

part of the walk that was tedious was the large hill we had to walk up.

Entry #2

Today was the second walk. After a test, it was nice to unwind by walking through the forest.

I found myself having a really indepth conversation with a friend which I have not done in a

long time. We talked about many things and it helped me to figure out some problems from a

difficult class that had been puzzling both of us for awhile. As a result I do not have to worry

about the issues anymore. After the walk I felt quite awake and attentive which surprised me.

Entry #3

Today was the third walk. I thought it would be cancelled due to the thunderstorms earlier in

the day, however it wasn’t. There was no rain during the walk, however it was quite humid.

Although the walk was nice and relaxing, the humidity prevented me from feeling as calm

and relaxed as I did on the previous two walks. I felt a bit too warm and damp. I spent alot of

time trying not to walk in mud and so could not fully concentrate on enjoying the walk.

Despite all of this, the walk still helped me get some fresh air, which I had not had all day.

Entry #4

Today was the fourth walk. The weather today was much nicer than on Tuesday.

Surprisingly the walk seemed to go alot quicker today than it did on the three previous

sessions. The large hill also seemed less of a problem. I felt very relaxed during and after

the walk despite having alot of work to do. Although I got home an hour later than I normally

do, I didn’t feel stressed at all about having to do lots of homework. I just got on with it.

Entry #5

Today was the fifth walk and I am now half way through these sessions. I talked about a lot

of things with my friend and this also helped to uplift my mood. We passed a point where I

saw two deers two days ago during cross country. Unfortunately they were not to be seen.

Once I got home I began to revise for my biology test which is in a few days. I found revising

today much easier than when I did it yesterday despite having less time than yesterday. I

was able to concentrate quite well when revising and so took in a lot of information.

167

Entry #6

Today was the sixth walk. During the walk I noticed that I felt quite happy and optimistic

more so than at school or at home. Although I had much to do when I got home, I knew that

it would be OK so I would be able to get it all done. These problem that I often have were

cleared away during the walks. By talking to other people, I was able to laugh which also

brightened my mood. The walk today was really enjoyable and I had a lot of fun.

Entry #7

Today was the seventh walk. We went on the longer route today. I liked this as it was a

change of scenes and prevented the walk from becoming boring and regimental. The big hill

didn’t bother me at all and I didn’t have any problem walking up it. I noticed that some of the

trees have begun to shed their leaves. On other trees the leaves have begun to change

color from green to yellow. I had a headache for most of the day but after the walk I forgot

about it and the pain simply went.

Entry #8

Today was the eighth walk. The weather was quite nice. Once again I found the walk very

relaxing and felt calm after it had finished. After the walk I also felt quite attentive and awake.

I have noticed this on most of my walks. This has enabled me to work more efficiently at

home.

Entry #9

Today was our 9th walk. It is likely to be our last as the weather forecast for Thursday is not

good. There were only three of us on the walk today. We discussed many things such as

sports and films. It was quite fun. It was colder today than it was in the past, however we

were walking quite quickly. I didn’t notice as much.