With clear links between an individual’s sense of nature connectedness, their psychological wellbeing, and engagement in nature-friendly behaviours, efforts to improve people’s relationships with nature can help unite human and planetary wellbeing. In the context of a rapidly growing evidence base, this paper updates previous meta-analytic reviews to explore the impact of (quasi-) experimental manipulations and field interventions on nature connectedness in adult populations. The analysis examines the relative effects of type of contact (direct or indirect), quality of engagement (active or passive) and the timing of the engagement (single session, repeated practice or residential). Results show a medium positive short-term mean effect of manipulations on nature connectedness, with similar effect sizes for immediate and sustained increases. No effect size differences were observed between different types of contact, quality, or timing of engagement. Follow-up measures were mostly used in studies involving regular and repeated practices. An agenda for future research and practice is put forward, emphasising the need for examining a wider range of nature engagement activities, greater understanding of factors leading to increases in nature connectedness, design and testing of practices for sustained nature connection, and initiatives that engage people with nature, create conditions for nature connection, and encourage repeated nature engagement activities.

/pdf/improving-nature-connectedness-in-adults-a-meta-analysis-s9gpku1v.pdf

Improving Nature Connectedness in Adults: A Meta-Analysis, Review and Agenda

Understanding urban perception with visual data: A systematic review

The health and well-being benefits of green space over gray space have been widely recognized. However, the congruence effect implies that the outcome of environmental exposure is influenced by one's psychological relationship with the environment. This study conducted a two-factor mixed-design experiment with college students (n = 68) to investigate the moderating effect of the psychological factor of nature connectedness (NC) on the short-term benefits of exposure to one urban gray space and two low- and high-biodiversity urban green spaces after completing demanding tasks. Environmental exposure was simulated through 10-minute audio–video clips in a laboratory setting. The findings suggest that low-NC individuals adapt to gray space because they reported neutral to positive results in emotional valence and eudaimonic experience. Additionally, they actively engaged with environmental information for a longer duration, as indicated by the frequency of skin conductance responses. Consequently, they lack the urgency to escape from gray space although they benefit more from green space. Conversely, high-NC individuals tend to seek out green space as a "shelter" in urban areas, because they are vulnerable to gray space with ambient noise and experience significantly better eudaimonic outcomes in the high-biodiversity green space. Our results elucidate the previously found relationship between NC and green space visitation, while also emphasizing the need to comprehend the role of urban green space and the value of biodiversity from an NC perspective. 

The role of urban green space in promoting health and well-being is related to nature connectedness and biodiversity: Evidence from a two-factor mixed-design experiment

Examining connection to nature at multiple scales provides insights for urban conservation

Research on the physiological and psychological impacts of extraordinary nature on emotions and restorative effects for young adults

Comparing the effect of mindful and other engagement interventions in nature on attention restoration, nature connection, and mood

‘Letting my mind run wild’: Exploring the role of individual engagement in nature experiences

Mindfulness and mind wandering may both enhance the psychological outcomes of nature experiences. Both states are multi-faceted, with mindfulness involving specific components such as decentering, body awareness, and nonjudgment, and mind wandering involving intentional and spontaneous mind wandering. These facets may differentially predict psychological outcomes of nature experiences, however these associations have not been tested. In this study we examined facets of mindfulness and mind wandering in nature and tested their associations with outcomes of psychological restoration and nature connection. We also tested the effects of situational factors on these engagement facets in nature. We conducted an experiment in which participants were instructed on how to engage with nature during a 20min experience in nearby nature and completed online surveys before and after the outdoor experience. Participants were allocated into one of four groups, each given different engagement instructions. We used measures of state mindfulness that assessed three facets – decentering, nonjudgment, and body awareness – and measures of mind wandering that assessed two facets – mindlessness, and deliberate mind wandering. Regression analyses revealed associations between these facets and outcomes of the nature experience: decentering and deliberate mind wandering were associated with positive outcomes, including stronger nature connection and positive affect, and nonjudgment was associated with higher negative affect. Further analyses revealed perceived restorativeness and other situational factors such as affective state influenced engagement during the nature experience. These results demonstrate the value of deconstructing mindfulness and mind wandering in nature to explore facets that have beneficial or adverse effects on psychological outcomes. We conclude with practical directions for nature-based engagement interventions that can target the beneficial components of these practices in different contexts. 

Examining the facets of mindful engagement and mind wandering in nature

Attention Restoration Theory proposes that exposure to natural environments helps to restore attention. For sustained attention—the ongoing application of focus to a task, the effect appears to be modest, and the underlying mechanisms of attention restoration remain unclear. Exposure to nature may improve attention performance through many means: modulation of alertness and one’s connection to nature were investigated here, in two separate studies. In both studies, participants performed the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) before and immediately after viewing a meadow, ocean, or urban image for 40 s, and then completed the Perceived Restorativeness Scale. In Study 1 (n = 68), an eye-tracker recorded the participants’ tonic pupil diameter during the SARTs, providing a measure of alertness. In Study 2 (n = 186), the effects of connectedness to nature on SART performance and perceived restoration were studied. In both studies, the image viewed was not associated with participants’ sustained attention performance; both nature images were perceived as equally restorative, and more restorative than the urban image. The image viewed was not associated with changes in alertness. Connectedness to nature was not associated with sustained attention performance, but it did moderate the relation between viewing the natural images and perceived restorativeness; participants reporting a higher connection to nature also reported feeling more restored after viewing the nature, but not the urban, images. Dissociation was found between the physiological and behavioral measures and the perceived restorativeness of the images. The results suggest that restoration associated with nature exposure is not associated with modulation of alertness but is associated with connectedness with nature.

/pdf/water-and-meadow-views-both-afford-perceived-but-not-3jk6kknx.pdf

Water and Meadow Views Both Afford Perceived but Not Performance-Based Attention Restoration: Results From Two Experimental Studies

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Comparing the effect of mindful and other engagement interventions in nature on attention restoration, nature connection, and mood

‘Letting my mind run wild’: Exploring the role of individual engagement in nature experiences

Examining the facets of mindful engagement and mind wandering in nature

Water and Meadow Views Both Afford Perceived but Not Performance-Based Attention Restoration: Results From Two Experimental Studies