Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health
The global rise in mental health issues underscores the critical importance of assessing the mental health benefits of engaging with nature. Beyond their primary aim of involving citizens in scientific data collection, nature-based citizen science initiatives offer significant potential for enhancin...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Environmental Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1461601/full |
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| author | Rachel R. Y. Oh Rachel R. Y. Oh Andres F. Suarez-Castro Richard A. Fuller Michael Tervo Kevin Rozario Kevin Rozario Kevin Rozario Kevin Rozario Birte Peters Birte Peters Shawan Chowdhury Shawan Chowdhury Shawan Chowdhury Shawan Chowdhury Julia von Gönner Julia von Gönner Julia von Gönner Martin Friedrichs-Manthey Martin Friedrichs-Manthey Martin Friedrichs-Manthey Ambros Berger Tracy Schultz Angela J. Dean Angela J. Dean Ayesha Tulloch Aletta Bonn Aletta Bonn Aletta Bonn |
| author_facet | Rachel R. Y. Oh Rachel R. Y. Oh Andres F. Suarez-Castro Richard A. Fuller Michael Tervo Kevin Rozario Kevin Rozario Kevin Rozario Kevin Rozario Birte Peters Birte Peters Shawan Chowdhury Shawan Chowdhury Shawan Chowdhury Shawan Chowdhury Julia von Gönner Julia von Gönner Julia von Gönner Martin Friedrichs-Manthey Martin Friedrichs-Manthey Martin Friedrichs-Manthey Ambros Berger Tracy Schultz Angela J. Dean Angela J. Dean Ayesha Tulloch Aletta Bonn Aletta Bonn Aletta Bonn |
| author_sort | Rachel R. Y. Oh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The global rise in mental health issues underscores the critical importance of assessing the mental health benefits of engaging with nature. Beyond their primary aim of involving citizens in scientific data collection, nature-based citizen science initiatives offer significant potential for enhancing outcomes related to conservation (e.g., connection to nature) and human health and wellbeing (e.g., emotions, depression, stress, anxiety). However, the effectiveness of various types of initiatives in achieving specific outcomes remain unclear. This study evaluates changes in eight outcomes related to nature connection and health and wellbeing before and after participation in five initiatives in Australia and Germany. These initiatives varied in ecosystem type (urban parks, terrestrial forests and freshwater streams) and the participation duration (from 15 min to 48 h). We assessed three dimensions of connection to nature (Self, Experience and Perspective) measured by the Nature-Relatedness scale, mental health outcomes (symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety) using the DASS-21 scale, and emotional states (positive and negative emotions) using the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE). We found that while participants generally reported improvements across all measured outcomes, only participation in the Queensland Trust for Nature initiative, characterized by its extended duration and social interactions, demonstrated statistically significant enhancements in mental health and emotions after controlling for socio-economic confounders. These findings suggest that while short-term nature-based interventions can effectively alleviate anxiety and stress symptoms and boost emotions, significant changes in nature connection and depression may require more intensive interventions than what is available through typical citizen science experiences. We advocate for reframing nature-based initiatives as integral components of broader health-promoting strategies. By aligning citizen science efforts with health promotion frameworks, these initiatives can achieve greater impact and simultaneously advance scientific understanding, support conservation strategies while improving human health. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-987961eddee14e149ab4c42d2d61a3d9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-665X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Environmental Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-987961eddee14e149ab4c42d2d61a3d92025-08-20T02:43:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Science2296-665X2025-02-011310.3389/fenvs.2025.14616011461601Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental healthRachel R. Y. Oh0Rachel R. Y. Oh1Andres F. Suarez-Castro2Richard A. Fuller3Michael Tervo4Kevin Rozario5Kevin Rozario6Kevin Rozario7Kevin Rozario8Birte Peters9Birte Peters10Shawan Chowdhury11Shawan Chowdhury12Shawan Chowdhury13Shawan Chowdhury14Julia von Gönner15Julia von Gönner16Julia von Gönner17Martin Friedrichs-Manthey18Martin Friedrichs-Manthey19Martin Friedrichs-Manthey20Ambros Berger21Tracy Schultz22Angela J. Dean23Angela J. Dean24Ayesha Tulloch25Aletta Bonn26Aletta Bonn27Aletta Bonn28Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Biodiversity and People, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Biodiversity and People, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanySchool of Environment and Science, Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, AustraliaSchool of the Environment, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaQueensland Trust for Nature, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Biodiversity and People, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Biodiversity and People, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyInstitute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, GermanyWilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, GermanyHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Biodiversity and People, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Biodiversity and People, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Biodiversity and People, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Biodiversity and People, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyInstitute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, GermanyFaculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, CzechiaHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Biodiversity and People, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Biodiversity and People, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyInstitute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, GermanyHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Biodiversity and People, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Biodiversity and People, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyInstitute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, GermanyDepartment of Landscape, Spatial and Infrastructure Science, Institute of Statistics, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Vienna, AustriaSchool of the Environment, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaSchool of the Environment, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia0School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia1School of Biology and Environmental Science and Resilience Centre, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, AustraliaHelmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Department of Biodiversity and People, Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Biodiversity and People, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, GermanyInstitute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, GermanyThe global rise in mental health issues underscores the critical importance of assessing the mental health benefits of engaging with nature. Beyond their primary aim of involving citizens in scientific data collection, nature-based citizen science initiatives offer significant potential for enhancing outcomes related to conservation (e.g., connection to nature) and human health and wellbeing (e.g., emotions, depression, stress, anxiety). However, the effectiveness of various types of initiatives in achieving specific outcomes remain unclear. This study evaluates changes in eight outcomes related to nature connection and health and wellbeing before and after participation in five initiatives in Australia and Germany. These initiatives varied in ecosystem type (urban parks, terrestrial forests and freshwater streams) and the participation duration (from 15 min to 48 h). We assessed three dimensions of connection to nature (Self, Experience and Perspective) measured by the Nature-Relatedness scale, mental health outcomes (symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety) using the DASS-21 scale, and emotional states (positive and negative emotions) using the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE). We found that while participants generally reported improvements across all measured outcomes, only participation in the Queensland Trust for Nature initiative, characterized by its extended duration and social interactions, demonstrated statistically significant enhancements in mental health and emotions after controlling for socio-economic confounders. These findings suggest that while short-term nature-based interventions can effectively alleviate anxiety and stress symptoms and boost emotions, significant changes in nature connection and depression may require more intensive interventions than what is available through typical citizen science experiences. We advocate for reframing nature-based initiatives as integral components of broader health-promoting strategies. By aligning citizen science efforts with health promotion frameworks, these initiatives can achieve greater impact and simultaneously advance scientific understanding, support conservation strategies while improving human health.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1461601/fullnature exposurenature dosenature-based health interventionnature connectionhealth and wellbeingcommunity science |
| spellingShingle | Rachel R. Y. Oh Rachel R. Y. Oh Andres F. Suarez-Castro Richard A. Fuller Michael Tervo Kevin Rozario Kevin Rozario Kevin Rozario Kevin Rozario Birte Peters Birte Peters Shawan Chowdhury Shawan Chowdhury Shawan Chowdhury Shawan Chowdhury Julia von Gönner Julia von Gönner Julia von Gönner Martin Friedrichs-Manthey Martin Friedrichs-Manthey Martin Friedrichs-Manthey Ambros Berger Tracy Schultz Angela J. Dean Angela J. Dean Ayesha Tulloch Aletta Bonn Aletta Bonn Aletta Bonn Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health Frontiers in Environmental Science nature exposure nature dose nature-based health intervention nature connection health and wellbeing community science |
| title | Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health |
| title_full | Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health |
| title_fullStr | Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health |
| title_short | Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health |
| title_sort | using nature based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health |
| topic | nature exposure nature dose nature-based health intervention nature connection health and wellbeing community science |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2025.1461601/full |
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