How does nature impact our well-being?
That is the primary question being investigated in a global survey recently launched by a team of researchers from UBC’s Faculty of Forestry. In an effort to better understand the impact of nature during times of isolation caused by the current COVID-19 pandemic, faculty researchers put together a survey that is circulating worldwide and is still open for input. It is an approximately 15-minute survey that they hope will have a long-lasting impact.
“It has the potential to inform decision making around healthy lifestyle choices and healthy city planning in the future,” says Tahia Devisscher, Banting Post-Doctoral Research Fellow. “The survey, which is circulating around the world, will provide us with insight into how we engage with nature and how that connection impacts us when we are feeling isolated, anxious, or uncertain.”
The survey is broken into seven sections that include people’s current living conditions, what indoor nature they have access to and what views they have of the outside, what nature they can see in their immediate outdoor spaces, how often they get out, and their overall connectedness to nature. The final section speaks to respondents’ health and well-being.
Any person older than 18 years old currently or until recently in lockdown/self-isolation is invited to participate. If you decide to participate, the data you share will remain anonymous. This study relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and you do not have to answer any questions that make you uncomfortable. The aggregated information will be used in reports and publications associated with this research and made available online (open access). To reach a global audience, the survey was first piloted with participants from different cultural backgrounds and then translated into six languages with the support of the Urban Forestry in Action (UFORIA) lab.
If you have questions about this research in general, or about your role in the study in particular, feel free to contact Tahia Devisscher (tahia.devisscher@ubc.ca). To access and help distribute the survey, see the button below.
The deadline for responses is June 11.
