Study: People’s appreciation of nature was reignited by Covid-19

CONNECTICUT: Many of the effects of the pandemic on our lives will undoubtedly continue for years to come. Our perspective of nature has changed, according to UConn researchers, even as the impact of these changes may last for quite some time. Nature Scientific Reports published the findings.

Sohyun Park, assistant professor in the UConn College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, observed some intriguing trends as people flocked to outdoor spaces for recreation in the spring of 2020. More people were on the trails, and many of those people had travelled from far away to enjoy nature.

Park co-wrote a study analyzing the trends as a member of the Connecticut Trail Census team.

In her office in the W.B. Young Building, Sohyun Park of the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture. Mar. 8, 2022. (Image by Jason Sheldon/UConn)

In contrast to urban trails, Park notes that usage of rural routes grew. I sought to learn how people were altering their attitudes, mindsets, or views.

In order to accomplish this, Park and his co-authors Seungman Kim, Jaehoon Lee, and Biyoung Heo of Texas Tech University, as well as James Corner Field Operations, turned to social media data and machine learning techniques to help make sense of the enormous amounts of data on Twitter and try to find a pattern among those data, according to Park. They made use of Twitter’s Application Programming Interface (API), which enables scientists to gather data from posts on Twitter.

“We were interested in learning from the people who had visited green spaces about their activities and Twitter posts. We used extremely cutting-edge machine learning techniques,” explains Park. “The keywords were sorted by the computer into many categories that are easily understood by people. Unrelated to nature was one group. The second category consists of all customary park-related activities, while the third group is undoubtedly COVID-related, including mask-wearing and other social exclusionary behaviours.

A newfound appreciation for nature

The researchers saw some substantial variations in term usage between pre-pandemic and pandemic Twitter, with people regularly citing nature and their experiences inside it. However, what people were doing in the parks did not alter considerably.

Users started posting images or videos of activities related to nature on Twitter, according to Park. It was extremely intriguing since, in the past, fewer terms like that were used; instead, people used keywords like “playing,” “walking the dog,” “baseball,” and other common, active park activities that they were taking part in while they were in the parks. If you look at post-2020 Twitter, you may also find keywords that express gratitude to God or love for the outdoors by describing the sounds of the birds chirping or the water.

The study’s findings revealed that people, especially those living in metropolitan areas, appeared to have developed fresh respect for nature and green spaces. As a landscape architect, Park was curious to find out whether there was more to the findings and whether they would have any design consequences.

For example, benches, walking trails, and sports areas are typical park amenities. However, according to Park, the paper’s findings seem to indicate that different people are drawn to different aspects of natural greenspaces.

According to Park, “We could want to return to the beginning of public parks like those Olmsted designed.” “There was a lot of activity in the city at his time, in the 19th century, and they wanted to provide a place for people to find rest and peace. When faced with a health issue in the twenty-first century, we could want to return to that time period and try to reconsider the design ideas.

Imagine Central Park in Manhattan, which has ponds, wooded areas, and meadows, says Park. Most of those natural characteristics were added intentionally and weren’t present initially. In contrast, here are some modern parks.

Modern parks might be well run, kept up, and manicured; everything is neat and orderly, claims Park. Although not truly in a naturalistic style, there are various seating places, paved areas, and structures where you may play something with your friends and family. Public settings can evoke that feeling in people.

The outdoors as an essential resource for overall well-being

According to Park, green spaces have a positive impact on people’s mental, physical, and spiritual health. This is especially true for those who have limited access to public parks or underprivileged communities that don’t have access to any green spaces in their homes.

According to Park, “I’m proposing that parks are not just places for recreation; greenspaces and parks serve as necessary amenities for all, including the elderly, people with low incomes, and people with impairments.” “Parks need inclusive planning strategies that might be applied to the existing park development concepts”.

Park emphasises that there are numerous individuals involved in the creation, management, and planning of parks and green spaces. The problematic thing is that the more naturalistic, garden-like design for public parks may call for more planning and upkeep, thus these design elements rely more heavily on resources and money.

In order to have some sort of co-managing type of approach to the future, officials and park managers now need to collaborate with individuals who live nearby, according to Park. “In the long term, I think that will be the path that we need to go,” he says.

This study emphasizes The significance of such design elements and their contributions to our mental and spiritual health, and according to Park, it is crucial that the general public fight for our green areas. Such research can assist in decision-making.

“It’s crucial that the general public and decision-makers comprehend that, in the end, we need to have a budget in order to have more naturally occurring elements and programs in the park. In terms of the initiatives towns are undertaking, we should all be more involved. Joining the conservation commission in your community or showing up to monthly meetings can be a good place to start.

Engage in conversation and speak your opinion. That has a significant impact and changes everything. Giving some input and feedback on public decision-making should be the first step because sometimes these decision-makers are genuinely grounded by how the stakeholders are feeling. More individuals should get involved in public planning because it is empowering.