Author Archives: Becca Lovell
BlueHealth: mapping and quantifying the potential benefits of Europe’s blue spaces to public health and wellbeing
Our colleagues working on the Horizon 2020 funded Blue Health project have published a protocol detailing the aims and methods of the project. The Blue Health project is led by Professor Lora Fleming and brings together a multi-disciplinary consortium to investigate how aquatic environments affect the health of Europe’s population. The research aims to understand […]
Using social media data to track health and wellbeing impacts of pollen and air pollution
We have started work on a new ESRC funded project which will develop and evaluate prototype “social sensing” tools that use social media data to monitor environmental triggers (pollen and air pollution) for asthma and hayfever. We aim to help build the evidence base for the feasibility of the use of social sensing in an […]
Culture matters: using a cultural contexts of health approach to enhance policy-making. New World Health Organisation report.
Becca and Professor Michael Depledge have co-authored a new report with WHO Europe on the importance of culture to health and wellbeing policy making. The report is part of a wider programme of work on the Cultural Contexts of Health at the WHO. The policy focused briefing was developed in response to increasing awareness among […]
Different types of exposure to natural environments are associated with different aspects of wellbeing
Ben, Mat and colleagues have published a new analysis of Natural England’s Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment survey data in the journal Health & Place. The study examined whether different types of exposure to natural environments are associated with different aspects of wellbeing. White, M. P., Pahl, S., Wheeler, B. W., Depledge, M. […]
Job opportunity – Social sensing data to assess health and wellbeing impacts of pollen and air pollution
We are working with Dr Hywel Williams on an ESRC funded New and Emerging Forms of Data Policy Demonstrator Projects focusing on the use of social sensing data to understand the health and wellbeing impacts from pollen and air pollution. Hywel is searching for a Post-doc with a PhD in computer science or a related […]
Defra Evidence Statement on the links between natural environments and human health
Working with Dr Simon Maxwell of the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs‘s Environment Analysis Unit, we have co-authored a comprehensive Evidence Statement on the links between natural environments and human health. The aim of the evidence statement is to inform Defra’s policies and service delivery. You can download a copy of the full […]
British Academy’s ‘Where We Live Now’ reports
In Summer 2016 Becca and Professor Michael Depledge worked with the British Academy to hold one of the regional Where We Live Now project workshops in Cornwall. The results of the project have now been released. The British Academy is the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences – the study of peoples,cultures […]
‘What Works’ in nature based health interventions
In March we published a review of the linkages between natural environments and health outcomes with Defra. You can download a copy of the full Evidence Statement on the links between natural environments and human health or a set of summary slides. We found that we now have a relatively robust body of evidence which […]
Marine wildlife as an important component of coastal visits: The role of perceived biodiversity and species behaviour
Members of the Beyond Greenspace team have collaborated with the RSPB to examine whether marine wildlife is an important component of the wellbeing benefits of visits to the coast. The results of the study were published earlier this month in the journal Marine Policy. Our colleague Rebecca Jefferson from the RSPB has written a great […]
Sensing Nature: exploring visual impairment in the natural environment
In November 2016, ECEHH Researcher, Dr Sarah Bell, started a new two-year ESRC-funded project exploring the diverse sensory and emotional experiences people have in nature, focusing on individuals living with visual impairment. Approximately 285 million people are thought to live with sight loss and blindness across the world – a number that is increasing as […]
Beyond Greenspace 