Accessibility statement

Transforming environmental research into evidence on the cultural and health benefits of green and blue space

This project is funded through the NERC Integrated Catchment Solutions Programme (iCASP) and aims to understand how to best use evidence to support greater access to and engagement with local green and blue spaces.

This project involves two phases. Phase 1 will work with Natural England to develop an interactive online tool with indicators and metrics that can measure changes in natural capital (benefits of the natural environment), cultural ecosystem services (for example, the non-material benefits people obtain from nature including recreation, aesthetic enjoyment, physical and mental health benefits and spiritual experiences) and wellbeing. This will also help Natural England, regulatory authorities, and Local Authorities to monitor progress on local climate, health and biodiversity commitments such as outlined in the 25 Year Environment Plan and the Environmental Land Management scheme. It will support flood and coastal erosion risk management authorities who need to use indicators to assess the mental health costs of flooding. Outputs will inform the second phase. 

Phase 2 will compile evidence on the benefits and evaluation of specific nature-based interventions for mental health, and the development of design principles for an online ‘what works’ resource to enhance use of green and blue spaces for health and wellbeing.

The project runs from September 2021 – December 2022.

Professor Piran White and Dr Peter Coventry co-lead the iCASP project.

How to get involved?

Workshops and Consultations

A series of workshops and online consultations will be run to co-produce design principles for ‘what works’ resource. The workshops will include service users, link workers, and people involved in running nature-based organisations.

If you would like to get involved, or would like to learn more about the workshops, please contact Dr Laura Harrison laura.harrison@york.ac.uk