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The small e of Environmental Justice

Elisa M. Martin, Ph.D., MSW

Siena College

emartin@siena.edu

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U.N., �CSWE, �SW Grand Challenges

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United Nations Human Rights Council

  • In October 2021 the Human Rights Council declared access to a healthy natural environment to be a human right
  • According to World Health Organization (WHO), 24% of all global deaths, roughly 13.7 million deaths a year, are linked to the environment, due to risks such as air pollution and chemical exposure.
  • Protecting human rights and protecting the environment are interconnected

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https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/10/1102582

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CSWE’s Definition of Environmental Justice

Environmental justice occurs when all people equally experience high levels of environmental protection and no group or community is excluded from the environmental policy decision-making process, nor is affected by a disproportionate impact from environmental hazards.

Environmental justice affirms the ecological unity and the interdependence of all species, respect for cultural and biological diversity, and the right to be free from ecological destruction.

This includes responsible use of ecological resources, including the land, water, air, and food.

(CSWE, 2015, p. 20)

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Social Work Grand Challenges

1. Maximize productive and meaningful activity throughout life�2. Ensure all youth get a good and healthy start�3. Reduce isolation and loneliness�4. Stop family violence�5. End homelessness�6. Create greater healthy equity�7. Safely reduce our incarcerated population�8. Strengthen financial security�9. End racial injustice�10. Strengthen social responses to environmental changes�11. Reverse extreme inequality�12. Harness digital technology for social good

https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/FINAL-Identifying-and-Tackling-GCSW-4-2-2015-formatted-final.pdf

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Strengthen social responses to environmental changes

Create social responses to a changing environment

The environmental challenges reshaping contemporary societies pose profound risks to human well-being, particularly for marginalized communities. Climate change and urban development threaten health, undermine coping, and deepen existing social and environmental inequities. A changing global environment requires transformative social responses: new partnerships, deep engagement with local communities, and innovations to strengthen individual and collective assets.

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https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/create-social-responses-to-a-changing-environment/

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Ecological Perspective

  • Ecological systems theory was used by Urie Bronfenbrenner, a researcher of child development.
  • “Bronfenbrenner believed that a person’s development was influenced by everything in the surrounding environment and social interactions within it” (Alam, n.d., ¶ 1).
  • Social workers use the ecological perspective in their work to analyze the person-in-environment and the multiple systems that can be engaged to help with problem resolution (micro, mezzo and macro) (Pardeck, 1988).
  • Gitterman (2017) highlights the importance of considering the natural world, not only for quality of life, but also recognizing the “kinship” connections humans have with the environment (p. 291), however this part is often overlooked or minimized in social work education.

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�Example of �Ecological Model and Eco Map

https://www.sutori.com/en/item/the-development-of-person-in-environment-as-conceptual-framework-the-person-in

https://swhelper.org/2013/05/21/ecological-systems-theory-and-practice-systems-and-the-sociocybernetic-map/

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Benefits of Nature

Health and Well-Being

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Forest Bathing (Shinrin-Yoko) – �aka Spending time in the woods

  • Shinrin-Yoko is the Japanese term for forest bathing, where the practice and research originated.
  • Researchers have been studying the health and well-being effects of spending time in nature and have noted physiological benefits such as lower cortisol increased natural killer cells which have been shown to kills tumor cells or cells infected with a virus (Williams, 2018) as well as cardiovascular, immune and neuro-endocrine functions (Payne & Delphinius, 2019)
  • Mental health benefits are also apparent, such as reducing stress, depression, anger and anxiety (Kotera et al., 2022)
  • These effects hold true in winter months (Bielinis et al., 2018)

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you don’t need the woods to receive benefits

  • Research has shown that while taking short (10 minute) work breaks are beneficial for everyone, taking them outdoors provides a greater reduction on perceived stress (Largo-Wight et al., 2017).
  • College students who purposefully use green spaces had lower perceptions of stress, greater well-being, as well as better health and life quality (Holt et al., 2019). 
  • Exposure to natural environments for six minutes, real or simulated, were able to positively influence negative mental effects (Browning et al., 2020) 
  • Study participants spending six minutes in one of four different settings: an old town, a forest, a virtual 360 natural video, or a slideshow of nature images, plus a control showed natural environments, real or simulated, could reduce fatigue and negative affect as well as increase mood. (Mostajeran et al., 2021)

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Nature’s Influence on �Children and Adolescents

  • McCormick (2017) conducted a systematic review and found “that access to green space is important to the mental well-being, overall health and cognitive development of children. It promotes attention restoration, moderates the impacts of stress, improves behaviors and symptoms of ADHD and was even associated with higher standardized test scores. Children living in high risk neighborhoods and under stressful conditions need to be given more opportunities to interact with nature” (p. 4).
  • One study on children’s cognitive development in relation to available green space found that access to green space improved memory and reduced inattentitivenss. This was true for green space around the school, as well as greenness that children were exposed to during their school commute. (Dadvand et al., 2015)

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City Life

Crime and Health

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Reducing Crime

  • Researchers found that communities that had tended yards, trees, shrubs and lawns had less crime than communities that had unkempt lawns and litter. The significance remained after controlling for socioeconomic status (Troy et al., 2016)

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  • An experimental study showed that neighborhoods where vacant/unsafe land was restored experienced less gun violence, reduced vandalism and crime. People were also more willing to go outside and housing costs were stabilized in poorer neighborhoods (Branas et al., 2018)

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Health

  • Kardan and colleagues (2015) examined the number of trees lining city blocks and found city blocks with more and/or larger trees had residents with improved perceptions of health. “This effect for cardio-metabolic conditions is equivalent to a $20,200 increase in both area median income and annual household income adjusted for other variables. This decrease in cardio-metabolic conditions is also, on average, equivalent to being 1.4 years younger (p. 5).”
  • Unjust housing policies of the past have left formerly redlined neighborhoods with fewer trees. The summer’s heat is trapped in paved yards and roads, creating temperatures 5 to 12 degrees hotter in these communities (Plumber & Popovich, 2020)

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Nature Deprived Places

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Prisons and other Secured Facilities

  •  A small horticulture program with five women in a secure mental health facility found that the women liked the way having plants changed the living environment and made it feel more homey. They also reported that having plants in their personal and common area created feelings of happiness both elevating their mood and increasing a sense of calm (Toews et al., 2018)
  • Nadkarni and colleagues (2017) brought nature to solitary confinement through videos displayed in the indoor exercise room. Results showed that those who were able to watch videos had improved emotional states and reported feeling calmer and less irritable. The staff at the prison acknowledged that “in-mates became calmer after viewing the videos, and that these effects lasted for hours” (p. 399). The number of violent incidents that occurred also decreased.

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Connectedness to Nature �= �Caring About Nature

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Cultivating the care of nature

  • Zelenski and colleagues (2015) found that nature connectedness influenced cooperation and conservation efforts.
  • Alcock and colleagues (2020) assessed how nature exposure influences nature appreciation. They asked questions about recycling, buying products that were eco-friendly, purchasing seasonally available or locally grown foods, volunteering to care for the environment, etc. They said that “people who have greater appreciation of the natural environment, and spend more recreational time in it, also report more pro-environmental behaviours” (p. 7).

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Challenges

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Forecasting Errors and Historical Oppression

  • On a broad scale, people generally underestimate the positive influence of nature. Even when nature is accessible, people may not purposefully spend time outside (Nisbet & Zelenski, 2011).
  • People living in urban environments that are nature deprived or have limited access to nature are predominantly low-income (70%) and communities of color (74%) (Rowland-Shea et al., 2020).
  • For those who have solely resided in urban settings with little to no exposure to nature, there may be a fear of nature (Patuano, 2020). 
  • Bringing change to communities means working with those residing in them, not imposing outside expectations/demands (Carmichael & McDonough, 2018; Forbes et al., 2021)

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Infusing Nature into �SW Practice

Just a few ideas

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Clinical/Direct Practice

  • Ecotherapy, also known as nature therapy, “is the practice of being in nature to boost growth and healing, especially mental health” (Laguaite, 2021).
  • Under this umbrella term resides: adventure therapy, animal-assisted interventions or therapy, nature based arts and crafts, conservation, dark nature (going out at night), forest bathing, green exercise, therapeutic horticulture and wilderness therapy (Laguaite 2021; Peterson, 2022).
  • The practice of prescribing nature by medical and mental health providers, for physical and emotional well-being, is becoming more common in the U.S. and abroad (Mock, 2022). 
  • When assessing child development, and mental health, time in nature/green space is an important element to consider (Dadvand et al., 2015; McCormick, 2017). This applies to adult mental and physical health as well.

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Community and policy practice

  • “Black and low-income communities are plagued with environmental hazards that impacted the health of residents and often resulted in illness, worsened quality of life, and death” (Thomas, 2022, p. 39).
  • Access to nature, and the extent of available green space in communities can influence the quality of health and safety in neighborhoods (Branas et al., 2018; Troy et al., 2016)
  • In addition to the big issues, policy practice can also focus on topics such as community residents having access to well tended green spaces, efforts taken in urban settings to add tree cover to help release heat, green spaces in schools; the list can go on and on.
  • It is essential to ensure community members are sought out, listened to, and heard. This is then demonstrated through the evolution of the action plan that is infused with community feedback (Carmichael & McDonough, 2018). 

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Conclusion

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Summarizing

  • Access to nature has been identified as an essential human right by the UN, and fighting for environmental justice is an important element of social work practice (CSWE 2020; NASW, n.d.; Kemp et al., 2015).
  • While tackling the big issues of environmental justice is important, exploring the ways client systems engage with nature on a daily basis is just as essential.
  • Exposure to nature has the ability to increase mental well-being and improve health in adults and children (McCormick, 2017; Vera, 2020).

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Summarizing continued

  • Improvements in community green space can decrease crime and increase community health (Branas et al, 2018; Kardan et al., 2015).
  • Bringing nature into prisons, real or virtual, can improve the mental health of inmates (Nadkarni et al., 2017).
  • Connecting people to nature can help increase their commitment to the environment, and therefore be more likely to engage in pro-environmental activities (Alcock et al., 2020; Charles et al., 2018). 

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Take a Walk

  • Wondering how you can use all this information? Maybe you should take a walk.
  • Oppezzo & Schwartz (2014) explored the benefits of an outdoor walk (versus no walk or a walk on a treadmill) on creative thinking. The results demonstrated that while walking overall is helpful, walking outside generated more creative thought than being inside.
  • Palancia and colleagues (2019) also found walking to provide a boost to creativity, though expanded this to any outdoor environment. However, if you have limited access to nature, or the outdoors, viewing a nature video can also provide a creative boost.   

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References

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  • Dadvand, P., Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J., Esnaola, M., Forns, J., Basagaña, X., Alvarez-Pedrerol, M., Rivas, I., López-Vicente, M., De Castro Pascual, M., Su, J., Jerrett, M., Querol, X., & Sunyer, J. (2015). Green spaces and cognitive development in primary schoolchildren. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(26), 7937-7942. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503402112 
  • Forbes, R., Wochele, S., Peterson, K., & Craggs, A. (2021). Environmental justice and black lives matter: Critical reflection and advocacy for social work in the United States. Environmental Justice, 14(6), 404-410. DOI: 10.1089/env.2021.0023  
  • Gitterman, A. (2017). Life model of social work practice. In F. J. Turner (Ed.), Social Work Treatment (pp. 287-301). Oxford University Press. 
  • Holt, E. W., Lombard, Q. K., Best, N., Smiley-Smith, S., & Quinn, J. (2019). Active and passive use of green space, health, and well-being amongst university students. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(3), 13 pp. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16030424
  • Kardan, O., Gozdyra, P., Misic, B., Moola, F., Palmer, L. J., Paus, T., & Berman, M. G. (2015). Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center. Scientific Reports, 5(11610) 1-13. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep11610
  • Kemp, S. P., & Palinkas, L. A. (with Wong, M., Wagner, K., Reyes Mason, L., Chi, I., Nurius, P., Floersch, J. & Rechkemmer, A.). (2015). Strengthening the social response to the human impacts of environmental change (Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative Working Paper No. 5). Cleveland, OH: American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.
  • Kotera, Y., Richardson, M., & Sheffield, D. (2022). Effects of shinrin-foko (forest bathing) and nature therapy on metal health: A systemic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 20, 337-361. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-020-00363-4 
  •  Leguaite, M. (2021). Do you need a nature prescription? WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/nature-therapy-ecotherapy
  • Largo-Wight, E., Wlyudka, P. S., Merten, J. W., & Cuvelier, E. A. (2017). Effectiveness and feasibility of a 10-minute employee stress intervention: Outdoor Booster Break. Journal Of Workplace Behavioral Health, 32(3), 159-171. doi:10.1080/15555240.2017.1335211  
  • McCormick, R. (2017). Does access to green space impact the mental well-being of children: A systematic review. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 37, 3-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2017.08.027 
  • Mock, J. (2022, April, 27). Why doctors are prescribing nature walks. Time. https://time.com/6171174/nature-stress-benefits-doctors/

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