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Lack of Representation

Disproportionate Impacts

COVID’s effect on Nature use

Access to Nature

Accessibility and Inclusivity Challenges

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Article: “Nature Helps Mental Health, Research Says—But Only For Rich, White People?” 2022. The University of Vermont.

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Takeaways:

Research that examines the effects of nature on human well-being and mental health drastically underrepresent non-white and non-wealthy participants in their studies

Over 95% of studies occurred in high-income Western nations in North America, Europe and East Asia—or Westernized nations such as South Africa—while research in the Global South was largely absent.
Less than 4% of studies took place in medium-income nations, such as India, with no studies in low-income countries.
"We need all cultures working together to tackle the global emergencies we face," says Amaya Carrasco.

https://www.uvm.edu/news/gund/nature-helps-mental-health-research-says-only-rich-white-people

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Article: “Losing Nature Disproportionately Impacts Black, Hispanic, and Low-Income Americans.” 2021. The University of Vermont.

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Takeaways:

When nature vanishes, U.S. people of color and low-income Americans disproportionately lose critical environmental and health benefits—including air quality, crop productivity and natural disease control.

Focusing on three vital ecosystem services—air quality, crop pollination, and control of insect-borne disease (West Nile virus)—researchers project that these benefits of nature will decrease for people of color by an average of 224%, 118% and 111% between 2020 and 2100.

Black and Hispanic populations are expected to experience a substantial loss of benefits, in particular.

Land-use conversion trends are likely to be stronger in counties where marginalized populations are expected to grow. As a result, non-white groups are predicted to lose nature’s benefits, while white communities experience gains.

https://www.uvm.edu/news/gund/losing-nature-disproportionally-impacts-black-hispanic-and-low-income-americans

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Article: “In Pandemic, People Are Turning to Nature – Especially Women.” 2020. The University of Vermont.

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“...COVID-19 is overturning the idea that nature and its benefits—from stress reduction to social connection— are becoming ‘luxury goods.’”

Diana Hackenburg

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Takeaways:

Outdoor activities seeing the largest increases were: watching wildlife (up 64%), gardening (57%), taking photos or doing other art in nature (54%), relaxing alone outside (58%), and, yes, making their masked and distanced way on walks (70%).

During the pandemic, respondents said in nature they cherished a greater sense of mental health and wellbeing (59%), exercise (29%), appreciating nature’s beauty (29%), sense of identity (23%) and spirituality (22%), along with other less common values.

Women and people who lost their jobs are more likely than men to report increased importance of values that include mental well-being, beauty, exercise, familiarity with landscape, and fun.

Women increased their nature use in more ways than men. Across the six most common nature activities in the study, women were 1.7 (gardening) to 2.9 (walking) times more likely to report increasing outdoor activity than men.

https://www.uvm.edu/news/gund/pandemic-people-are-turning-nature-especially-women

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Article: “New Nature Lover? It’s a COVID-19 Side Effect.” 2022. The University of Vermont.

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80%

Of park users reported an increased importance for local nature, and access to it.

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Takeaways:

Access to green spaces and nature is important for preserving the mental well being of people and lowering levels of anxiety in stressful times.

People need more space for peace and contemplation and safe spaces to be social when so many other outlets are closed to them.

Demand for urban green space is increasing at a time when many communities are seeing losses of urban natural areas or uncertain priority for them.

In many areas in the United States, access to urban green space is unequal and a function of income and race.
Given that COVID-19 has hit lower income Americans the hardest, the lack of access to green space may compound the effects of COVID-19.

https://www.uvm.edu/news/rsenr/new-nature-lover-its-covid-19-side-effect

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Document: “National and Regional Results from the Wildlife Viewing Survey.” 2022. Virginia Tech.

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Average Age of Nature Viewers

VENUS

JUPITER

MARS

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Gender of Nature Viewers

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Ethnoracial Identity of Nature Viewers

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Takeaways:

Approximately 40% of wildlife viewers identified as experiencing somewhat to a great deal of accessibility challenges when participating in wildlife viewing (include mobility challenges, blindness or low vision, intellectual or developmental disabilities (including Autism), mental illness, being Deaf or Hard of Hearing or other health concerns).
BIPOC percentage of our sample, 19%, was not representative of the American population of 42%, indicating that BIPOC are underrepresented in wildlife viewing.
A majority of White respondents, 73%, somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement “I think of myself as a wildlife viewer,” whereas 62% of Black or African American respondents, 60% of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish and 56% of Asian respondents agreed.
All respondents, though, met the survey’s criteria for being wildlife viewers. The issue might therefore be a reduced sense of belonging in or identification with the outdoor community among underserved communities.
While BIPOC tend to be more concerned about environmental issues than White people, they do not consider themselves to be environmentalists (Pearson et al. 2018).

https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream/handle/10919/111539/MSV_Regional_National_Report.pdf?sequence=7&isAllowed=y