There’s widespread evidence that anxiety is growing and mental health is declining among people ages 18 to 24. We also know that the number of people — especially students of color — in this age group who are seeking mental health care has declined since the start of the pandemic.

At the same time, there’s a nature-deficit disorder associated with poorer mental health. If we can move the needle on this and show the potential benefits of spending time outside through our randomized study design, that would be really exciting.

Nature IDEAS is studying inequalities and opportunities to interact with nature on and near campuses across the USA. We’ll also measure participants’ feeling of belongingness in nature, time spent in nature, feelings of nature connectedness and mental health.

I’m hoping we can ultimately find ways to make outdoor spaces more inclusive, so everyone feels welcome because, historically — and currently — there’s been a lot of violence against people of color in natural spaces.

How do you measure exposure to green space?

I use geospatial analysis skills that quantify exposure to nature in a particular location. We have methods to measure visual exposure and soundscapes. For example, in a setting near water, I can quantify how much water people see using mapping and data from specific places.

To measure the soundscape, I work with a wildlife ecologist. In one study, we put audio monitors at random locations throughout a neighborhood and recorded the morning and evening bird chorus. From the recording, every bird species gets identified, and this provides a measure of bird diversity or richness. We can then interpolate that to create a whole surface soundscape across the community.

It’s like what is done to measure air pollution; you don’t have monitors at every single house. You have air pollution monitors at specific locations and then you estimate air pollution for many locations across a city.

What's the benefit of quantifying visuals and sounds?

When we look and listen to our environment, our brain is processing cues. Either we’re feeling safe or we’re feeling threatened and all of that affects our physiological response.

Green space may not always be a positive thing. If you’re walking along a very busy road with lots of honking horns, your body may feel stressed. In contrast, if you’re walking in the Beal Botanical Garden listening to the Red Cedar River and birds singing, you may feel less threatened and even safe. All those things affect mood, mental state and physiological responses.

It’s interesting because silence is actually not always perceived as safe. When conditions aren’t safe, the birds stop singing, right? Things go quiet. So, hearing birdsong is a cue to us as humans that it’s a safe environment.

To really understand the evidence to date on birdsong and human health, we did a meta-analysis and found compelling evidence that natural sounds — water and birds specifically — benefit health. But the majority of sound and health work focuses on negative things such as noise. For example, aviation and transportation networks are regulated for noise because of the effects of noise on our health. 

The same is true for visual cues, including signs of disorder. There’s extensive research about how visual cues like broken windows or graffiti make you feel stressed or unsafe. There’s much less research about positive visual cues, like things that show care and intentionality, such as signage, clear borders or mowed trails in green spaces.

We’re doing work right now to establish metrics of signs of care that may have mental health benefits.

How can MSU students participate in Nature IDEAS?

Registration for MSU students in Nature IDEAS is open from Sept. 17 to Oct. 1. The study will welcome 160 students who will be asked to participate for one month using an app called Nature Dose. The app is used to assess changes in time spent outside and mental health.

Anyone interested in the study can follow Nature IDEAS on Instagram. Program Coordinator Angela Resseguie is available to answer questions.

Amber Pearson is an associate professor in the Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University. She is a health geographer with a focus on social justice and the intersections of spatial and social features of neighborhoods.

Pearson is currently leading a research project called Nature IDEAS, or Nature Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access Study, which is supported by a grant from the REI Cooperative Action Fund. It’s the first-ever randomized controlled trial of nature-based interventions among university students with a focus on students of color and understanding their feeling of belonging outdoors and evaluating how time spent in green spaces affects their mental health.

Originally published in MSU Today on September 17, 2024