Chela, ecology undergraduate and Sustainability Officer for the University of the West of England Students Union, speaks of her campaign to establish a rewilding space for wildlife and people in this guest blog.

Time and again, access to nature has proven to relieve mood and psychophysiological responses to stress in education, positively enhance learning, cognitive function and creativity, and benefit our health and wellbeing in general. Yet, SOS-UK found 19% of students have no way to access nature. One solution? Bring nature to students!

The link between access to nature and nature’s beneficial effect on health and wellbeing have been so thoroughly researched and published that it’s now common knowledge. Being in nature is good for our health, but that’s not all! The wider education sector in particular has much to gain from understanding the effects nature has on learning.

Over the last decade, hundreds of studies have explored the relationship between nature and learning, with evidence now strongly suggesting that experiences of nature boost academic learning, personal development and environmental stewardship. Nature has been shown to improve attention, levels of stress, self-discipline, interest and enjoyment in learning, problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, teamwork, resilience and promote shifts in perseverance.

With such an impressive list of benefits to learning, it’s hardly worth mentioning the further gains to be had for biodiversity and climate change on top of it all.

Yet many face challenges in accessing nature regularly and meaningfully. More specifically, the ‘triple jeopardy’ of social, health and environmental inequalities connected to access to nature. The education sector is therefore uniquely positioned to tap into the power of nature and promote an all-important ‘reconnection’.

Survey Aims

As part of a campaign to bring high-quality nature to the University of the West of England’s (UWE Bristol), two surveys, one for students and one for staff, ran from February 1st – May 30th, 2024. A total of 415 students and 107 staff responded to the surveys.

The campaign proposed the establishment of a rewilding space for wildlife, research and wellbeing on 9.5 hectares of land currently earmarked for development. The site is located on UWE’s main campus, 5 minutes’ walk from the Student Union building.

I wanted to know, would a rewilding space be utilised and in what ways? How would stakeholders feel about it, and what impact might it have on the university experience?

The Student University Experience

94% of respondents said they liked the idea of having a specified space reserved for rewilding, wellbeing and research on campus. In other words, the initiative would be positively accepted by the large majority of stakeholders.

87% of students felt that a rewilding space, would actively improve their university experience, an overwhelming majority. This improved experience would be reflected in university feedback surveys, making the university more attractive.

Students were keenly aware of the health benefits nature provides. When asked how this space would affect their university experience, 58% spoke about the mental health benefits. 18% spoke about connectedness and a desire to be closer to nature. This demonstrated a general awareness that being in and amongst nature positively affected their state of being and highlighted a real need and desire for high-quality nature on campus.

In fact, over 95% of all respondents (96% of students and 98% of staff) agreed they benefit from being in nature.

"Having a rewilding space on campus would improve students’ mental health during stressful deadline periods. I do long hours at uni during the weekdays and weekends and having somewhere to take healthy breaks is extremely important"

Research, Learning and Education

When staff were asked if they thought student learning and education would benefit with access to a rewilding space, 77% said it would and 21% were unsure. Staff were invited to elaborate and of the 57 who did, 61% spoke about mental health benefits and the consequential improvements to learning.

The majority of staff recognised the educational value of a rewilding space, particularly of nature’s ability to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Of 107 staff respondents, 18% were lecturers. Unfortunately, this was fewer lecturer voices than desired. Though despite only 3 lecturing in environmental subjects, 53% of all lecturers said they would utilise this space in their teaching or education. 16% of lecturers were not sure, indicating a receptive proportion who might need assistance with incorporation. With over half of lecturers willing to use the rewilding space in their teaching, there are opportunities for integrating sustainability and interdisciplinary education. Alternative learning, such as outdoor classrooms, could also diversify education.

"Being in nature is good for emotional health so having a space like this on campus would be valuable from that perspective (even though it's unrelated to my teaching)"

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Engagement and Utilisation

24% of students would utilise the site as a space to socialise and 22% would utilise the space to get access to nature. There are numerous areas around Frenchay campus in which students can socialise, yet students evidently still feel a nature-rich space is needed.

Socialising was unsurprisingly higher on the agenda for students than staff, with 26% of staff stating they would use the site for access to nature and 19% would use it to see wildlife.

Feedback Summary

Overall, feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Both UWE students and staff were highly receptive and supportive to the idea of a rewilding space set aside for wildlife, wellbeing and research, with 98% of respondents stating they would use the space at some point during their time at UWE.

There were some concerns though. For students this was unruly wildlife, but one student felt accommodation would make better use of the space. Staff mentioned only one concern, in that they didn't think it was the best location.

Application and Next Steps

Gains are not limited to boosting mental health, educational experience, learning, research potential, supporting social equality and fostering nature connectedness. The role education can play in current global issues go beyond SDG mapping in curricula. By incorporating high-quality natural spaces that promote biodiversity on campuses, educational institutions recognise the real crises of our generation and demonstrate a clear commitment to addressing them.

Results from these surveys will be compiled within a proposal document to be submitted to UWE’s Vice Chancellor. The campaign is currently waiting feedback and next steps from the Student’s Union board of trustees. UWE’s actions on sustainability are award winning, though the financial situation for many UK universities is troubling. I sincerely hope for a campaign win, but by communicating student and staff voices, I’ve raised awareness of our collective desire for nature reconnection.

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