A two-year research project has revealed that engaging with nature – such as parks, rivers and woodlands – can play a crucial role in helping people integrate after moving to the UK.
The results from the study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the British Academy, will be presented for the first time tomorrow [Friday, November 29] by project leads Dr Davide Natalini of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and Professor Azadeh Fatehrad of Teesside University (TU).
The online event will also feature presentations by Professor Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at the University of Glasgow, and Dr Cheryl Willis, Deputy Director, Science & Evidence, at Natural England.
The project – Nature-based integration: connecting communities with/in nature – involved extensive surveys and fieldwork, to better understand local communities’ connections with their own local natural environments, in three diverse UK locations: the London Borough of Haringey, Blackburn with Darwen in Lancashire, and the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.
It found that the natural environment is a source of joy, motivation, and a means of escaping daily stresses, highlighting its importance in promoting health and wellbeing, and as a space for leisure activities.
The research also discovered that activities that involve engaging with nature foster social interactions among community members, build new social bonds, strengthen existing ones, and generate community cohesion, which are all essential for integration.
However, the study identified barriers to nature engagement for migrants, including safety concerns and unfamiliarity with UK plant species. Financial, geographical and transportation barriers can also restrict access to natural spaces.
The study recommends that policymakers improve infrastructure to make natural spaces accessible and safe for all community members, especially vulnerable groups, and involve the community in their planning and management. Additionally, programmes should be developed to encourage exploration of different cultures within natural settings, using nature as a neutral ground to bridge cultural divides.
Co-lead of the project Professor Azadeh Fatehrad, of Teesside University, said:
“Our research found many personal experiences that highlight the profound impact of nature engagement on individual and community wellbeing. For example, a participant with a migrant background in Haringey cultivated local plants to connect with their new environment, demonstrating the therapeutic and integrative power of nature.
“On the Isle of Lewis, activities such as making terrariums with locally foraged mosses and lichens provided opportunities for participants to share stories of their home landscapes while at the same time learn about the Outer Hebrides’ ecosystem. One participant described the process as ‘a way of planting roots in a new place’, illustrating how these practices can foster both a sense of belonging and mutual understanding.”
Co-lead of the project Dr Davide Natalini, of the Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said:
“Migrants make up a significant portion of the UK's population, with around one in six people in England and Wales born overseas, and our project provides valuable insight into the significant, yet often overlooked, role that nature can play in the integration of people arriving in the UK.
“In the short term, our research found that activities that involve engaging with nature can improve both community cohesion and individual wellbeing. In the long-term, we have suggested a number of strategies that involve the natural environment to help integrate migrant and non-migrant communities and reduce social divisions.”
More details about the project can be found at https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/nature-based-integration-connecting-communities-with-in-nature
Image: Elizabeth Rodriguez, Canva
