Dr Easkey Britton presenting at the EPA/HSE Environment & Health Conference 2017 on barriers and bridges to engaging communities in nature-based programs for health and wellbeing.

1. Barriers to Bridges:
Engaging communities in Health and
Wellbeing
Dr. Easkey Britton,
Dr. Caitriona Carlin, Dr. Gesche Kindermann
NEAR Health, NUIG
@easkeysurf / @NEARHealth_NUIG

2. @NEARHealth_NUIG

3. @NEARHealth_NUIG
Adapted from: Otto Scharrmer, 2015, U.Lab

4. NEAR-Healthproject
Engage communities with natural environment to
benefit their health and wellbeing
oAppraise values, motivations, barriers and bridges
oDevelop a framework to integrate health promotion
and environmental awareness.
@NEARhealth_NUIG
The NEAR Health project, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Health Service Executive under Grant Award
No. 2015-HW-MS-2, supports the implementation of the EPA Strategic Plan 2016-2020 – ‘Our Environment, Our wellbeing’ and
Healthy Ireland, the national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland.

5. @NEARHealth_NUIG
Health and Wellbeing Drivers and Research

6. @NEARHealth_NUIG

7. @NEARHealth_NUIG

8. o Very few large scale longitudinal
studies
o Mechanisms unclear - mixed and
conflicting results from some studies
o Many studies restricted to very
specific age, socio-economic groups
o Programmes or interventions or
practices are rarely piloted or designed
in conjunction with researchers
Why are we still seeking evidence that nature is good for us?
@NEARHealth_NUIG

9. Photo credit: Swilly
@NEARHealth_NUIG
“Instilling a healthy respect for our aquatic environments at a young
age and giving children the skills they need to stay safe in water is
key to preventing drownings in the long term,”
Minister Simon Coveney, 2016

10. BRIDGES…
@NEARHealth_NUIG

11. @NEARHealth_NUIG

12. @NEARhealth_NUIG
How do you think the
barriers can be overcome?
Where do you
picture yourself,
when you think
about ‘being in
nature’?
Do you think there
is a relationship
between nature
and health?
How does being in
nature make you feel?What does being healthy
mean to you?
What influences your health
and wellbeing?
What does
nature mean
to you?
For you, are health and
wellbeing the same?
How do you define health and
wellbeing?
What are the main barriers
to engaging with nature?
What motivates you to
get outdoors?
What did we ask?

13. @NEARHealth_NUIG
Nature is all around us, it includes us, but a
lot of the time people don’t even see it.
Lack of time is always a big barrier.
Fear of water.
People don't know what to do or how to engage with the
natural environment.
Access is one of the biggest and most basic
barriers.
Support and a sense of community is important as an
entry point for engaging with nature.
Peer support and social events are
key to engaging people in nature.
Specialised wheelchairs for surf/sea/beaches, disability
training and access. If I am stressed I need to go outside and that makes
me feel better.
Good for getting out of our heads and
reconnecting with our body.

14. Barriers to Bridges…
Source: Irish Times Courtesy: Clean Coasts
@NEARHealth_NUIG

15. @NEARHealth_NUIG

16. 601
CLEAN COASTS
GROUPS
@NEARHealth_NUIG

17. Beach Cleans:
Doing good, feeling good
WHAT?
• Pilot study to evaluate health and wellbeing impact of
beach cleans.
• Before / After surveys with community groups, Big Beach
Clean, September 2017
• Total number of surveys: N = 30
WHERE?
• Location: 15 west cost participants // 15 east coast
WHO?
• Male, N = 12 // Female, N = 18
Average age: 34 years
Youngest: 9years // Oldest: 61 years
First beach clean - 59% @NEARHealth_NUIG

18. What motivated you to join the beach clean?
@NEARHealth_NUIG

19. 0
1
2
3
4
BEFORE AFTER
Anxiety Disconnect
Can beach cleans do more than clean-up litter?
@NEARHealth_NUIG

20. Beach cleans - a natural mood enhancer?
0
1.75
3.5
5.25
7
Happy Relaxed & calm Refreshed & revitalised
BEFORE AFTER
@NEARHealth_NUIG

21. 0
1.5
3
4.5
6
Nature Seaside Woods Friends Family Work community
BEFORE AFTER
Connectedness
@NEARHealth_NUIG

22. 0.0
1.1
2.2
3.3
4.4
5.5
BEFORE AFTER
Community (east coast)
Community (west coast)
Context matters: Geographical differences?
@NEARHealth_NUIG

23. How do you feel now?

25. Why surfing?
Impact of
surfing, being in
the sea and by
the sea…
@NEARHealth_NUIG

26. What are the
biggest changes
you’ve
noticed…?
How does being
in the sea make
you feel?
@NEARHealth_NUIG

27. New Irish Network linking nature, health and wellbeing
@NEARHealth_NUIG

28. Thank you
Follow: @NEARHealth_NUIG
NEARHealth@nuigalway.ie
The NEAR Health project, funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Health Service Executive under Grant Award
No. 2015-HW-MS-2, supports the implementation of the EPA Strategic Plan 2016-2020 – ‘Our Environment, Our wellbeing’ and
Healthy Ireland, the national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland.