BIO-WELL research 

Natural environments such as woodlands are beneficial for human health and wellbeing. Spending time in woods engages all the senses – sight, sound, smell and touch – and allows people to observe the behaviours and processes of different species. These sensory experiences of biodiversity contribute to the positive effects of being in nature.

However, the UK’s woodlands are not as biodiverse as they once were. The loss of species is likely eroding the variety of sensory experiences a woodland can give us, suggesting that many woodlands in the UK may not be reaching their full potential in supporting human health and wellbeing.

The aim of BIO-WELL

In 2022, the Woodland Trust funded a project to answer the question: Does woodland biodiversity in the UK provide equally distributed human health and wellbeing benefits?

To explore this, the research team created a map of woodland biodiversity that underpins human health and wellbeing benefits. This was then analysed against socioeconomic data to investigate whether access to biodiverse woodlands is equally distributed across the UK. 

Exploring the impact of biodiversity on wellbeing 

Creating a woodland wellbeing map

The team developed a novel map based on wildlife traits known to enhance wellbeing, such as the sound of birds singing, textures of bark, smell of pine trees and the sight of colourful fungi. Using these traits, an output from their previous research, they created species distribution maps to estimate which woodlands each species is likely to be found. By overlaying hundreds of these maps, they produced a map for each season, as some traits, like migrating birds in spring, are seasonal in their occurrence. The most wellbeing-inducing woodlands are in yellow, the lowest in dark blue, with shades of green in between. 

To assess how accessible species-rich woodlands are for different communities, the team analysed data on income-related deprivation against their woodland wellbeing map. 

Understanding people's responses to biodiversity

The team also wanted to explore people's responses to woodland biodiversity. Building on their previous research, they designed a new questionnaire where respondents were given a score out of 100 based on how strongly their wellbeing responds to biodiversity.

Our funding allowed researchers to circulate this questionnaire to approximately 10,000 people representing diverse groups within the UK population. This is a large sample size for this sort of social-nature research and it offered a unique opportunity to understand the public's relationship with biodiversity.

Key findings from the research

Woodlands rich with wellbeing traits are unevenly distributed 

The maps show that woodlands rich with wellbeing traits are very unevenly distributed across the UK. The socioeconomic status of an area correlates with the wellbeing quality of local woods, with lower wellbeing-quality woodlands in more income-deprived areas.

Hotspots of high wellbeing-quality woods are in the southeast of England and some parts of Scotland. These areas often have a high proportion of woodland cover in the landscape, particularly ancient and long-established woodland cover. Not surprisingly, the mapping shows that these areas are rich in a variety of woodland plants, animals and fungi that people find beneficial for their wellbeing.

Woodland biodiversity enhances people’s wellbeing

Ninety percent of the questionnaire respondents indicated that woodland biodiversity positively impacts their wellbeing.

Why this is important 

We are in a mental health crisis with many people struggling to maintain their wellbeing. The questionnaire results confirm that most people feel better after experiencing biodiversity in a thriving woodland. These woodlands provide valuable ecosystem services for human health and wellbeing which should be accessible to everyone.

However, these findings suggest that the availability of local woodlands with high wellbeing benefits may be a privilege and not equally distributed. In areas where woodland biodiversity is most degraded, local people may not experience the full health benefits that thriving woodlands offer.

How will the findings be used?

The Woodland Trust will use these maps to identify areas where woodland creation, restoration and protection can be prioritised to begin addressing inequalities in access to woodlands. This effort will help ensure that all UK residents have access to the health benefits that thriving woodlands can offer. 

Contributors

Grant recipient: Dr. Jessica Fisher, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent.

Project Team: Dr. Gail Austen, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent.

Project Partners: Prof. Zoe Davies, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent; Prof. Martin Dallimer, Centre for Environmental Policy - Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College London.