Feb 05 2021 Read 802 Times
The lockdown restrictions introduced across the globe to fight the spread of coronavirus pandemic have reduced many people’s exposure to other humans, at the same time as they have afforded them more free time. In a bid to boost their mental health and reconnect with the planet at the same time, many people have taken to enjoying Mother Nature as a means of escaping from the confines of their home.
While anecdotal evidence has pointed to the idea that one of the environmental implications of coronavirus has been an increase in the number of nature lovers around the world, very few scientific studies have investigated the hypothesis to date. Seeking to right that wrong, a team of researchers from the University of Vermont (UVM) in the USA have published their own paper, which found that over a quarter of those who visited national parks during lockdown were doing so for the first time in many months.
Park visitors enjoy the outdoors near Burlington, Vt., on Oct. 14, 2020. (Photo credit: Andy Duback/ University of Vermont)
(CN) Are you one of the many Americans who took to the great outdoors this year to escape the monotony of coronavirus lockdowns? You’re not alone: one in four Vermont park visitors during the early months of the pandemic hardly or never spent time in nature in 2019, a new study finds.
“During the pandemic, many people visited urban forests or local natural areas for the first time in many months or even years,” Brendan Fisher, an environmental scientist at the University of Vermont and a senior author on the paper, said in a statement. “Access to urban natural areas may be delivering mental health benefits during a time when they are most needed.”
Students experience nature in the University of Vermont s Birding to Change the World class.
A new study finds that 26% of people visiting parks during early months of the COVID-19. view more
Credit: Andy Duback/University of Vermont
What does it take to get some people to go outside and experience nature? For some urban dwellers, it took the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers say.
The new study finds that 26% of people visiting parks during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic had rarely - or never - visited nature in the previous year.
The study, by researchers at the University of Vermont (UVM), is one of the first to explore how COVID-19 has changed Americans relationship with nature. The research is published today by
Pandemic drove many people into nature for the first time in years During the pandemic, a surprising 26% of park visitors had rarely – or never – spent time in local nature in the last year, finds new research by UVM Professor Brendan Fisher and a team of student researchers. Photo: UVM’s ‘Birding to Change to the World’ course by Andy Duback.
What does it take to get some people to go outside and experience nature? For some urban dwellers, it took the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers say.
The new study finds that 26% of people visiting parks during early months of the COVID-19 pandemic had rarely – or never – visited nature in the previous year.