Schebella Morgan F, Weber Delene, Lindsey Kiera, Daniels Christopher B
Natural and Built Environments Research Centre, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Barbara Hardy Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Front Psychol. 2017 Dec 1;8:2094. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02094. eCollection 2017.
Although the restorative benefits of nature are widely acknowledged, there is a limited understanding of the attributes of natural environments that are fundamental to restorative experiences. Faced with growing human populations and a greater awareness of the wellbeing benefits natural environments provide, park agencies and planners are increasingly challenged with balancing human and ecological outcomes in natural areas. This study examines the physical and experiential qualities of natural environments people referred to when describing their connection to their most valued natural environments in an online questionnaire. Recruited primarily via a public radio program, respondents were asked to identify their favorite places and explain what they loved about those places. Favorite places are considered exemplars of restorative environments and were classified based on an existing park typology. Reasons people liked particular sites were classified into three domains: setting, activity, or benefit. Content analysis was used to identify the attributes most commonly associated with favorite places. These attributes were then related to the four components of restorative environments according to Attention Restoration Theory. In contrast to previous research, we found that "fascination" was the most important component of favorite places. Possible reasons for this contrast, namely, respondents' median age, and the likelihood of a high degree of ecological literacy amongst the study population are discussed. South Australians' favorite environments comprise primarily hilly, wooded nature parks, and botanical gardens, in stark contrast to the vast arid areas that dominate the state. Micro-variables such as birds, plants, wildlife, native species, and biodiversity appear particularly important elements used to explain people's love of these sites. We discuss the implications of these findings and their potential value as an anchor for marketing campaigns seeking to encourage contact with nature, as well as education programs designed to improve people's understanding of important but intangible concepts such as biodiversity. The findings have clear, practical implications for park managers given the modifiable nature of many of the attributes identified as being most important to our respondents, and we believe attention to such elements has the potential to simultaneously enhance people's nature experiences, optimize restorative outcomes, and improve environmental stewardship.
尽管自然环境的恢复性益处已得到广泛认可，但对于恢复性体验至关重要的自然环境属性，人们的了解仍然有限。面对不断增长的人口以及对自然环境带来的福祉有了更高的认识，公园管理机构和规划者在平衡自然区域内的人类与生态成果方面面临着越来越大的挑战。本研究通过在线问卷，考察了人们在描述与他们最珍视的自然环境的联系时所提及的自然环境的物理和体验特质。主要通过一档公共广播节目招募受访者，要求他们确定自己最喜欢的地方，并解释喜欢这些地方的原因。最喜欢的地方被视为恢复性环境的典范，并根据现有的公园类型进行分类。人们喜欢特定场所的原因被分为三个领域：环境、活动或益处。采用内容分析法来确定与最喜欢的地方最常相关的属性。然后，根据注意力恢复理论，将这些属性与恢复性环境的四个组成部分联系起来。与先前的研究不同，我们发现“魅力”是最喜欢的地方最重要的组成部分。讨论了造成这种差异的可能原因，即受访者的年龄中位数，以及研究人群中具有较高生态素养的可能性。南澳大利亚人最喜欢的环境主要包括丘陵起伏、树木繁茂的自然公园和植物园，这与该州占主导地位的广袤干旱地区形成了鲜明对比。诸如鸟类、植物、野生动物、本地物种和生物多样性等微观变量，似乎是解释人们喜爱这些场所的特别重要的元素。我们讨论了这些发现的意义及其作为寻求鼓励与自然接触的营销活动以及旨在提高人们对生物多样性等重要但无形概念理解的教育项目的锚定物的潜在价值。鉴于许多被确定为对我们的受访者最重要的属性具有可修改性，这些发现对公园管理者具有明确、实际的意义，并且我们认为关注这些元素有可能同时增强人们的自然体验、优化恢复性效果并改善环境管理。
