Ecominds-effects-on-mental-wellbeing-evaluation-report

An evaluation for Mind 676. General discussion6.1 Discussion and key successesThe <strong>Ecominds</strong> evaluation focused on three mainthemes: i) Wellbeing, ii) Social inclusion and iii)Connection to nature and significant improvementswere observed in all three parameters, all of whichhave implications for not only the mental wellbeingand resilience of individuals but also for public healthand the management of natural environments.Mental wellbeing parameters of positivity in the ‘Allprojects’ evaluation and of self-esteem, wellbeingand mood in the ‘In-depth’ evaluation all improvedsignificantly for the majority of participants over thecourse of the <strong>Ecominds</strong> scheme (and very oftenafter just a single <strong>Ecominds</strong> session). At the startof the programme for many <strong>Ecominds</strong> participants,wellbeing scores were lower than average but by theend of the programme, participant scores had risento a level in line with population norms suggesting the<strong>Ecominds</strong> scheme can be effective in raising mentalwellbeing to ‘normal’ levels .For social inclusion, again both studies showedstatistically significant improvements, with socialengagement and support levels increasing by atleast 10 per cent for most participants. Whilst theincreases in the other social parameters were notalways so profound, there were some interestingtrends with the majority of participants feeling thatthey now belonged to their immediate community (theopposite from how the majority felt at the start ofthe programme) and with 81 per cent of participantsgetting involved in community activities morefrequently, after taking part in the <strong>Ecominds</strong> scheme.Participants also reflect this trend in their own wordswith the preponderance of comments relating to thesocial benefits of attending the <strong>Ecominds</strong> projects.Overall these findings suggest that ecotherapy canenhance social inclusion, helping people to broadentheir personal networks, learn new skills and improvetheir employment chances; vital to the recovery ofthose suffering with mental health problems.Similarly in terms of connection with nature,statistically significant increases in connection tonature (of 40 per cent on average) were foundbetween the beginning and end of taking part in<strong>Ecominds</strong>, for the majority of participants, and thiswas true in both studies. Connection to nature hasbeen proved to enhance mental wellbeing and this,together with the worry that we as a society arebecoming disconnected with nature, shows thatecotherapy can be successful in both increasingcontact with and connection to nature, enablingparticipants to benefit further from the associatedhealth and wellbeing benefits.Interestingly, the presence of a weak positivecorrelation between age and connection to nature inthis study shows that connection to nature increasedslightly with participant age. This finding could implyeither that people may become more connected tonature as they get older or that perhaps youngerpeople now are not as connected to nature asprevious generations.Other important findings concern the effect of the<strong>Ecominds</strong> projects on participant behaviours. Resultsfrom both studies showed statistically significantincreases in participant self-perceived ‘health’status over the duration of the <strong>Ecominds</strong> schemeand often after taking part in one session. Smallerimprovements were also observed in healthy eatingand exercise parameters. In addition, regardingenvironmentally friendly behaviour, a statisticallysignificant increase in overall scores was found fromthe start to the end of the <strong>Ecominds</strong> scheme for 60per cent of beneficiaries, showing an increase inenvironmentally friendly practices (particularly inrecycling). Therefore not only does involvement in anecotherapy intervention improve wellbeing and socialinclusion and equip participants with useful copingskills, but it can also help the development of healthierlifestyles and environmentally friendly living.What is particularly revealing in the evaluation of<strong>Ecominds</strong> is that in both studies, these improvementsto wellbeing, social inclusion and connection tonature happen right across the range of ecotherapyinterventions involved in the <strong>Ecominds</strong> scheme. Withinthe programme, projects from five different ecotherapyapproaches (STH, care farming, green exercisetherapy, environmental conservation and naturearts and crafts) provided a mix of different activitiesand interventions in a variety of different contexts,for different lengths of time and in various naturalenvironments. In addition there was a mix of projects