As part of National Tree Week Forest Research have
published a report, the findings of which show the health benefits of spending
time in woodland [1].
The report was funded by the Forestry Commission and the
Scottish and Welsh governments and is the first project to look specifically at
the mental health value of the UK’s woodlands.
It does so by looking at the costs avoided through access
to woodland leading to a reduction in mental health problems. It found that the
mental health benefits of regular visits to woodland, based on 2020 prices,
added up to a saving for the NHS of £185 million every year.
The project compiled and investigated data on the
avoided costs of prevention and cure of mental health problems including lost working
days and savings on NHS treatment. It used this to derive a value based on
natural capital, the total of the country’s natural resources [2] a value for
the avoided costs.
An ‘avoided costs’ approach is one that factors in
reduced reported incidence of depression and anxiety following regular visits
to woodland and balances these against costs associated with GP visits, drug
treatment and lost working days [3].
The pandemic has seen the number of people experiencing
mental health problems in the UK rise sharply. In an article published by the
Office for National Statistics (ONS) in May of this year Tim Vizard and Theodore
Joloza report that 21% of the adults responding to the Opinions and Lifestyle
Survey conducted by the ONS reported experiencing some form of depression, with
young adults and young women facing the biggest impact.
They write that their analysis ‘paints
a picture of a rising toll on mental health, with some people not necessarily
accessing medical help, particularly during the start of the pandemic’ [4].
Speaking
to the Guardian in April following warnings that the UK faces a ‘terrifying’
mental health crisis due to the pandemic with which the NHS will struggle to
cope Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists said “The
extent of the mental health crisis is terrifying, but it will likely get a lot
worse before it gets better. Services are at a very real risk of being overrun
by the sheer volume of people needing help” [5].
Access
to nature either woodland or other green spaces has been something that people
have reported as helping to protect their mental health at a time of great
upheaval.
Data
from the People and Nature for England survey conducted earlier this year by
Natural England shows that between April and June 41% of the adults who responded
said they were sending more time outside enjoying nature with 85% saying doing
so helped to improve their mood [6]
There
are though persistent disparities in the ease with which people can enjoy the
benefits of access to green spaces, with age and socioeconomic factors playing
a major role.
After almost
two years of grappling with the pandemic the way we live our lives has been
transformed dramatically, often in ways that are, as the rise in mental health problems
shows, extremely stressful. One of the few positives to emerge from this period
is the new appreciation many of us have for the natural world and the
beneficial effect contact with it can have on our wellbeing.
Sadly,
this is something the government have been slow to recognise, despite talking a
good game on wanting to make it easier for people to enjoy nature, their actions
have lagged far behind their words. A point attested to by the failure to
include improving access to the countryside, including woodland, in the things farmers
are paid to do under the Environmental Land Management scheme introduced as
part of the Agriculture Act (2020).
On a
purely cost orientated basis the findings of this report show that making it
easier for us all to take a walk in the woods or any other green space offers a
significant saving for an NHS that is struggling to cope. It may also make us
all happier and healthier too.
The
full report can be accessed at:
https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/documents/8217/FRRP034.pdf
[2]https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/environmentalaccounts/methodologies/naturalcapital
[3] https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/documents/8220/FRIB003.pdf
[4] https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2021/05/05/are-we-facing-a-mental-health-pandemic/
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