The role of natural environments within the emotional geographies of visual impairment

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Over 40 years ago, visually impaired singer and author, Tom Sullivan, argued that "sight paints a picture of life, but sound, touch, taste and smell are actually life itself". This is an important message for the 285 million people worldwide that the World Health Organisation estimates to live with visual impairments, for their families and carers, and the growing number of people anticipated to encounter sight loss in the future (with the rising incidence of underlying causes such as diabetes, and an ageing population). Recognising the vitalising influence of the wider senses is also important for researchers exploring the positive impacts of natural environment experiences on human emotions, health and wellbeing. Much of this work emphasises the visual sense, highlighting the importance of colours, people 'watching', viewing distant horizons, and the sense of space achieved through visual encounters with these settings. Yet, when we stop to think about the global prevalence of visual impairment (now and in the future), we realise that sight cannot be taken for granted as the most important means of interacting with the natural world. The aims of this Future Research Leaders project are to explore how and why natural environments (including our back gardens, local parks, woodlands, countryside and coastlines) feature within the everyday lives of people living with sight loss. It will examine how diverse visual impairments shape people's opportunities for positive and therapeutic experiences in nature. It will also explore how this varies between individuals with different life histories, including those born with a visual impairment and those faced with sight loss later in life.An in-depth two-phase research approach will be used to explore these issues. In Phase I, 3-4 months will be spent volunteering with visual impairment support groups across the south west of England (described as 'ethnographic participation'), helping out with indoor and outdoor recreational and support activities. Through maximising opportunities to spend time with and talk to adult participants living with visual impairments during this period, valuable relationships will be built and initial understandings gained of the wider sensory abilities and experiences of these individuals. Phase II will involve two sets of interviews with visually impaired adults at different life stages and with varying forms of sight loss. The first interview (an in-depth 'narrative' interview) will examine the impacts of visual impairment on varied aspects of their daily lives and place interactions. It will also explore recalled shifts in these experiences during their lifetimes. The second interview (a 'go along' interview) will take place in a setting identified by each participant as a local 'natural' environment in which they feel a sense of wellbeing. Whilst there, participants will be asked to reflect on and explain the diverse sensory, emotional and social dimensions of their experiences in that environment.In exploring these aspects of experience, this research will provide novel understandings of the non-visual cues in nature that we respond to. It will address calls to explore the conditions that enable flourishing lives amongst individuals living with visual impairments rather than focusing solely on narratives of loss, and will promote greater sensory awareness amongst the diverse stakeholders involved in the delivery of socially inclusive natural environment interactions. Dr. Bell will convene and lead a series of stakeholder engagement and dissemination events, alongside the production of high profile academic outputs, in order to raise awareness of how visually impaired individuals can support and sustain a sense of wellbeing through interactions with the natural environment. In doing so, and through a tailored skills development plan, she will strengthen her position as a future research leader.