A Sense of Place: Exploring Nature & Wellbeing through the Non-Visual Senses

我们经常被告知，在大自然中度过时间对我们有好处。显然，自然与幸福之间的联系是如此紧密，以至于野生动物信托基金目前正在为“英格兰自然与福祉法案”而奔走。Capaldi等人。辩称(2015)“有证据表明，与自然打交道是人生兴旺发达的一条途径”，因此，花时间在大自然中是一种“潜在的幸福干预”。其他研究也类似地探索了一些主题，比如“在公园里与自然接触对健康的益处”，或者“绿色运动”作为一种健康工具的价值。这些研究中的许多都提供了证据来支持这样一种普遍的观点，即自然对我们是“有益的”。然而，他们对“自然”的定义往往很宽泛，对幸福的定义通常很宽松。到底是什么让“天性”改善了我们的“幸福感”？这两个术语对人们来说到底意味着什么？幸福和自然之间的许多联系都与散步和活动有关，但也有许多联系是基于这样一种观念，即仅仅是“身处自然”对身体和灵魂都有好处。“身处大自然”和幸福感之间的这种感知联系有着悠久的社会和文化历史，但很少被批判性地审视。在幸福文学中，自然的价值通常被理解为“绿地”或迷人的风景。在医院里，人们经常通过风景或人造植物的图片来介绍大自然。这样的框架隐含地假设自然对幸福的价值与看到它的能力密不可分，而且它们往往将“自然”视为同质。如果我们去掉视觉，把注意力集中在大自然的气味、味道或声音上会怎么样？如果我们让人们沉浸在陌生或“狂野”的自然感觉中，会发生什么？是每个人都将大自然的相同感官方面与幸福联系在一起，还是这种关系更加多样化和复杂？我们将使用新兴的沉浸式360度声音和嗅觉技术来探索其中的一些问题。

We are regularly told that spending time in nature is good for us. The extent of the link between nature and wellbeing is apparently so strong that the Wildlife Trusts are currently campaigning for 'a Nature and Wellbeing Act for England'. Capaldi et al. argue (2015) that 'evidence suggests that connecting with nature is one path to flourishing in life' and that spending time in nature is therefore a 'potential wellbeing intervention'. Other studies have similarly explored themes such as 'the health benefits of contact with nature in a park context' or the value of 'green exercise' as a wellbeing tool. Many of these studies provide evidence to support a general idea that nature is 'good for us'. Yet, their construction of 'nature' is often broad and definitions of wellbeing typically loose. What exactly is it about 'nature' that improves our 'wellbeing'? What do these two terms actually mean to people?Many of the links between wellbeing and nature relate to walking and activity, but many others are based on an idea that merely 'being in nature' can be good for body and soul. This perceived connection between 'being in nature' and wellbeing has a long social and cultural history, yet is rarely critically examined. In wellbeing literature, the value of nature is often understood in terms of 'green spaces' or attractive landscapes. In hospitals, nature is often introduced through pictures of landscapes or artificial plants. Such frameworks implicitly assume that the value of nature for wellbeing is inextricably linked to the ability to see it, and they often treat 'nature' as homogeneous. What if we remove the visual, and focus on the smells, tastes or sounds of nature? What if we immerse people in unfamiliar or 'wild' natural sensescapes? Does everybody associate the same sensory aspects of nature with wellbeing, or are the relationships more diverse and complex? We will use emerging immersive 360-degree sound and smell technologies to explore some of these questions.