Advancing Greencare in Europe: an integrated multi-scalar approach for the expansion of nature-based therapies to improve Mental health Equity

Project Information

GreenME

Grant agreement ID: 101084198

DOI

10.3030/101084198

EC signature date 5 May 2023

Start date 1 September 2023

End date 31 August 2027

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 4 338 637,50

EU contribution

€ 4 338 636,50

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA
Spain

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GreenME (Advancing Greencare in Europe: an integrated multi-scalar approach for the expansion of nature-based therapies to improve Mental health Equity)

Reporting period: 2023-09-01 to 2025-02-28

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

GreenME aims to identify ways in which effective nature-based therapy and a broader green care framework can be scaled-up to improve adult mental health and wellbeing equity while contributing to multiple socio-ecological co-benefits. To that end, over 4 years, GreenME's approach is to diagnose, to increase scientific evidence on the mental health and wellbeing benefits of green care and to empower green care actors to, finally, increase the use of nature-based therapy and its integration within a multi-scalar green care framework to ultimately promote just climate resilient and sustainable healthy communities.
GreenME understands green care as a three-scale continuum from nature-in-everyday-life (e.g. the existence of green and blue infrastrucutre for viewing and walks) to nature-based health promotion (the promotion of active interaction with nature such as gardening and conservation) to nature-based therapy (the provision of treatment for individual patients). We will use a transdisciplinary and mixed-methods approach to identify opportunitites, barriers, causal pathways and patterns of (in)equitable distribution of mental health and wellbeing benefits from green care in study countries. GreenME brings together expertise, methods and knowledge from a range of humanities, social sciences and natural sciences discplines. The role of social sciences and humanities in GreenME is fundamental as we directly draw from these fields to: (i) focus on health equity througout the project, (ii) to quantitatively diagnose the baseline status of green care in the study countries (drawing from geography, law, political science, sociology, urban planning), (iii) to increase the scientific evidence (drawing from urban planning and psychology), (iv) to co-create approaches to develop guidelines, frameworks and schemes (drawing from governance, leadership, conflict management and communication sciences).
We will then co-create solutions and guidelines including a EU framework and country-specific schemes for bolstering green care along with an identified community of green care actors, and design a training program for nature-based therapy providers informded by empirical evidence. The evidence generated will offer replicable partnership models and guidelines to design impactful cross-sectorial green care systems, with national healthcare systems and local governments amongst the beneficiaries, leading to a higher uptake of nature-based therapy and a general reframing of the green infrastructure functionality.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

Apart from all the project coordination and communication and exploitation activities, we have:
-identified main stakeholder groups related to green care in different study areas in Spain, Italy, Germany, UK, Sweden, Poland, US
-identified the status of green care implementation in different study areas in Spain, Italy, Germany, UK, Sweden, Poland, US
-recognized the synergies and trade-offs between health and green and blue spaces policies in different study areas in Spain, Italy, Germany, UK, Sweden, Poland, US
-developed a theory of change framework for nature-based therapies
-developed a nature-based therapies general data collection protocol and identified specific adaptations to be made to this protocol to evaluate a total of 7 interventions in Spain, Italy, UK, Sweden and be able to analyse all data as part of the same study
-advanced in the details to start evaluating 7 nature-based therapies interventions in Spain, Italy, UK, Sweden and be able to analyse all data as part of the same study
-adapted an existing audit tool to evaluate natural spaces to include biodiversity and environmnetal justice aspects
-advanced in the design of an online survey to evaluate mental health impacts from contact with the three levels of green care
-developed a co-creation methodology to co-create policies and practice solutions
-established a green care community with members from Spain, Italy, Germany, UK, Sweden, Poland, US to co-create policies and practice solutions

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

So far, the results of the project are:
-The development of a nature-based therapy general evaluation protocol to identify mental health impacts from nature-based therapies
-The creation on a green care community (with around 15 members in each of the countries included in GreenME: Spain, Italy, Germany, UK, Sweden, Poland, US) - each of these national communities are called National Chapters and are working towards developing European green care guidelines and a general framework at the same time than identifying national solutions and schemes
-Advancement in the creation of a GreenME European green care network
-The development of a study protocol to identify mental health benefits from nature-in-everyday-life and nature-based promotion activities
-Start working on 8 different scientific publications

Long term, the potential impacts of the project once we produce all the project results are:
-Advance recognition and use of interdisciplinary and integrated models of green care in the 27 countires of Europe and 5 countries outside
-More than 25000 cases of adult mental health prevented (particularly those in more need)
-Engagement of >30000 green care actors through green care network and open science
-Increase the use of green care at all scales for >15600 people
-Creation of >100 new small-medium enterprises
-More than 200 jobs created (including >40 in Research & Inovation)
-More than 25 million euros in Research & Inovation

Contact with natural elements are a key part of nature-based therapies and their mental health benef

Nature-based promotion activities, such as educational activities about botany and biodiversity

Nature-in-everyday life includes contact with green and blue spaces, in group or alone

Nature-based therapies may enhance mental health for all types of population