Bird Diversity Unconsciously Increases People’s Satisfaction with Where They Live

Lauren Hepburn,Adam C Smith,Lenore Fahrig,John Zelenski

doi:10.3390/land10020153

Lauren Hepburn, Adam C Smith + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/land10020153

Copy DOI

Journal: Land	Publication Date: Feb 3, 2021
Citations: 10	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Carleton University, Environment and Climate Change Canada

Abstract

There is growing evidence that exposure to nature increases human well-being, including in urban areas. However, relatively few studies have linked subjective satisfaction to objective features of the environment. In this study we explore the links among objective environmental features (tree cover, water, and bird diversity) and subjective judgements of satisfaction. We surveyed residents of Ottawa, Canada (n = 1035) about their satisfaction with their local neighbourhoods. We then compared the survey responses to measures of nature near their homes, including bird diversity (number of bird species), tree canopy cover, and distance to water. After controlling for effects of income and subjective happiness, residents’ neighbourhood satisfaction was positively related to the number of bird species nearby, even before participants were prompted to consider nature. Residents’ appreciation of their local neigbourhood relative to others also increased with tree canopy cover and nearness to water. Unsolicited comments from participants following the survey indicated that while residents consciously appreciate trees and water, the relationship between bird diversity and neighbourhood satisfaction appears to be unconscious; very few of the participants mentioned birds. Based on these results, we speculate that a diverse local bird community may provoke feelings of satisfaction through their presence, activity, and songs. Our results create a compelling argument for city planners and individual residents to maintain bird-friendly spaces in urban areas.

Highlights

IntroductionThere is growing evidence that exposure to nature increases human well-being [1]
There is growing evidence that exposure to nature increases human well-being [1].Nature is related to a variety of indicators of well-being, such as improved mood, increased cognitive function, overall general health, and life satisfaction [2,3,4,5,6,7], though these relationships can be complicated [8]
We explore the links among objective environmental features across the city of Ottawa, Canada, and subjective judgements of participants’ satisfaction, a component of well-being

Summary

Introduction

There is growing evidence that exposure to nature increases human well-being [1]. Nature is related to a variety of indicators of well-being, such as improved mood, increased cognitive function, overall general health, and life satisfaction [2,3,4,5,6,7], though these relationships can be complicated [8]. Studies have used a wide variety of measures of nature to test this relationship. These can include broad landscape features, amount of greenspace, subjective measures of “naturalness” of the environment, and subjective or objective indices of biodiversity, most commonly indexed as the number of species [9]. Dallimer [14] found a positive relationship between well-being and perceived biodiversity, but no relationship between well-being and measured biodiversity

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion