Time for ‘Green’ during COVID-19? A nationally-representative study of nature, connectedness and coping in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: We investigated to what extent visits to green and blue spaces may have enabled respite, connection and exercise during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether such benefits might have been negatively impacted by restrictions in spatial mobility generated by ‘lockdowns’. METHODS: A nationally representative online and telephone survey conducted in 12–26 October on the Social Research Centre’s Life in AustraliaTM panel (aged ≥ 18 y, 78.8% response, N = 3043) asked about access, visitation, and felt benefits (respite, connection, exercise) from visiting green and/or blue spaces. Participants in Melbourne, who were in lockdown during the study, were contrasted with counterparts in Sydney, who were not in lockdown. RESULTS:Residents of Melbourne compared with Sydney reported consistently increased visitation of (OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.23, 2.19), discovery of (IRR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.29), and greater levels of various felt benefits derived from green and/or blue spaces, including more respite (OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.21, 2.19), connection (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.05, 1.95), and exercise (OR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.58, 2.79). The odds of visiting preferred green and/or blue space at least once a week for the past 4 weeks were also notably higher in Melbourne compared with Sydney (OR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.56, 2.76). These results were robust to adjustment for a range of covariates including financial circumstances, working from home opportunities, and preferences for natural settings. CONCLUSIONS:Contrary to expectation, people living through COVID-19 lockdown visited green and blue spaces more often, and appeared to benefit more from those visits, than counterparts who were not in lockdown. These results underline the importance of keeping green and blue spaces open, and highlights the value that previous investments in green and blue space have played in enabling coping during the COVID-19 pandemic. KEYWORDS: green space, environmental justice, mental health outcomes