Research Interests

I research people’s encounters with ‘nature’, specifically facilitated encounters provided through nature-based interventions. Nature-based interventions aim to improve participants’ wellbeing by incorporating nature through regular, structured, and facilitated activities. I focus on exploring and understanding the transformational potential of participation at nature-based interventions on participants’ identity and long-term mental wellbeing. This includes: the relationships between facilitators and participants and within peer groups; the role of nature-connectedness in facilitators’ practice and in participants’ engagement; the role of nature as an actant and/or environment; and how these aspects contribute to the co-creation of safe and transformational places.

Through my research I seek to develop our theoretical understanding of people-place encounters to deepen our understanding of the myriad ways people encounter nature and the variability in their experiences, including untherapeutic engagements. As such, I am interested in exploring and understanding the processes involved in affective socio-ecological relationships, which support human and planetary health. Through, firstly, how and why people’s ways of relating affect people’s human and more-than-human therapeutic experiences with places. Secondly, how and why people’s perceptions of themselves and situations affect their encounters. Thirdly, how and why people perceive ‘nature’ as being beneficial to their wellbeing. Fourthly, how people’s relationships with nature affect ecological wellbeing. Finally, the maintaining and enhancing of mobile and place-based wellbeing practices over people’s lives.

I am passionate about improving practice and policy through my research. Within mental health a key concern of mine is what is known as ‘the revolving door’, whereby people who develop a ‘mental health issue’ become trapped revolving in and out of mental health services due to their symptoms of distress being attended to, rather than the whole of the person being met. As such, I am keen to contribute to social prescribing policy, which aims to connect people with non-clinical sources of support within their community. To ensure these activities are understood as not only providing respite, but also as potential spaces that co-create long-term improvements to a person’s mental wellbeing. Finally, I seek to contribute to the development of best practice and training for practitioners of nature-based interventions and social prescribing projects more widely to support participants’ engagement and development.

I engage with qualitative methods, particularly in-depth interviews, creative and participatory methods to sensitively explore with people their experiences and the meanings they ascribe to them. I am interested in life mapping as a method for supporting participants to reflect on and contextualise their experiences in their ongoing biography, as well as to support them to prepare for interviews.

Current Teaching

I am the course convenor for Environmental Education and Nature-based Pedagogy, which provides a critical overview of the role of environmental education in raising awareness and changing individual and societal practices concerning environmental sustainability and human and ecological wellbeing. The theory of environmental education and nature-based pedagogies is brought to life through experiential learning, specifically through the students’ own delivery of an outdoor learning activity within local schools. I am the lead tutor and convene the tutorial programme for Geographical Skills in a Changing World, which focus on developing good academic practice, effective academic communication, and group work skills.

I contribute to Society and Space, through delivering Environmental Geographies, which provides a critical overview of ‘nature’, sustainability, the Anthropocene, and the role of interdisciplinarity including Indigenous knowledge in responding to complex environmental challenges. I also contribute to modules on Global Environmental Challenges, Being a Geographer, Research Methods, and Globalizing Food.

Professional Role

I am a person-centred psychotherapist, though I am currently not practising. I have ten years’ experience of working with people with complex mental health issues, specifically around sexual abuse and/or sexual violence. I am interested in the role of nature-based interventions in supporting people with complex trauma, specifically the idea of nature as a safe ‘other’ in supporting therapeutic exploration and change.

Additional Information

I am childless-not-by-choice, which means I wanted to be a dad, but unfortunately, I do not have children. I have explored my grief around being childless through my engagements with ‘nature’. I am involved in Storyhouse Childless, which is a festival of events for people living without children. Since 2021 I have been a member of the steering group and involved in several discussion panels at each festival. I am also a co-founding member of a support group for Childless Men. I am interested in the role of ‘nature’ encounters in childless people’s processing of their grief and/or sense of belonging in pro-natal societies.