Author : Eamon Callan is a second-year psychological studies student (Maynooth University) and was a SPUR intern on the GoGreenRoutes project during the Summer of 2023.
Our Green Campus hosted excellent researchers and practitioners once again, for this the fourth GoGreenRoutes H2020 project event held at Maynooth University, this time held in partnership with Mental Health Ireland. This week was most apt for the launch of our Autumn School, with World Mental Health Day (10th Oct.), marked by the launch of the EU Comprehensive Action Plan for Mental Health, and budget day in Ireland (Oct. 11th), (with an investment of €3.1 Billon in the new climate action fund).
Due to this, it was appropriate that the key topic for discussion was eco-anxiety. To begin the event, a nature walk to engage the senses in nature was led by Evi Petersen, a researcher at OsloMet.
In the welcome address by the Dean of Science and Engineering at Maynooth University Prof. Ronan Farrell highlighted the role of EU funding in supporting collaborations internationally and across sectors to tackle key societal challenges like climate change. Dr Una May of Sport Ireland, a key leader in the promotion of outdoor physical activity for mental health and well-being, conveyed how their outdoor recreation strategy and support of programmes like Woodlands for Health was part of a nexus of interventions that they were committed to supporting. Martin Rogan, CEO of Mental Health Ireland, reflected on the importance of a greenspace for mental health, and the need to protect our natural assets so we can be resilient to the unpredictable challenges of the future, which set the tone for the rest of the event. An international dimension was highlighted by the Ambassador H.E. Giovanni Buttigieg, the Maltese Ambassador to Ireland. In an insightful and colorful address, the Ambassador of Malta conveyed how Ireland and Malta have complex and parallel histories.
We were both former colonies, being militarily neutral islands states at the edge of Europe. EU fund ed research collaborations will help ensure we have a common approach to dealing with the future issues of climate change, health, and mental health. The conference tackled this broad issue by focusing on Eco-Anxiety as one manifestation of the psychological impact of climate change.
Addressing the Knowledge Gap and Amplifying Unheard Voices
After a briefing on the genesis of the term eco-anxiety by Dr Tadhg MacIntyre the event opened up the discussion of the knowledge-gaps and the challenge of climate justice with unequal impacts across countries and regions. For some, they live with the traumatic impact of climate-change related events (e.g. flooding). For others, climate change is more of a conceptual issue has often been discussed as a ‘middle-class issue’ but perhaps eco-anxiety is something that we all share. This talk was led by the CEO of ThisIsEU, Terri Morrisey who challenged us to discuss how to identify the complex issues. The lesser heard voices of climate change such as the migrants and refugees need help in being heard and the term climate-refugee is not yet widely adopted but may be already happening. The consortium, researchers and innovators are passionate about the idea of bridging these gaps and finding solutions to get these voices heard with the assistance of technologies and training. From my own viewpoint, this was a real eye-opening moment to appreciate the benefits of nature on mental health. I had the privilege to hear great insights from postgraduates and experienced researchers alike, all contributions being given equal opportunity to be voiced. Being able to chat with these people and give my own opinion on matters made me feel very heard and part of the discussion which was a great feeling as someone for whom eco-anxiety is not just for now but part of our future.
Nature-Based Interventions
As the event continued, we heard from panelists who had real-world applications for nature-based interventions. Dr Eoin Galavan, who is a board member of Kyrie Therapeutic Farm, discussed the aims of this project to help individuals who were discharged from mental health institutions slowly integrate and heal back into society. This idea involves the creation of a healing environment by combining community, therapeutic and holistic care in a nature-based setting which was a fascinating idea. The farm has been acquired by Kyrie Therapeutic Farm and is going through planning approvals. We heard further real-world applications from Niamh Ni Chonghaile (Mental Health Ireland), a student from the MSc in Environmental Psychology, who discussed the Woodlands for Health project. This project aims to aid those who struggle with experience of psychosocial distress through participation in a 12-week program group walk through Coillte forests. This way we make nature part of the system for supporting mental health and those suffering from mental illness and create a sense of community. Participants in this project saw a 75% increase in mood, 66% improvement in sleep among other benefits to their mental well-being.. This project hopes to provide an access point to participants for other nature-based and physical activities designed to support mental health. Next, Joanne Hanrahan and Rachel Freeman shared insights from their own therapeutic work in eco-therapy. Diverse approaches to nature-based interventions were explored by the panel and the next task was to see how nature-based therapy could potentially help address the emerging problem of eco-anxiety.
A Case of Eco-Anxiety
Real life case histories of accounts of therapeutic interactions were shared to stimulate our thinking on the complexity of eco-anxiety. These case histories were based on published accounts from the New York Times and were adapted for our audience. We worked in groups to formulate interventions and reflections for each case. Issues like ‘doom-scrolling’, a habit of scrolling through articles about the catastrophic impact of climate change, were raised. We discussed these problems across different age groups and converged our ideas to think of solutions for these clients and more broadly how they could be supported. Some suggested therapy with psychologists who were climate-aware. Others suggested engaging with nature more through citizen science or conservation activities and a myriad of solutions emerged from our discourse.
Take-Home Messages
The conference achieved its objective of coalescing expertise from key stakeholders and researchers in the nature-based interventions sector and the positive feedback participants was highly positive. Prof. David Sheffield (University of Derby), noted eloquently that thinking about eco-anxiety is not just reflecting on our fears of existential threats but clearly represents a sense of climate optimism that can help us move to a solution focused approach. Nearing the end of the conference, participants were asked to think of three words to describe our feeling towards the Autumn School. The responses were overwhelmingly positive as words such as ‘inspiring’ and ‘insightful’ were spoken aloud by many of the guests (see word cloud). Maynooth University continues to be a centre of expertise in climate psychology through via its MSc in Environmental Psychology, the first in Ireland, where this topic will be addressed in future discourse and research in an EPA-Funded dialogue in mid-January 2024.
Read more: GoGreenRoutes Conference on Climate Change and Mental Health: Reflections on Eco-AnxietyPlease follow @GoGreenRoutes for further info.
Funding Acknowledgement: The GoGreenRoutes project, hosted at the All-Institute, is supported by European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869764.