| Abstract: |
Nature connection is an important leverage point for both human wellbeing and
planetary health. While previous research has identified associations between
nature connection and wellbeing, there has been little examination of how
different wellbeing measures are associated with nature connection, and how
this correlation varies by population groups. We seek to fill this gap through
a survey of 4006 individuals in Australia. We find a strong association
between nature connection and two measures of wellbeing: life satisfaction,
and health-related quality-of-life. The association between nature connection
and life satisfaction was similar to that of income and life satisfaction. The
association between nature connection and wellbeing was found to be
particularly strong for younger people, and those who speak a language other
than English at home. Through developing a measure examining one’s life
satisfaction relative to their health-related quality-of-life, we find that
those with higher levels of nature connection tend to have greater life
satisfaction than health-related quality-of-life. These findings highlight the
important role policy can play in enhancing nature connection to improve
wellbeing, such as expanding green space development and providing individuals
with more opportunities to meaningfully connect with nature. Keywords: Nature
connection, wellbeing, life satisfaction, health-related quality-of-life |