Projects

The Sustainable Wellbeing Research Group conducts research across the areas of sustainability, environment, health, and wellbeing.

Some examples of our ongoing research projects are highlighted below:

Values and Visions of ‘The Good Life’

This project seeks to explore the different values that people hold across the globe. We are asking people what living a ‘good life’ would look like for them, to determine the extent to which such visions differ across demographic groups/cultures and may or may not be consistent with ideas around social and environmental justice. So far, we have collected data from over 1000 people worldwide. 

This research is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

SWRG researchers: Dr Amy Isham and Prof Andrew Kemp, in collaboration with academics from public health, economics, and modern languages at Swansea University.

Educational Interventions to Promote Sustainable Wellbeing

This project designed and tests the impacts of a credit-bearing, stand-alone and optional module for third-year undergraduate students. The module emphasizes wellbeing as connection to self, others, and natures, and encourages students to self-select positive psychological interventions to carry out. We explore impacts on participating students' wellbeing in comparison to control groups and published norms. 

SWRG researchers: Prof Andrew Kemp and Dr Jess Mead, in collaboration with academics from the Health and Wellbeing Academy at Swansea University.

Wildflowers for Wellbeing

In collaboration with the National Botanic Garden of Wales, this project tests the impacts of a 'Growing Together' intervention, whereby over 2000 people were sent free flower seeds to grow at home.

SWRG researchers: Dr Luke Jefferies

Using Art to Understand Environments for Optimal Experience

This project hosts workshops that encourage people to create artworks of the environments where they experience flow. Its outcomes provide recommendations for key features of built or natural environments that support wellbeing.

SWRG researchers: Megan Cumming and Dr Amy Isham

Take Part in Our Research

What does a good life mean to you?

Tell us in our survey linked below:

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Or training for a career in it?

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PhD Projects

Cultivating environments of optimal experience for sustainable wellbeing

Researcher: Megan Cumming

Cultivating environments of optimal experience for sustainable wellbeing

Psychological flow is a state of deep immersion in an activity. Known to give rise to wellbeing and self-transcendence, it is becoming increasingly associated with pro-social and pro-environmental behaviour. Engaging with flow conducive environments therefore offers a potential pathway to sustainable wellbeing. Megan’s project seeks to understand how flow experiences are impacted by natural and built environments. She hopes findings will aid the development of nature-based wellbeing interventions and affirm the importance of environments for flow, ensuring their provision, design and conservation.

Examining ecotherapy as a driver of improvements in personal, collective, and planetary wellbeing

Researcher: Jesse Blackburn

Examining ecotherapy as a driver of improvements in personal, collective, and planetary wellbeing

Through his PhD, Jesse investigates how nature-based interventions (sometimes known as NBIs) can be used to enhance wellbeing at multiple levels. NBIs encompass a wide range of activities, from meditating in forests to growing fruit and veg, with the common theme of using nature to promote wellbeing. As a member of the SWRG, Jesse collaborates with organisations across the UK to explore how these interventions impact individual wellbeing, benefit society, and contribute to protecting our planet.

The impacts of air pollution on pregnant women

Researcher: Lucy Perry

The impacts of air pollution on pregnant women

Lucy is an interdisciplinary researcher working across data science and psychology, using mixed methods to investigate how pregnant women and their babies are affected by air pollution in Wales. Her project covers exploring mediating and moderating factors; quantitatively assessing whether exposure to air pollution during pregnancy increases the risk of adverse birth outcomes through linked health data in the SAIL databank; and examining public and healthcare professional understanding of air pollution’s effects on health. By combining these approaches, Lucy hopes to provide a multifaceted perspective to deepen the understanding of this relationship as well as inform strategies to protect maternal and infant health.

Exploring the impact of foraging as a nature-based activity on sustainable wellbeing

Researcher: Ally Fraser

Exploring the impact of foraging as a nature-based activity on sustainable wellbeing

Ally is an interdisciplinary scientist exploring the impacts of foraging as a nature-based activity on sustainable wellbeing. Foraging is the practice of collecting plants, fungi and other natural resources for food, medicine, crafts and other purposes for both personal use and sale. It is a popular leisure activity in the UK and is deeply rooted in British culture through its connections to the local landscape, nature connection, family traditions and access to non-market food. Ally’s PhD documents the potential to use foraging activities as part of a community-based lifestyle intervention, and explores implications for issues such as land access, risk, nature connection, nutrition, community development and holistic green healthcare.

Being a coach in a time of climate breakdown

Researcher: Kate Sandars

Being a coach in a time of climate breakdown

Kate’s research seeks to understand how coaching psychology is evolving in response to global ecological crises and their impacts on the wellbeing of both coach and client. Coaching is traditionally a development approach aimed at enhancing people’s skills, knowledge, or work performance, but the remit of coaching and the extent to which coaches must remain neutral are being debated, given the pace of climate breakdown.

Designing, delivering and evaluating holistic wellbeing strategy at scale

Researcher: Kelly Davies

Designing, delivering and evaluating holistic wellbeing strategy at scale

Kelly's PhD aims to explore collective wellbeing through a lens that emphasises the interconnectedness of individual and community wellbeing with the wellbeing of the world around us – our place.  Situated in West Glamorgan, in South Wales, the research will be grounded in the context of the Well-being of Future Generations Act and the unique influence of Welsh language and culture. The aim of the research is to develop a comprehensive understanding of Wellbeing across West Glamorgan, find gaps and local priorities, and identify suite of scalable interventions and an implementation framework that promotes sustainable and interconnected wellbeing for communities – the people within them and the place around them.

Publications and other resources   Sustainable Wellbeing Alliance