Lead supervisor:
Prof Julie Urquhart 
Start date: October 2021
Award: Collaborative
Subject Pathway:
Environmental Planning
Thematic Cluster:
Place, Environment and Development Cluster
In partnership with:
- Government Equalities Office
Changes in human values and wellbeing experienced from treescape expansion
The UK's treescapes are important sources of ecosystem services including biodiversity, carbon capture, air pollution control, recreation, aesthetics and so on. The creation of new woodlands and urban tree planting has gained increasing policy support and the government has committed to planting 30,000 ha of woodland annually as part of its strategy for achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Much research is taking place to determine the best approaches to large-scale planting based on the environment, but it is also important to consider the social impacts that tree planting will have on the communities who live and recreate in these areas. Policy decision-making processes need to be informed by human factors to ensure the best tree planting choices are made for people and for nature.
This research aims to address this knowledge gap by studying lived experiences of tree planting schemes and how these influence human values and wellbeing.
Research questions:
1. How does tree planting influence the material, relational and subjective wellbeing values attached to those spaces?
2. How are wellbeing and value gains or losses from tree planting perceived at different spatial-temporal contexts?
3. How are wellbeing and value gains or losses from tree planting perceived and expected between different groups within society?
4. How might a better understanding of the social acceptability of tree planting inform policy and decision-making about future treescapes