World’s First Research into Relationship between Rich-in-Biodiversity Garden Greenery and Health/Wellbeing

 

사단법인 국민독서문화진흥회(이하 ‘진흥회’, 회장 김을호)는 11월 26일 오전 11시 서울시립미술관에서 ‘제31회 전국 고전읽기 백일장대회’ 시상식을 개최했으며 비대면 시상(우편발송)을 완료했다고 밝혔다.

진흥회와 서울특별시 동대문구가 주최·주관한 이번 행사는 1991년부터 전국 초·중·고·대학·일반인을 대상으로 우리 고전의 교훈을 알게 하고, 대중 보급화의 일환으로 개최한 백일장대회에서 뛰어난 필력을 발휘한 참가자들을 포상하기 위해 마련됐다.

코로나19 감염 예방과 안전한 행사 진행을 위해 지난해와 같이 수상자의 보호자는 1명만 참석 허용하는 등 대면 시상 참가자를 대폭 줄여 총 148명이 참가했다.

진흥회는 인터넷 서점 등 비대면 방식의 홍보를 강화해 코로나19의 방역 지침 변경과 학업에 대한 부담, 사교육 정상화, 지역과 학교의 각종 행사 등으로 인해 초·중등부의 참여는 다소 감소했으나, 군장병 독서코칭과 홍보로 일반인 및 군 장병들의 참여가 지난해 대비 3배 수준으로 늘어 총 9만3000여 명이 참가했다고 밝혔다.

대상인 대통령상은 박은실(경기도 의정부시), 우수상인 문화체육관광부 장관상은 문서준(광주시 광산구), 박정하(경남 진주시)가 수상했다. 지도교사 부문의 최우수지도자상인 국회의장상은 이종현(서울시 중랑구)이 영예를 안았다. 분야별 총 165점의 상장과 부상으로 1000만원의 상금 또는 문화상품권이 수여됐으며 참석하지 못한 수상자들에게는 개별 발송됐다.

대통령상 수상자인 박은실 씨는 “올해 삶의 목표가 원하는 바에 도전해서 성취감을 이루는 것이었다. 이에 도전할 수 있는 대회가 있어서 좋았고, 용기를 내 참여했는데 기대 이상의 상을 받아 의미가 큰 만큼 앞으로 국내뿐만 아니라 세계적으로도 우리 고전의 효용성이 커나가길 바란다”고 수상 소감을 밝혔다.

김을호 회장은 “청소년들이 우리 고전을 읽으며 통찰력을 길러 미래 사회의 주역이 될 수 있도록 앞으로도 계속 대회를 이어갈 것”이라고 말했다.

국민독서문화진흥회 개요

사단법인 국민독서문화진흥회는 독서를 통해 문화와 삶의 질을 높이고 선진문화국가의 비전을 함께 나누기 위해 1992년 설립된 비영리단체다. 설립 목적은 책 읽는 나라 만들기 운동을 대국민 운동으로 전개해 국민이 독서를 생활화하는 것이다. 또한 정서 순화와 도덕성 함양을 통해 건전한 민주시민 의식을 형성하고 국가문화지수를 높여 선진문화 국가 건설에 이바지하고자 한다.

언론연락처: 국민독서문화진흥회 사무국 목진희 간사 02-913-9582

이 뉴스는 기업·기관·단체가 뉴스와이어를 통해 배포한 보도자료입니다.The Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences (GSALS) at the University of Tokyo and Sekisui House, Ltd. will launch a joint research project on biodiversity and human health on December 1, 2022. The project will investigate the benefits that biodiversity and urban natural environments have on human health and wellbeing. This will be the world’s first initiative to comprehensively investigate the effects of interacting with the nearby nature of a garden rich in biodiversity on the health of residents and their attitudes and behavior toward nature.

The Laboratory of Conservation Ecology[1], Department of Ecosystem Studies, GSALS at the University of Tokyo conducts research on the conservation of urban biodiversity and the management of ecosystem services (the benefits to human society provided by ecosystems). The Laboratory has been studying the relationship between nature and human health since 2016, and its research indicates that interactions with nature can lead to improved human health and wellbeing. However, the question of how these health benefits might vary depending on the quality rather than the quantity of nature has not yet been explored.

In 2020, the Laboratory of Conservation Ecology at the University of Tokyo’s GSALS investigated how two means of interacting with nature—the frequency of green space use and viewing greenery from the windows of homes—affect the mental health of urban residents (self-esteem, life satisfaction, happiness, symptoms of depression/anxiety, and loneliness). The results of this research showed that not only people who frequently use green spaces, but also those who live in houses with green view reported better mental health.[2] This suggests that people can benefit from the psychological effects of nature from within their own homes even if they are not physically present in green spaces.

In the attached chart, the magnitude of positive (right of the dashed line) and negative (left of the dashed line) effects indicates that each factor has a positive or negative relationship with each mental health measures. For example, “green view” is associated with low levels of depression and anxiety symptoms, while “impact of COVID-19 on income” is associated with high levels of such symptoms. Analysis of the results showed that experiencing nature can affect mental health to the same degree as factors such as income that have been traditionally regarded as important to mental health.

Since 2001, Sekisui House has been pursuing the conservation of biodiversity by creating green networks in urban residential districts under its Gohon no Ki Project, a proposal for creating gardens and communities with native tree species of the region concerned. Joint research conducted with the University of the Ryukyu’s Kubota Laboratory and Think Nature Inc. since 2019 has revealed that this focus on planting native garden trees in line with the Gohon no Ki Project has increased biodiversity in urban areas (Japan’s three major metropolitan areas) where biodiversity has declined significantly.

The new joint research project will combine analytical methods developed by the Laboratory of Conservation Ecology at the University of Tokyo’s GSALS with Sekisui House’s Gohon no Ki Project to conserve biodiversity in what is the first attempt worldwide to scientifically investigate the effects of biodiverse garden greenery on human health and wellbeing. This research will also aim to demonstrate the importance from the perspective of biodiversity of creating gardens rich in biodiversity rather than simply “greenery.”

The Laboratory of Conservation Ecology at the University of Tokyo’s GSALS is conducting research to test five hypotheses regarding the relationship between human health and interactions with nature under the themes of mental health, physical health, cognitive functions, and community health. For the time being, the new joint research project will focus on two hypotheses related to mental health, and one hypothesis related to cognitive functions. This is, however, a long-term joint research project that will later also look at community health and other themes related to health.

Hypotheses

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University of Tokyo GSALS Associate Professor Masashi Soga has commented as follows regarding this joint research project.

“People have always turned to nature for relaxation and tranquility, and recent advances in research and technology have made it possible to quantify such intangible health benefits. However, very little is known about the role played by biodiversity in providing these health benefits. If we could shed light on this topic, we may be able to develop the kind of landscape and green space management that supports coexistence with nature because it is desirable from the perspectives of both conserving biodiversity and enhancing human health.

This joint research project is a large-scale investigation of how interacting with nature in our gardens, perhaps the most familiar nature to most of us, affects our health and well-being. Garden biodiversity is an area that has been difficult to study up to now, but Sekisui House’s nationwide planting data will enable us to conduct the world’s first comprehensive investigation into the relationship between garden biodiversity and human health, and the way people appreciate and interact with nature. Up until now, discussions on the health benefits of nature have tended to focus on relatively large expanses of greenery such as green spaces and forests, but with this new study, we hope to shed light on the importance of actually ‘living with nature.’ Our research outcomes will hopefully be useful to promoting the conservation of urban biodiversity.”

The University of Tokyo GSALS and Sekisui House aim to contribute to the conservation of urban biodiversity and creation of a nature-positive society by sharing the findings of the investigation of the way in which interactions with nearby nature in urban environments affects people’s mental health and the way they appreciate and interact with nature.

Notes

1. Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Soga Laboratory: https://www.masashi-soga.com/
2. A room with a green view: the importance of nearby nature for mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.2248
3. Sekisui House biodiversity conservation initiative: https://www.sekisuihouse.co.jp/gohon_sp/
4. Sekisui House’s nature-positive methodology: https://www.sekisuihouse.co.jp/gohon_sp/method/

Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo

The University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences provides a step-by-step, systematic education in applied sciences within the field of agriculture. Through its educational and research activities, it aims to nurture people with the kind of insight, practical abilities, and leadership qualities required to address the needs of global society through social, cultural, and industrial activities.

Sekisui House’s Gohon no Ki Project

The Gohon no Ki Project was launched by Sekisui House in 2001 as an initiative to conserve biodiversity through the eco-friendly landscaping and greening of the gardens of its customers with their cooperation. Based on the concept of planting five locally native trees, three for birds and two for butterflies, and using traditional Japanese satoyama landscape as a model, the Gohon no Ki Project proposes greening gardens and local communities with native tree species suited to the local climate and benevolent to birds, butterflies, and other local fauna. In fiscal 2021, Sekisui House planted 1.01 million trees, bringing the number of trees planted since the Gohon no Ki Project was launched in 2001 to 18.1 million trees (as of January 2022). Since 2019, the company has been working with the University of the Ryukyu’s Kubota Laboratory and Think Nature Co., Ltd. to quantitatively evaluate the contribution of network-type greening to urban biodiversity. In 2021, it developed the world’s first mechanism for quantitatively evaluating urban biodiversity using big data on tree numbers, species, location data, and ecosystems to determine the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation, publishing it as the “nature-positive methodology.”

Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo Soga Laboratory Data

1. Soga et al. (2017) Gardening is beneficial for health: a meta-analysis. Preventive Medicine Reports, 5, 92-99.
URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335516301401
Overview: A meta-analysis (statistical analysis that combines the results of multiple scientific studies and analyzes whether a certain factor is related to a specific issue) that confirmed that interaction with plants through gardening has positive effects on human health
2. Soga, Gaston (2016) Extinction of experience: the loss of human-nature interactions. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 14, 94-101.
URL : https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/fee.1225
Overview: A study showing that human interaction with nature is declining in many developed countries, and that this “extinction of experience” may have serious negative implications for human health and the protection of ecosystems
3. Soga et al. (2020) How can we mitigate against increasing biophobia among children during the extinction of experience? Biological Conservation, 242, 108420.
URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719309577
Overview: A study showing that people who interact with nature only infrequently are more likely to show negative reactions (fear, disgust) toward common insects and other invertebrates

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언론연락처: Sekisui House, Ltd. PR Desk +81-3-5771-6426

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