![\"Heli](\"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/DSC_7247_copy-214x300.jpg\")
Heli Gittins<\/em><\/p><\/div><\/p>\n Mae’r erthygl Saesneg hon wedi’i hail-bostio o wefan Coed Lleol (Small Woods Wales):\u00a0https:\/\/www.smallwoods.org.uk\/en\/coedlleol\/news\/phd-awarded-to-coed-lleol-small-woods-wales-researcher-from-bangor-university<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Based at the College of Natural Sciences at Bangor University and working in partnership with the School of Psychology, Heli Gittins\u2019s PhD research question –\u00a0Can a woodland activity programme benefit participant wellbeing and change the way they use woods?<\/em>\u00a0– took her out into woodlands all over Wales to visit Coed Lleol (Small Woods Wales)\u2019s\u00a0Actif Woods Wales<\/a>\u00a0groups. Utilising a mixed-methods approach, she captured evidence of social, physical, and mental wellbeing changes that may have occurred as a result of being a participant of the\u00a0Actif Woods Wales project. She also explored how the project affects how people view and use woodlands long-term.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very humbling to work with Actif Woods Wales participants and to see the impact of spending time in nature on people who had never had that opportunity before,\u201d says Heli.<\/p>\n Heli built up a robust dataset with which to evidence Coed Lleol (Small Woods Wales)\u2019s impact. She also discovered participant motivations for joining the Actif Woods Wales project and increased our knowledge about potential barriers that people might face. Her analysis uncovered emergent themes of \u2018sensory experience\u2019 that reveal underlying mindful benefits to woodland exposure, as well as a \u2018restorative\u2019 theme that shows how participants\u2019 feelings about themselves are transformed by the woodland experience.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sensory experience involves tuning into the environment through the senses, giving people a present moment experience that provides a break from anxious or ruminative thoughts,\u201d Heli explains. \u201cThe sight of the fire or the sounds and smells of the woods provide a focus other than yourself which allows people to relax and connect with others. This in itself is restorative or refreshing.\u201d<\/p>\n Heli\u2019s research is invaluable in guiding future evaluative approaches at Coed Lleol (Small Woods Wales), as well as providing the evidence base for a Social Return of Investment calculation with the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation at Bangor University.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s next for Heli? \u201cI will be writing research papers and a report on the results,\u201d she says. \u201cI have a new job at a social enterprise in the Conwy Valley, Golygfa Gwydyr. This is looking at using the Gwydir Forest as a resource for social prescribing based around mindfulness and outdoor activities. A great opportunity to take forward some of the learning from the study.\u201d<\/p>\n Heli\u2019s research was funded by the EU through\u00a0KESS 2<\/a>\u00a0(Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship) project working in partnership with the\u00a0Woodland Trust.<\/a>\u00a0If you have any queries about Coed Lleol (Small Woods Wales)\u2019s research work, you can contact Natasha Simons, Research and Evaluation Officer, by email at\u00a0natashasimons@smallwoods.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships (KESS 2) is a pan-Wales higher-level skills initiative led by Bangor University on behalf of the HE sector in Wales. It is part-funded by the Welsh Government\u2019s European Social Fund (ESF) convergence programme for West Wales and the Valleys. For further information about how your organisation could benefit from participating in KESS 2, please contact the KESS 2 Central team at Bangor at:\u00a0kess2@bangor.ac.uk<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mae’r erthygl Saesneg hon wedi’i hail-bostio o wefan Coed Lleol (Small Woods Wales):\u00a0https:\/\/www.smallwoods.org.uk\/en\/coedlleol\/news\/phd-awarded-to-coed-lleol-small-woods-wales-researcher-from-bangor-university Based at the College of Natural Sciences at Bangor University and working in partnership with the School of Psychology, Heli Gittins\u2019s PhD research question –\u00a0Can a woodland activity programme benefit participant wellbeing and change the way they use woods?\u00a0– took her out… Darllen mwy »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[326,301,327,300,284,302],"class_list":["post-8182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-environment","tag-mental-health","tag-natural-resources","tag-psychology","tag-sustainability","tag-wellbeing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8182"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8192,"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182\/revisions\/8192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kess2.ac.uk\/cy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}