30 Days Wild 5 Year Review

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30 Days Wild 5 Year Summary Review

What is 30 Days Wild?

30 Days Wild is the UK’s one and only month-long nature challenge from The Wildlife Trusts. It invites everyone to do something wild every day in June, connecting us all with the beauty and wonder of our natural world. In 2024 we’re celebrating 10 YEARS of 30 Days Wild. 

It's official! 30 Days Wild makes us feel happier and healthier

Over the past five years, the University of Derby has been analysing data from 30 Days Wild to measure the impact of the challenge on participants.

Building on three peer-reviewed papers, the University of Derby has evaluated survey responses from more than 1,000 people over five years and discovered the enduring effects on wellbeing from participation in 30 Days Wild – the positive effects are still felt two months after the challenge is over. 

Read the review

Key findings:

  • 30 Days Wild resulted in very significant increases in nature connectedness for those who began with a weak connection to nature – their nature connectedness rose by 56%
  • 30 Days Wild boosted the health of participants by an average of 30%.
  • 30 Days Wild made people, particularly those who started with a relatively weak connection to nature, significantly happier
  • 30 Days Wild inspired significant increases in pro-nature behaviour

References

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Cervinka, R., Röderer, K., and Hefler, E. 2012. Are Nature Lovers Happy? On Various Indicators of Well-being and Connectedness with Nature. Journal of Health Psychology 17(3): 379-388. doi: 10.1177/1359105311416873

Gatersleben, B., & Andrews, M. (2013). When walking is not restorative – the role of prospect and refuge. Health and Place, 20, 91-101.

Howell, A. J., Dopko, R. L., Passmore, H, Buro, K. (2011). Nature connectedness: Associations with well-being and mindfulness. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 166-171.

Howell, A. J., Passmore, H. A., and Buro, K. (2012). Meaning in Nature: Meaning in Life as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Nature Connectedness and WellBeing. Journal of Happiness Studies. Vol 13(6), 1681-1696.

Hunt, A., Stewart, D., Richardson, M., J., H., Bragg, R., White, M., & Burt, J. (2017). Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment: developing a method to measure nature connection across the English population (adults and children). York: Natural England.

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Richardson, M., Hussain, Z., and Griffiths, M. D. (2018). Problematic smartphone use, nature connectedness, and anxiety. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(1), 109-116.

 

Richardson, M. McEwan, K., & Garip, G. (2018). 30 days wild: Who benefits most? Journal of Public Mental Health, 17(3), 95-104.

Richardson, M. & McEwan, K. (2018). 30 Days Wild and the relationships between engagement with nature’s beauty, nature connectedness and well-being. Frontiers in Psychology, 9:1500. Doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01500

Richardson, M., Cormack, A., McRobert, L., and Underhill, R. (2016). 30 Days Wild: development and evaluation of a large-scale nature engagement campaign to improve well-being. PLos ONE 11(2):e0149777. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0149777

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