Innovating on campus well-being, social value and greenspace of Edge Hill University

Pointon-Haas et al. (2024) highlight that Universities’ student services are seeking ways to address increasing demand regarding mental health and well-being. Malagodi et al. (2024) state that over a quarter of UK students report a mental health issue and reactive support services cannot cope with demand, however there are opportunities to innovate on such service with gaps in current provision. Broglia and Barkham’s (2024) findings about campus well-being and greenspace shows a positive correlation between both, however, they state that university campuses’ natural environments and greenspace are underutilised across programmes and sites for student’ restorative therapies and relief. Bai et al. (2024) explore impacts of greenspace on mental well-being of University students showing that greenery significantly mitigates the level of mental health issues. Thompson et al. (2023) found that students surveyed in green spaces reported significantly more positive sense of belonging compared to those in non-green campus spaces. Ribeiro et al. (2024) promote dynamic service ecosystems in enhancing health and well-being outcomes and student experiences. Innovation on greenspace offer opportunities to meet SDGs, in particular SDG3 (Catahan, Hopwood and Suraweera, 2024). Many University students suffer with mental health and well-being challenges, and it is a significant public and social health concern (Elsden et al., 2023). This Transformative Service Research (Anderson, et al., 2013; Anderson and Xue, 2022; Russell-Bennett et al., 2024) considers opportunities for Edge Hill University to further develop as a potential exemplar model for others regarding campus well-being, value-cocreation, and green social prescribing innovation (Howarth et al., 2020).

Project Aims and Objectives​
To establish the importance of UK university campus greenspace from a social value perspective. ​

To support university decision-makers in developing and (re)designing campus greenspace for well-being.​

To improve campus greenspace utilisation by visitors, students, staff, and the local community through an action plan and recommendations.​

To add to the existing field of knowledge on social value and well-being by establishing gaps and opportunities from individualistic perspectives of university campus greenspace. ​

To create a conceptual framework to support future research agendas and praxis).​

Initial guiding/supporting references
Anderson, L., Ostrom, A.L., Corus, C., Fisk, R.P., Gallan, A.S., Giraldo, M., Mende, M., Mulder, M., Rayburn, S.W., Rosenbaum, M.S. and Shira hada, K., 2013. Transformative service research: An agenda for the future. Journal of Business Research, 66(8), pp.1203-1210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2012.08.013 

Anderson, L. and Xue, Y., 2022. Transformative service research: where we are and moving forward at the collective level. The Palgrave Handbook of Service Management, pp.437-455. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91828-6_23 

Bai, Y., Wang, R., Yang, L., Ling, Y. and Cao, M., 2024. The Impacts of Visible Green Spaces on the Mental well-being of University Students. Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy, pp.1-23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-024-09578-7 

Broglia, E. and Barkham, M., 2024. Adopting the principles and practices of learning health systems in universities and colleges: recommendations for delivering actionable data to improve student mental health. Cogent Mental Health, 3(1), pp.1-30. https://doi.org/10.1080/28324765.2023.2301339 

Catahan, N., Hopwood, M. and Suraweera, P., 2024. Botanic Garden Tourism, Social Value, Health, and Well-Being. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens, 5(2), pp.187-199. https://doi.org/10.3390/jzbg5020013 

Elsden, E., Kador, T., Sercombe, H., Piper, K., Barkan, M., Webster, E. and Smyth Zahra, F., 2023. Experiential learning spaces and student well- being: a mixed-methods study of students at three research intensive UK universities. International Review of Psychiatry, pp.1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540261.2023.2268720 

Howarth, M., Brettle, A., Hardman, M. and Maden, M. 2020. What Is the Evidence for the Impact of Gardens and Gardening on Health and Well- Being: A Scoping Review and Evidence-Based Logic Model to Guide Healthcare Strategy Decision Making on the Use of Gardening Approaches As a Social Prescription. BMJ open, 10(7), 1-16. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/7/e036923 

Malagodi, F., Dommett, E.J., Findon, J.L. and Gardner, B., 2024. Physical activity interventions to improve mental health and wellbeing in university students in the UK: A service mapping study. Mental Health and Physical Activity, 26, p.100563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2023.100563 

Ribeiro, H., Santana, K.V.D.S. and Oliver, S.L., 2024. Natural Environments in University Campuses and Students’ Well-Being. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(4), p.413. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21040413

Russell-Bennett, R., Rosenbaum, M.S., Fisk, R.P. and Raciti, M.M., 2024. SDG editorial: improving life on planet earth–a call to action for service research to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Journal of Services Marketing, 38(2), pp.145-152. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSM-11-2023-0425 

Pointon-Haas, J., Waqar, L., Upsher, R., Foster, J., Byrom, N. and Oates, J., 2024. A systematic review of peer support interventions for student mental health and well-being in higher education. BJPsych Open, 10(1), p.e12. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.603

Thompson, C.A., Pownall, M., Harris, R. and Blundell-Birtill, P., 2023. Is the grass always greener? Access to campus green spaces can boost students’ sense of belonging. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 24(8), pp.1841-1857. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-11-2022-0349 

How to cite:
Hopwood, M. and Catahan, N. (2024) Innovating on campus well-being, social value and greenspace of Edge Hill University. [Poster]. RIMES Celebration Event 2024, 4 December, Edge Hill University, Creative Edge, UK.