Professor Miles Richardson

About

I am Professor of Human Factors and Nature Connectedness and lead the Nature Connectedness Research Group. The focus of our research is understanding and improving our connection with nature, because of the well-being and environmental benefits. Since launch in 2013 I have worked with a number of conservation NGOs, including the National Trust, RSPB and on 30 Days Wild with The Wildlife Trusts. Recent projects include the £1.3m IWUN project where we continue to develop nature connectedness based interventions to improve mental health. I am member of a Natural England research strategy group and working with partners on a national indicator of nature connection, the NCI. I launched the Nature Connections conference series in 2015.

Research interests

Researching our connection with nature and ways to improve it, for the benefit of nature's and human wellbeing. I am founder and coordinator of the Nature Connectedness Research Group and Nature Connections conferences. Find out more at my blog findingnature.org.uk and on Twitter @findingnature.

Recent publications

McEwan, K., Richardson, M., Brindley, P. Sheffield, D. & Ferguson, F.J. A Smartphone App for Improving Mental Health through Urban Nature. (2019). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(18), 3373 doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183373
Brymer, E., Freeman, E. & Richardson. M. (2019). One Health: The wellbeing impacts of human-nature relationships. Frontiers
Richardson, M., Hunt, A., Hinds, J., Bragg, R., Fido, D., Petronzi, D., Barbett, L., Clitherow, T.J., and White, M. (2019). An Affective Measure of Nature Connectedness for Children and Adults: Validation, Performance and Insights. Sustainability, 11(12), 3250
Pritchard, A., Richardson, M., Sheffield, D, & McEwan, K. (2019). The relationship between nature connectedness and eudaimonic wellbeing: a meta-analysis. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1-23
Richardson, M., Richardson, E., Hallam, J. & Ferguson, F.J. (2019). Opening Doors to Nature: Bringing calm & raising aspirations of vulnerable young people through nature. The Humanistic Psychologist
Richardson, M. (2019). Beyond Restoration: Considering Emotion Regulation in Natural Well-Being. Ecopsychology
Fido, D. and Richardson, M. (2019). Empathy mediates the relationship between nature connectedness and both callous and uncaring traits. Ecopsychology
McEwan, K., Richardson, M., Brindley, P. Sheffield, D. & Ferguson, F.J. (2019). A Smartphone app for Improving Wellbeing Through Urban Nature. Translational Behavioural Medicine
Richardson, M., & Sheffield, D. (2019). The Negative Impact of a Three Good Things Intervention on Perceived Stress and Psychological Health. 10.31234/osf.io/p463y
Erhan, L., Ndubuaku, M., Ferrara, E., Liotta, A., Richardson, M., Sheffield, D., Ferguson, F., Brindley, P. (2019). Analysing objective and subjective data in social sciences: Implications for Smart Cities. IEEE Access
Charles, Cheryl; Keenleyside, Karen; Chapple, Rosalie; Kilburn, Bill; Salah van der Leest, Pascale; Allen, Diana; Richardson, Miles; Giusti, Matteo; Franklin, Lawrence; Harbrow, Michael; Wilson, Ruth; Moss, Andrew; Metcalf, Louise; Camargo, Luis. (2018). Home to Us All: How Connecting with Nature Helps Us Care for Ourselves and the Earth. Children & Nature Network
Charles, Cheryl; Keenleyside, Karen; Chapple, Rosalie; Kilburn, Bill; Salah van der Leest, Pascale; Allen, Diana; Richardson, Miles; Giusti, Matteo; Franklin, Lawrence; Harbrow, Michael; Wilson, Ruth; Moss, Andrew; Metcalf, Louise; Camargo, Luis. (2018). Connecting with Nature to Care for Ourselves and the Earth: Recommendations for Decision Makers. Children & Nature Network
Hughes, J., Richardson, M., & Lumber, R. (2018). Evaluating connection to nature and the relationship with conservation behaviour in children. Journal for Nature Conservation, 45, 11-19
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
Richardson, M., McEwan, K., & Garip, G. (2018). 30 Days Wild: who benefits most? Journal of Public Mental Health, 17(3), 95-104
Richardson, M., Hussain, Z. & Griffiths, M.D. (2018). Problematic Smartphone Use, Nature Connectedness, and Anxiety. Journal of Addictive Behaviours
Van Gordon, W., Shonin, E. & Richardson, M. (2018). Mindfulness and Nature. Mindfulness. doi.org/10.1007/s12671-018-0883-6
Lumber, R., Richardson, M. & Sheffield, D. (2018). The pathways to Nature Connectedness: A focus group exploration. European Journal of Ecopsychology, 6: 47-68
Richardson, M. (2018). Growing our care for nature. National Trust
Lumber, R., Richardson, M., & Sheffield, D. (2017). Beyond knowing nature: Contact, emotion, compassion, meaning, and beauty are pathways to nature connection. PLoS One, 12(5)
Richardson, M., Maspero, M., Golightly, D., Sheffield, D., Staples, V. & Lumber, R. (2017). Nature: A new paradigm for wellbeing and ergonomics. Ergonomics, 60(2)
Richardson, M. & Sheffield, D. (2017). Three good things in nature: Noticing nearby nature brings sustained increases in connection with nature. Psyecology, 8(1), 1-32
Vassie, K. & Richardson, M. (2017). Effect of self-adjustable masking noise on open-plan office worker's concentration, task performance and attitudes. Applied Acoustics
Hunt, A., Stewart, D., Richardson, M., Hinds J., Bragg, R., White, M. and Burt, J. (2017). Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment: developing a method to measure nature connection across the English population (adults and children). Natural England Commissioned Reports, Number 233. York
Lumber, R., Hunt, A., Richardson, M. and Harvey, C. (2017). Nature Connections 2016 conference report: Implications for research and practice. Derby: University of Derby
Richardson, M. (2017). An Efficient Approach to Understanding and Predicting the Effects of Multiple Task Characteristics on Performance. Ergonomics, 60(2), 292-305
Richardson, M., McEwan, K., Maratos, F. & Sheffield, D. (2016). Joy and Calm: How an Evolutionary Functional Model of Affect Regulation Informs Positive Emotions in Nature. Evolutionary Psychological Science. doi:10.1007/s40806-016-0065-5
Richardson, M., Cormack, A., McRobert, L. & 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
Richardson, M., Sheffield, D., Harvey, C. & Petronzi (2016). A Report for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB): The Impact of Children’s Connection to Nature. Derby: College of Life and Natural Sciences, University of Derby
Richardson, M., Hallam, J. & Lumber, R. (2015). One thousand good things in nature: The aspects of nature that lead to increased nature connectedness. Environmental Values, 24 (5), 603-619
Richardson, M., & Sheffield, D. (2015). Reflective self-attention: A more stable predictor of connection to nature than mindful attention. Ecopsychology, 7 (30), 166-175

Membership of professional bodies

Chartered Ergonomist
Chartered Psychologist, British Psychological Society

Courses

Green Care Code - one man in nature, one surrounded by technology and distractions

The Green Care Code – Good for nature, good for you

Simply, Stop – Look – Listen and Enjoy Nature! Here, Miles Richardson, Professor of Human Factors and Nature Connectedness at Derby, explains why this simple Green Care Code is all it takes to help improve your own and nature’s wellbeing.

Posted: 16 September 2021