Greenspace & us: Exploring co-design approaches to increase engagement with nature by girls and young women

Strategies identified by girls can support their equitable utilization of greenspaceTime spent in greenspace benefits youth’s wellbeing. However, many young people have limited opportunities to experience nature, which may be especially true for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study sought to increase understanding of the factors that influence girls’ and young women’s engagement with public greenspace and nature. The study also engaged participants in co-designing strategies to increase girls’ and young women’s involvement with greenspace.

A group of 20 girls and young women (aged 10–16) in Oxford, UK participated in the study, which was part of a community-based initiative called “Greenspace & Us.” The study used participatory methods aimed at empowering the girls who were from deprived areas with limited greenspace access. The group participated in a series of six three-hour workshops which were facilitated by female members of the initiative. The workshops, co-designed with the girls, followed the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behavior) and aimed to provide a space for sharing their “experiences, perceptions and needs from greenspaces.” The second phase of workshops applied these insights to the co-design of strategies to increase girls’ and young women’s engagement with greenspaces. This included the creation of the “Greenspace & Us Manifesto,” that gave the girls an opportunity to “publicly declare their perspectives and intentions, while also exploring their concepts through physical artwork.”

The workshops revealed factors that act as “enablers” and “barriers” to girls’ and young women’s engagement with nature. Many of the girls were unfamiliar with the term ‘greenspace,’ and, while most could identify nearby parks, they generally did not perceive natural areas “as viable destinations for visits.” Girls expressed their view that parks were more aligned with the preferences of younger children or boys. Concerns about the maintenance and safety of public greenspaces emerged along with the desire for facilities that meet their needs, including spaces for socializing and more age-appropriate play equipment. Overall, girls perceived greenspace to be “male-dominated” and the workshops revealed “a lack of confidence among these young women to assert their ownership of these spaces.”

Based on the understanding that available greenspace did not equitably meet the needs of girls and young women, the workshops engaged the group in co-designing a set of principles and recommendations that address girls’ perspectives. The recommendations include: 1) Increasing equity of access to meet the needs of different demographic groups; 2) Meaningful co-production by involving youth and marginalized groups in decision-making regarding public greenspaces; 3) Listening to young women’s safety concerns and taking them seriously; 4) Making nature normal by increasing access to nature in the daily lives of young people; 5) Promoting the right to play through age and gender appropriate equipment; and 6) Increasing the ability to physically access and connect with greenspaces.

The study reveals factors that can limit girls’ and young women’s use of greenspace, which must be addressed so that girls and young women can “equitably benefit from the health and well-being benefits that greenspaces can offer.” Importantly, the study also provides recommendations, co-produced by girls and young women, that indicate how to facilitate their greater access, engagement and connection with nature.