We would like to share details of a current piece of research on ‘Adolescent perceptions of greenspace’ in which Haringey schools and students can engage. The research is being carried out by PhD student, Sara Tofiq, based at UCL PEARL. We have invited Sara to come to our Parks Summit event in September to share her research which is currently based on engagement with students in Barking and Dagenham. It would be great to have the voices of young people from Haringey represented in this work too especially as this can help shape and inform future park development and design as well as the way in which we engage with young people.
As a thank you for engaging in the research, schools will receive a £100 book voucher for their school library and all participants of the survey will receive a small stationery gift. Please find Sara’s invitation below.
Invitation to take part in a survey
My name is Sara, and I am a PhD student at University College London. I work at PEARL (Person Environment Activity Research Laboratory) in Barking and Dagenham where we explore interesting questions about how people interact and engage with their environments. My PhD focuses on how young people interact with their local green spaces and later exploring whether this has some sort of relationship with their mental wellbeing. The needs of younger people are often neglected despite research suggesting that green spaces provide multiple benefits to this developing group.
Previously, I conducted some focus groups with a few secondary schools in the borough of Barking and Dagenham e.g. year 7s and year 11s, where I got an understanding of what their needs are from green spaces. This survey that I am proposing now has been developed from the focus group data to further understand if there is a relationship between adolescent perceptions/ interactions with green spaces and mental wellbeing.
More information about the survey
The survey will consist of 26 questions which consist of Multiple choice and Likert Scale questions. The survey is not estimated to take up much time. Approximately 10 minutes. The survey will ask them about their views on the features of their local green spaces, how often they visited in the last week and their mental wellbeing in the past two weeks. The mental wellbeing questions are taken from the validated Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale which is available to view online.
In terms of set up, this survey can be done online, either on a mobile phone, laptop, tablet, computer and can be completed in their own time (after school hours at home if they have internet access). Therefore, we do not plan to take up any valuable lesson time. It would be great if we could set something up before pupils break for the summer holidays (23rd July 2023).
Another suggestion is that this survey could be done during a PSHE lesson if you would like. If there is a topic that is closely relatable to wellbeing or mental wellbeing, perhaps this might be something that pupils could benefit from taking part in. They will be able to voice their opinions about their neighbourhood green spaces and we do plan to communicate what we find to urban planners.
Benefits of taking part
There is no risk in participating in the survey. Schools that agree to participate will all receive a £100 book voucher for their school library and all participants of the survey will receive a small stationery gift.
Each school will receive a copy of the report of findings from this PhD.
After the project
I do plan to communicate our findings with the participating schools and the local authorities in charge of parks and green spaces in the borough. I am aiming to relay what the adolescents have illuminated to help create more inclusive green spaces that will support adolescents. The pupils that partake in the research project will have their views heard and communicated to those higher up and in charge of their local green spaces. This is important as young people are often left out of the equation and their views are often unheard.
Please do let me know if there are any questions or concerns about the project. I am happy to discuss the project with you in detail should you be interested in taking part. I am also happy to take suggestions about how you would like to conduct the project. Please contact me on sara.tofiq.14@ucl.ac.uk
If you would like to proceed, we would just need to get consent from parents/guardians (which they can simply sign a form) and then the link to the survey (if conducted online) can be emailed out to participants’ school email addresses. They will then complete the survey (approx. 10 minutes) in their own time before the deadline of 23rd July 2023. I understand that this deadline may be a little tight, and there is a potential to extend this project into next academic year. Please let me know what works for you.
I hope you consider in participating in the project and I look forward to hearing from you.
Kindest regards,
Sara
Sara Tofiq sara.tofiq.14@ucl.ac.uk
Ph.D. Student
Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering
University College London
UCL PEARL
Yew Tree Avenue
Dagenham
RM10 7FN