{"id":4640,"date":"2025-07-01T09:17:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T08:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/?p=4640"},"modified":"2025-07-01T09:17:31","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T08:17:31","slug":"exploring-wellbeing-through-nature-at-the-universally-manchester-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/2025\/07\/01\/exploring-wellbeing-through-nature-at-the-universally-manchester-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Wellbeing Through Nature at the Universally Manchester Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;section&#8221; fullwidth=&#8221;on&#8221; next_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; global_module=&#8221;322&#8243;][et_pb_fullwidth_menu global_parent=&#8221;322&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.106&#8243; menu_id=&#8221;7&#8243; submenu_direction=&#8221;downwards&#8221; fullwidth_menu=&#8221;off&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;dark&#8221; module_class=&#8221;main-navigation&#8221; \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; fullwidth=&#8221;off&#8221; specialty=&#8221;on&#8221; prev_background_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; next_background_color=&#8221;#1d1d1d&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_3&#8243; specialty_columns=&#8221;2&#8243;][et_pb_row_inner locked=&#8221;off&#8221;][et_pb_column_inner type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; saved_specialty_column_type=&#8221;2_3&#8243;][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.106&#8243; title=&#8221;on&#8221; meta=&#8221;on&#8221; author=&#8221;on&#8221; date=&#8221;on&#8221; categories=&#8221;on&#8221; comments=&#8221;on&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;on&#8221; featured_placement=&#8221;above&#8221; text_color=&#8221;dark&#8221; text_background=&#8221;off&#8221; locked=&#8221;on&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221; \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;3.17.6&#8243; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221;]<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4641\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4641\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4641\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/07\/IMG_20250614_124942_788-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/07\/IMG_20250614_124942_788-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/07\/IMG_20250614_124942_788-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/07\/IMG_20250614_124942_788-150x200.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/07\/IMG_20250614_124942_788-250x333.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/07\/IMG_20250614_124942_788-350x467.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2025\/07\/IMG_20250614_124942_788-1080x1440.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-4641\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors wrote on leaves how being in greenspace made them feel<\/p><\/div>\n<p>At this year\u2019s University of Manchester Universally Manchester Festival, the Environmental Sustainability Champions Network brought nature to life both virtually and tangibly through a fun, family-friendly stall exploring the impact of green spaces on wellbeing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Visitors were invited to immerse themselves in a calming forest VR experience. Children and adults alike took a moment to reflect on how greenspace made them feel, writing their thoughts on paper leaves and adding them to a growing display tree. The messages spoke volumes about the impacts that natural environment can have on our minds: \u201cNature is very peaceful and calming\u201d, \u201cIt feels peaceful and healthy in nature\u201d, and \u201cI love being in nature! It is so peaceful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Alongside the immersive VR activity, families tried their hands at making origami plant pots using recycled newspapers. Guided by two enthusiastic student volunteers, children carefully filled their pots with soil, planted sunflower seeds, and took home a small symbol of sustainability. The simple act of planting served as a meaningful reminder of the importance of nurturing both nature and our connection to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The stall was a hit with the younger visitors, who loved getting messy while learning how nature supports our health \u2013 and how we can care for it in return.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the Community Festival\u2019s welcoming platform, families explored science and sustainability through creativity and play. Activities like these help sow the seeds of environmental awareness early on, nurturing future generations of nature-lovers and changemakers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>By Daria-Gabriela Paulopol-Necula, Psychology BSc student and stall volunteer\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_nav _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.106&#8243; in_same_term=&#8221;off&#8221; show_prev=&#8221;on&#8221; show_next=&#8221;on&#8221; prev_text=&#8221;Previous&#8221; next_text=&#8221;Next&#8221; locked=&#8221;on&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221; \/][et_pb_comments _builder_version=&#8221;3.0.106&#8243; show_avatar=&#8221;on&#8221; show_reply=&#8221;on&#8221; show_count=&#8221;on&#8221; background_layout=&#8221;light&#8221; header_font_size_tablet=&#8221;51&#8243; header_line_height_tablet=&#8221;2&#8243; custom_button=&#8221;on&#8221; button_icon_placement=&#8221;right&#8221; button_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; button_use_icon=&#8221;off&#8221; locked=&#8221;on&#8221; parent_locked=&#8221;off&#8221; button_text_size__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_text_size__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_text_size__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_text_size__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_text_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_text_color__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_text_color__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_text_color__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_border_width__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_border_width__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_one_border_width__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_two_border_width__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_border_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; button_border_color__hover=&#8221;null&#8221; button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=&#8221;off&#8221; 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Children and adults alike took a moment to reflect [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7645,"featured_media":4642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environmental-sustainability","category-public-engagement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4640"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4644,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4640\/revisions\/4644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/bmh-sr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}