Is Nature A Policy Solution to Mental Health in Schools?

The Agile Research Sprint is a one-year sprint designed to rapidly generate actionable evidence on the role of nature-based programmes (NbPs) in improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes for secondary school students.

This interdisciplinary effort is funded by NERC, and brings together researchers from Oxford’s Departments of Psychiatry, Geography, Primary Care, and Education, alongside experts from the Oxford Botanic Gardens and Arboretum (OBGA) and Gardens, Libraries & Museums (GLAM).

The project operates in close collaboration with the UK Department for Education (DfE), ensuring that findings are directly relevant to policy and practice. Aim: This project prioritises co-production with key stakeholders—including DfE policymakers, educators, and young people - to evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness, and scalability of NbPs in school settings. By integrating diverse perspectives, the research team ensures that findings are both rigorous and practically applicable to educational policy.

The sprint consists of four key components:

(1) Scoping Review – A systematic review of existing school-based NbPs for students aged 10-18, with a focus on mental health outcomes, providing a foundation for further empirical work.
(2) Educator Interviews – Semi-structured interviews with teachers and school leaders to explore the practical challenges and facilitators of implementing NbPs in different educational contexts.
(3) Cost-Benefit Evaluation – The development of a framework to assess the economic and social value of NbPs, equipping schools and policymakers with the tools to make informed investment decisions.
(4) Deliberative Policy Workshop – A stakeholder engagement session bringing together policymakers, educators, and students to collaboratively explore the role of NbPs in school-based mental health strategies and co-create policy recommendations.