Connecting with nature: The missing link between a satisfied life and a healthy life?

Nature connection is an important leverage point for both human wellbeing and planetary health. While previous research has identified associations between nature connection and wellbeing, there has been little examination of how different wellbeing measures are associated with nature connection, and how this correlation varies by population groups. We seek to fill this gap through a survey of 4006 individuals in Australia. We find a strong association between nature connection and two measures of wellbeing: life satisfaction, and health-related quality-of-life. The association between nature connection and life satisfaction was similar to that of income and life satisfaction. The association between nature connection and wellbeing was found to be particularly strong for younger people, and those who speak a language other than English at home. Through developing a measure examining one’s life satisfaction relative to their health-related quality-of-life, we find that those with higher levels of nature connection tend to have greater life satisfaction than health-related quality-of-life. These findings highlight the important role policy can play in enhancing nature connection to improve wellbeing, such as expanding green space development and providing individuals with more opportunities to meaningfully connect with nature.