Walking and nature connection is good for us and is a gateway to many health benefits. The country's Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty stated that "being outside in the park is a very good thing to do". He is basing this on hundreds of scientific studies and quantitative research across continents that show the profoundly positive consequence of exposure to green space. Despite this, being active outdoors is limited and not possible for all. Go Jauntly is a health and wellbeing technology company with an award-winning walking app. Our new project will test the case for an engaging smartphone based 'green prescription' app that provides a method of nature connection during these increasingly challenging times. We will build upon a baseline we are creating that prompts people to record 'good things' they see in nature in urban settings. This is based on the results from a successful research study with the Nature Connectedness Research Group at the University of Derby which found that an app prompting users to record 'good things' in nature can bring clinically significant improvements in mental health. This global pandemic experience is forcing us to re-evaluate our place and space in this world. Even if we're not somewhere with a lot of trees or direct access to green space, it is possible that we may be able to notice birdsong, the sun, the sky and moving clouds or weather. Our project will look to build upon this strong evidence base to focus on how we can immerse people in nature whilst either socially isolated, in lockdown or with restricted access to green space. Whilst being advised by Dr Miles Richardson (the UK's lead nature connection expert) and his team we seek to develop innovative tools to support users in the delight and benefits of nature connection. We will provide unparalleled access to our extensive image library, insightful facts and playful data brought into peoples home via their smartphone. Where possible we will look to collaborate with other like-minded charities and organisations to enhance engagement and impact. As Lucy Jones, author of 'Losing Eden' laments, 'whilst industrialisation, commodification, and urbanisation have all played a part in widening the gulf between humans and nature, just because we are being forced even further to live in isolation from others and nature by being confined to our homes, doesn't mean that our nature disconnect should grow further'.

"Go Jauntly is an award-winning family-friendly walking app. We would like to research and experiment with an Augmented Reality (AR) prototype that will bring to life data and content about our cities with a view to helping people connect with their environment and surroundings in new ways. Currently we provide ways for people to discover walks and locations to enjoy in the city as well as the great outdoors by using imagery and bite-sized facts and information. Users can document their own walking routes to share with our growing community and share outdoor adventures with family and friends. We have seen a 6000% increase in downloads since Christmas 2017 and have been voted one of the top 5 lifestyle apps on the world. We now wish to create an enhanced, playful experience for families to walk and learn more about the nature around them by building upon our in-depth knowledge of walking in cities. Our prototype will combine AR, open data sets as well as our own curated and crowdsourced content. We hope that this feasibility study will uncover the approaches potential to change behaviours. We will be running a series of experiments to help us to explore how technology can steer human behaviour and how it shapes our relationship with nature, particularly in children. This will involve tests to see how families interact with different features in different settings and with different mindsets. Our findings will help us to understand whether AR can support adults and children alike in their appreciation of the environment, interpretation and its effects on nature and biodiversity. Technology and design for good is a growing sector of the creative industries and new research has pointed to nature connectedness being 'positively related to age and nature pictures taken per week, and negatively related to selfie-taking and smartphone usage times'. Whilst being advised by Dr Miles Richardson, the lead author of this research, we are hoping to find out more about how AR content can improve our lives and re-engage us. Therefore, the last stage of our testing will explore how we can use our findings to collaborate with other organisations to increase positive changes in society through the creation of new technology for good."