An Interview with Liz O'Brien
About Liz O’Brien: Dr Liz O’Brien is a Principal Social Scientist in the Society and Environment Research Group at Forest Research, which is a government research institute. Her research explores human-forest relationships with a particular focus on the cultural ecosystem benefits of trees and woodlands including a strong focus on the health and wellbeing benefits of engagement with trees and woodlands – physical, mental and social.
«My strong focus on wellbeing is linked to health and increasingly we need to focus on the impacts of climate change on people’s health and how that links to social and environmental justice issues.»
What are you working on at the moment?
Much of my research falls under the broad heading of wellbeing and focuses on human nature relationships and how connection and engagement with treescapes i.e. trees in any location – in the street, park, along footpaths, in woods etc. can impact people’s wellbeing. My research has focused on the health benefits of treescapes, learning in nature, impacts of practical conservation volunteering, cultural ecosystem services and the social and cultural values people associate with treescapes.
I am working with colleagues and collaborators to develop, write and produce additional guidance to the Tree and Woodland Strategy Toolkit at present. This additional guidance focuses on how those developing tree strategies particularly local authorities can take account of the social and cultural values people hold for treescapes. We have undertaken four years of work that underpins the approach we outline in the guidance, and it is great to think that our research will have practical application.
I am also working with colleagues and collaborators on a project focused on public access to woodlands. The working is looking at the spatial distribution of access, what access means to different members of the public, what barriers they may face in accessing woodlands and what might support access. We are also discussing with land managers attitudes towards public access and whether some land managers might provide or extend public access.
What is your background?
I am an environmental sociologist by background but originally after I left school I attended art college and focused on jewellery making and design. However, when I eventually decided to go to University, I drew on my lifelong interest in being in the natural environment and my passion for hill walking to move to a focus on the environment and combined that with an interest in people and the systems, structures, norms that influence behaviours and decisions.
I joined Forest Research in 2000 as its sole social scientist and was originally part of a Silviculture and Seed Research Branch within the organisation. However, after a few short years others joined me and a social science team was born. I was fortunate to develop the opportunity to spend 3 months in Vermont with the US Forest Service in 2002 and work with colleagues there to explore how people in Vermont values their treescape. Later on, in 2012 I spent 14 months in Defra (Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs) in its behavioural change unit.
It has been great to be part of the development of a dynamic and vibrant Society and Environment Research Group within Forest Research. I was Head of the Group for 8 years and helped it to grow and enhance its reputation, I stepped back from the role in 2023 to move to part time working.
«My interest in sound and soundscapes has developed slowly often through my qualitative research in which a range of publics have talked about their experiences in woodlands and the importance of different sounds.»
How did you start/become interested in environmental sociology and studying soundscapes?
Alan Irwin’s book Sociology and the Environment highlighted the problems of much thinking on the dualism between humans and nature seeing them as separate. He also outlined the need to look beyond how real problems are to explore the processes whereby certain problems come to acquire real status at particular moments in time and in particular contexts.
My interest in sound and soundscapes has developed slowly often through my qualitative research in which a range of publics have talked about their experiences in woodlands and the importance of different sounds such as wind in the trees, the rustling and crunching of leaves, water, birds, as well as human sounds such as laughter. The lack of sound has also come up as people have described trees and woods screening out traffic and urban noises.
Then, having the opportunity to be part of the Ecotones: Soundscapes of Trees network project led by Professor Amanda Bayley at Bath Spa University was a fantastic opportunity to work with musicians, artists, ecologists and social scientists and collaborate with South Korea. In the project we explored ways to communicate awareness of environmental issues through the soundscapes of trees.
How is your artistic/scientific work generally perceived? Have you encountered any unexpected impact or reaction from your work?
Forest Research is an applied research institute, one of the great things about working for the organisation is to have practical and applied impacts that can influence and sometimes change policy and practice. I got involved early on with Forest Research in exploring the health benefits of engaging with treescapes whether that was being out in a woodland or seeing trees as people go about their everyday lives. We published a ‘Trees and Woodlands: Nature Health Service’ report in 2005 and Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer for England at the time, wrote a forward to highlight the importance of contact with treescapes. Since then, a focus on health and wellbeing has been a strong area of development for Forestry England as it manages the nations forests.
During the Covid Pandemic we surveyed and interviewed people to explore their relationship with nature during the lockdowns and the stresses of that time. We published a paper on the contribution of trees and forest to wellbeing during Covid and how people started to adapt to the change. This research gained interest and traction and I worked with other government agencies such as Natural England, the Environment Agency, NatureScot, and Natural Resources Wales to bring together our data and explore why society needs nature and what lessons could be learnt from the pandemic.
What is the meaning of community in your work?
My work involves a lot of collaboration with researchers both nationally and internationally. Our Ecotones project was a collaborative network between the UK and South Korea and included people from many different disciplinary backgrounds which provides so much opportunity for learning and exchange and for thinking about things differently. My research also involves a lot of work with stakeholders in public bodies, non-governmental organisations, and private land managers, and also engaging with a range of publics to explore the meaning of treescapes to them is very important.
I enjoy being part of a range of networks that are sometimes academic focused or policy or practice focused. These can be national, international and it’s a great way to exchange ideas, information and learn from each other.
What are the artistic, technological, or scientific research methods that inform your work? To what extent (and how) is audio/sound/music relevant to your work?
My background in environmental sociology includes a range of methods as I explore human nature relationships. I have been involved in interviews, focus groups, workshops, citizen panels, participatory approaches, photo elicitation, participant observation and ‘being and doing’ activities with people, as well as surveys. Increasingly mixed methods and interdisciplinary research have become a focus for me. I wrote a paper with colleagues on participatory interdisciplinarity highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research and the involvement of stakeholders and how time, field visits, and open exchange, are really important and can break down barriers between stakeholders and academics: ‘Participatory interdisciplinarity’: Towards the integration of disciplinary diversity with stakeholder engagement for new models of knowledge production | Science and Public Policy | Oxford Academic (oup.com). Sounds and the idea of soundscapes is increasingly important in terms of my research interests, and I keen to develop this area of my work and build on work I have been involved in to date.
«My research has a strong focus on human nature relationships and how people experience nature across the urban rural continuum and explore social and environmental justice issues in terms of who can access nature, who faces barriers and who benefits from nature.»
To what extent do you see your work, and more extensively, the use of artistic methods, contributing to raising awareness of global crises such as climate change?
Working with artists Tim and Reko Collins as part of the Ecotones network really highlighted the intersection between the environment, art, and social engagement. It allows people to conceptualise environmental and social issues in different ways and can engage and reach people that wouldn’t otherwise be reached. My research has a strong focus on human nature relationships and how people experience nature across the urban rural continuum and explore social and environmental justice issues in terms of who can access nature, who faces barriers and who benefits from nature. My strong focus on wellbeing is linked to health and increasingly we need to focus on the impacts of climate change on people’s health and how that links to social and environmental justice issues.
How is technology impacting your work? Do you see technology shaping your creative process or the other way around?
In our work with Forestry England evaluating the Active Forests Programme, which aims to encourage people to be physically active in forests and includes a social prescribing element, we have seen how Apps can reach particularly families with young children. Forestry England worked with Aardman Animations to develop a Shaun the Sheep App with the release of the Farmaggedon film a few years ago. An App has also been developed for the Gruffalo trails that Forestry England have created at some of their sites. Both Apps had an element of augmented reality allowing children to see and be photographed with and discover their favourite characters. Increasingly we are considering the role of fitness devices as a way of understanding the places that people are accessing and where they are going.
«Fundamentally you need to know your data and be immersed in it to know whether coding by AI is accurately interpreting your data.»
How do you see creative AI impacting your practice/work? Is this a topic that interests you or worries you?
I recently attended two webinars focused on the use of AI in qualitative analysis. Part one focused on development and methodological implications and part 2 on research applications, opportunities and challenges. There were very interesting discussions about ethics, how your data, if you take this approach, might be used for machine learning training, where data is held, robustness of outputs generated etc. Fundamentally you need to know your data and be immersed in it to know whether coding by AI is accurately interpreting your data. It was being used to support analysis and not be the sole approach to analysis. This area interests me as it is developing fast, new possibilities arise but there also needs to be some caution and an understanding of what AI can and can’t do.
Any final thoughts or comments?
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to present at your seminar and hear from others and to outline a bit about my work and where I am coming from. I look forward to seeing how the Sensing the forest project develops over the next few years.