About Us
Why Nature
Connections Exists
Across Wales and the wider UK, communities are experiencing rising levels of social disconnection, loneliness and stress. These challenges are linked to poorer mental health, reduced community cohesion, and increasing pressure on health and social care systems.
Nature Connections is a preventative, place-based initiative designed to intervene upstream – strengthening belonging before isolation becomes entrenched. Rather than responding at crisis point, the programme cultivates the social and ecological conditions that support sustained wellbeing.
Through structured, repeated engagement with local landscapes, participants develop meaningful social connection grounded in place. The programme applies ecological systems thinking to human wellbeing – recognising that belonging, like biodiversity, develops through continuity, relationship and time. By embedding social connection within local environments, Nature Connections supports both individual wellbeing and community resilience.
Designed for Sustainable Belonging
Nature Connections is intentionally structured. Each element addresses known drivers of disconnection and psychological stress.
Place Before Performance
Many socially isolated adults experience conversational anxiety or pressure to perform. Shifting shared attention from self to landscape, such as biodiversity, canopy, birdsong and seasonal change, allows social interaction to emerge naturally. This reduces pressure and supports nervous system regulation, lowering barriers to participation.
Structured via Continuity
Belonging develops through repeated contact over time. Participants meet in small, consistent groups within the same landscape, building familiarity and shared experience. Predictable programme structure reduces uncertainty and supports psychological safety. Continuity strengthens trust and increases sustained participation.
Emotional Regulation
Guided listening to natural soundscapes reduces physiological stress markers and improves mood. Shared sensory attention anchors participants in the present moment, promoting co-regulation and emotional steadiness. The programme integrates evidence from environmental psychology, bioacoustics and stress research.
Community Rooted in Place
Repeated engagement with a local ecosystem fosters attachment not only to landscape but to one another. Participants recognise ecological patterns, understand biodiversity and seasonal change, strengthening environmental stewardship and civic belonging. The programme supports both individual wellbeing and community cohesion.
Ecologically Led.
Evidence Informed.
Delivered under Edge Ecologic CIC, Nature Connections is led by Dr Jo Maloney, an environmental scientist from Wales – with over 30 years’ experience in landscape ecology, biodiversity, animal physiology, behaviour, bioacoustics and environmental education.
Ecologically Led.
Evidence Informed.
Delivered under Edge Ecologic CIC, Nature Connections is led by Dr Jo Maloney, an environmental scientist from Wales – with over 30 years’ experience in landscape ecology, biodiversity, animal physiology, behaviour, bioacoustics and environmental education.
Ecologically Led.
Evidence Informed.
Delivered under Edge Ecologic CIC, Nature Connections is led by Dr Jo Maloney, an environmental scientist from Wales – with over 30 years’ experience in landscape ecology, biodiversity, animal physiology, behaviour, bioacoustics and environmental education.
A Framework for
Preventative Wellbeing
The Nature Connections programme is grounded in:
- Ecological systems theory
- Research on loneliness and social isolation
- Evidence linking green space engagement with improved mental wellbeing
- Bioacoustic and soundscape research
- Preventative public health models
Rather than adapting existing wellbeing frameworks to outdoor settings, Nature Connections applies ecological principles directly to the cultivation of belonging.
Nature Connections is designed as a preventative, low-cost and locally scalable model. It is inclusive and accessible by design, and structured to deliver measurable outcomes in social connectedness, psychological wellbeing and sustained community participation.Our Mission, Vision
& Outcomes
Mission
To cultivate sustainable belonging and reduce social isolation through structured, place-based ecological engagement. The programme is structured to deliver measurable improvements in belonging, stress regulation and sustained community engagement.
Vision
Communities rooted in relationship with their local landscapes, where social connection develops through shared attention, continuity and ecological awareness.
Outcomes
Together, these outcomes strengthen both individual wellbeing and collective community resilience by:
- Reducing self-reported loneliness
- Increasing sense of belonging
- Improving mood and stress regulation
- Strengthening local social networks
- Increasing engagement with local green spaces