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George Murrell joined Forest Research in July 2023. Before joining Forest Research, George completed both a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Environmental Psychology at the University of Surrey.

George has interests in the use of psychological interventions to encourage pro-environmental behaviour change and how multi-sensory experiences in different environments impact human health and wellbeing. Related to these research interests, George recently completed his MSc thesis which explored the links between natural and anthropogenic soundscapes, psychological restoration and intentions to act pro-environmentally, using quantitative and experimental research methods. George is keen to continue researching how spending time in nature can deliver psychological benefits and how this might affect individuals’ environmental behaviours.

At Forest Research, George is working on a number of projects within the group’s wellbeing and land manager behaviours thematic research areas.

Affiliations

Member – International Association People-Environment Studies (IAPS)

Member – International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP)

George Murrell

BSc, MSc
Social Scientist
Society and environment research group (SERG)

Alice Holt

Related Research

Research

Mapping the Social Benefits of Woodland Creation and Expansion

This research aims to outline what would be needed and what the benefits would be in establishing a longitudinal research network of new planting sites with local communities in different locations to monitor the social benefits, attitudes, actions, motivations and barriers associated with this planting over time.

Status current

Related Publications

Publication

Active engagement with trees, woods and forests: A review of the literature

Policymakers across Great Britain want to know how to encourage more people to get involved in volunteering activities such as tree planting, citizen science and community woodland management.  This review has investigated the motivations and barriers that are relevant to different groups of people when seeking to engage in volunteering activities connected to trees, woods […]

Published

Publication

Trees and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic

A secondary analysis of data from an online, UK representative survey, in-depth interviews and photo elicitation was used to investigate the terms people use to describe trees and places with trees, the importance of trees to perceptions of naturalness and nature connection, and whether trees were associated with greater wellbeing.

Published

Peer reviewed journal articles

Gatersleben, B., White, E., Wyles, K.J., Golding, S.E., Murrell, G., Scarles, C., Xu, T., Brockett, B.F.T., Willis, C. (2024). Everyday places to get away – Lessons learned from Covid-19 lockdowns. Landscape and Urban Planning 246, 105026. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2024.105026

Xu, S., Murrell, G., Golding, S. E., Brockett, B. F. T., Gatersleben, B., Scarles, C., White, E. V., Willis, C., & Wyles, K. J. (2021). #Springwatch #WildMorningswithChris: Engaging With Nature via Social Media and Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Lockdown. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.701769

Book chapters

Gatersleben, B., Murrell, G., & Geusen, J. (2023). Evaluating the effectiveness of pro-environmental behaviour change interventions: a review of reviews. DOI: 10.4337/9781800882133.00010.

Reports

Murrell, G., Hall, C., Karlsdottir, B., 2024. Active engagement with trees, woods and forests: A review of the literature on motivations and barriers to volunteering, community ownership and other types of active woodland engagement. Forest Research, Alice Holt. 

White, E. V., Gatersleben, B., Wyles, K. J., Murrell, G., Golding, S. E., Scarles, C., & Xu, S. (2021). Gardens and wellbeing during the first UK Covid-19 lockdown (Research Report No. 1). Retrieved from the EPRG website: garden-report.pdf (surrey.ac.uk)

White, E. V., Golding, S. E., Gatersleben, B., Scarles, C., Wyles, K. J., Murrell, G., & Xu, S. (2023). Trees and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic (Research Report No. 2). Retrieved from the Forest Research website: Trees-wellbeing-during-the-Covid-19-pandemic.pdf (forestresearch.gov.uk)