Event Details
Below outlines my plans with the Chelsea Collage of Arts for my Herb Event running next Tuesday and Wednesday, as agreed to by Dashnor the head of catering.
On Tuesday and Wednesday next week (20th and 21st July) between the hours of 11am- 4pm I will be running a Herb Event. This will involve me bringing an array of herbs to the site and setting up a stand in the middle of the outdoor cafe seating area with these herbs.
I will be present during all of this time and will ask customers if they would like to come and pick some of the herbs to add to their food or to take home with them. This will be done to measure whether this interaction with nature in the hospitality setting improves their connection to nature. Consequently, I will ask customers to complete a very short series of 4 questions utilising the academic measure of the inclusion of nature in self (Schultz, 2002: Kleespies et al., 2021) to rank their connection to nature on a scale of 1-10 initially, before providing them with the herbs. Then, before they leave I will re-ask the questions and see if their answers have changed at all, to determine if there has been a change in their connection to nature.
I will also provide customers who wish to take some of the herbs home with a card that explains different ways to utilise the herbs, as well as a link to an online survey form where they can provide added information as to whether taking this herb home and utilising it has aided their connection to nature. Throughout the event I will also talk with customers to discover more about their views of nature and how they feel their connection to nature could be best improved.
Acquiring the Herbs
I secured a basket from my neighbours who I spotted were throwing it out, which was highly convenient as it made the perfect herb carrier.
I visited 6 florists that were selling herbs, after the meeting at Chelsea on Tuesday, I tried to visit places close to the campus so there could be a shorter journey to transport the herbs. I asked if they would be able to secure a selection of herbs at wholesale cost from the flower market. I sadly discovered it has been very hard to get herbs recently as there is a shortage in Holland, but I left my phone number with them all to get in contact if they were able to secure any. However, after a few days I hadn’t heard anything back from the florists and so I took to the only other place I knew I could find potted herbs, the supermarket. So, on Thursday I went to my local supermarket and bought pretty much all of the potted herbs they had. I also got some smaller pots and compost from my local hardware store and took my new purchases home. I then repotted all of the herbs to make more smaller plants so they could grow and settle into their new pots in time for my first herb event on Tuesday. You can see the finished herb basket with my repotted herbs below.
Creating a Report Method for Measuring Connection to Nature
To record the impacts of the herb event I am going to utilise google forms. And there will be two separate google forms utilised in the event.
1st Google Forms
I will be the only one with access to this google forms, as I am going to utilise it as a quick and efficient method to record customers responses to my initial questions regarding their connection to nature, and then again once they have interacted with the herbs. I can then easily view all the inputted answers digitally, after the event and analyse whether interacting with the herbs during the event impacted their connection to nature at all.
The three questions asked in this form are related to the academic scale of the inclusion of nature in self, which was originally developed by Schultz in 2002. The inclusion of nature in self scale has 3 key components, these being:
Cognitive Component – nature as part of self?
Behavioural Component – motivation to act in the interest of nature?
Affective Component – concern for nature?
Schultz’s (2002) original inclusion of nature in self scale kept it very simple in asking 1 question which asks what diagram fits the person’s relationship with nature best (see below).
Scultz’s measure has been developed upon through an extension of the inclusion of nature in self scale by Kleespies et al. (2021). This extended scale looks to create a version of the scale for people with lowered abstraction and imagination, such as younger people or those in need of support. Additionally, there is another extended scale developed by Martin and Czellar (2016). This scale proposes a 4 item development of the inclusion of nature in self to explore spatial metaphors in relation to self assessment of connection to nature. However, Martin and Czellar’s (2016) scale although may provide a greater validity of results, it is rather complicated and so I think this may put off the general public responding accurately in my event.
Subsequently, due to my unknown customer range at the Herb Event, as it is at a cafe open to the public, I am going to employ the extended inclusion of nature in self scale developed by Kleespies et al. (2021) (see below). This is because the scale includes younger people as well as those that may require assistance in imagination or abstraction, while still catering for the original target audience of the inclusion of nature in self scale. This is an academically rigorous scale which is still simple enough for the public too quickly and accurately respond too.
To create added depth in my feedback, I will also ask three questions before and after interacting with the herbs, each addressing one of the three components outlined in the inclusion of nature in self; to assess the customers connection to nature.
Questions to be asked before and after interaction with herb event (1st google forms):
- Which picture best describes you relationship with the natural environment? How interconnected are you with nature?
- How do you rate your current connection to nature? On a scale 1-10 (1 being little connection)
- How do you rate the strength of your motivations to act in the interest of nature? On a scale 1-10 (1 being little motivation)
- How concerned are you for nature? On a scale 1-10 (1 being little concern)
link to 1st google forms: https://forms.gle/bkRc8U7kJDf8PZgs5
2nd Google Forms
The QR code which links to this forms is included in the cards I will be giving out at the event alongside the herbs. The first 3 questions are aimed at people who take herbs home with them from the event and aim to address the inclusion of nature in self scale by again targeting the 3 components. This google forms can also be completed by people during the event if they are willing to provided added details in their feedback and reflections on their personal connection to nature, as the later questions are more general about the event and their relationship with nature.
The questions include (2nd google forms):
- (If herbs were taken home) How has the continuation of the event through taking the herbs into your daily lives, influenced you connection to nature? eg: are you inspired to grow your own herbs or plants or spend more time in spaces incorporating nature? Please also give your connection to nature a rating out of 1-10 (1 being little connection).
- (If herbs were taken home) How has interacting with the herbs in your daily life impacted your concern for nature? Please also give your concern for nature a rating out of 1-10 (1 being little concern).
- (If herbs were taken home) How has utilising the herbs at home effected your motivations to act in the interest of nature? Please also give your motivations a rating out of 1-10 (1 being little motivation).
- How has interacting with the herbs during the herb event impacted you connection to nature?
- Was it the physical presence of the herbs at the event that you enjoyed or specifically your interaction with them? and why?
- Would you be attracted to visit a hospitality space if they were hosting events to incorporate nature and why?
- What would you like to see from hospitality spaces to bring you closer to nature whilst visiting them?
- Do you feel hospitality spaces make a conscious effort to bring nature to their customers? what examples do you like or dislike of this?
- What attracts you to nature or spaces including nature and why? eg: planting for their health benefits, or natural colours as they are exhilarating
- Which senses are most important to you to emulate an experience with nature, eg: smells, sounds, visuals, touch or tastes? Please give examples
- Are you keen to strengthen your relationship to nature? and why?
- How do you attempt to connect with nature in your daily life?
link to 2nd google forms: https://forms.gle/9tBK7NudHZtTWm3V6
Hand Out Cards
I have designed and then found a printer to create physical copies of these cards to compliment the Herb Event (see below). The cards are designed to accompany taking some of there herbs home whether this be a small plant or a bunch of picked herbs. The cards feature some tips of how to utilise the herbs as well as the QR code to the 2nd google forms.
I am aware that once customers take the cards and herbs home they are possibly less likely to complete the google forms, as there will be no physical presence asking them to do so. However, I hope after interacting with them at the event and also in giving them something for nothing, in letting them take herbs home, that they will provide some useful feedback.
Once the event is completed I will review all feedback gained and look as to how I can build from this in future iterations of the intervention.
Bibliography
Kleespies, M.W., Braun, T., Dierkes, P.W. and Wenzel, V., 2021. “Measuring connection to nature—a illustrated extension of the inclusion of nature in self scale.” Sustainability, 13(4), p.1761.
Martin, C. and Czellar, S. (2016) “The extended inclusion of nature in self scale.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, 47, pp.181-194.
Schultz, P.W., (2002). “Inclusion with nature: The psychology of human-nature relations.” In Psychology of sustainable development (pp. 61-78). Springer, Boston, MA.