Coastal Communities, Leisure and Wellbeing: Advancing a Trans-Disciplinary Agenda for Understanding Ocean-Human Relationships in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Commentators are advocating for research to better understand relationships between healthy coastal ecosystems and human wellbeing. Doing so requires inter- and transdisciplinary approaches across humanities, arts, social sciences, and science and technology disciplines. These approaches include culturally diverse knowledge systems, such as indigenous ones, that locate sustainable use of and relationships to marine ecosystems. This paper contributes to this agenda through a case-study of relationships between coastal ecosystems and human wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand. This article highlights interconnected cultural and wellbeing benefits of, and socio-ecological relationships between, these coastal ecosystems drawing on a case study of one ocean-based, ‘immersive’ leisure activity, surfing. Further, it examines how these relationships impact human physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, and the wellbeing of communities and ecosystems. The research illustrates that surfing creates strong bonds between practitioners and coastal places, linking the health of marine environments and people. We demonstrate the value of a transdisciplinary place-based approach that integrates research across the humanities and social sciences and engages with Indigenous knowledge (Mātauranga Māori). This argument for multicultural co-learning shows the value of Western and Māori vantage points for how we understand coastal blue spaces. Indigenous perspectives, we conclude, deepen appreciation, as well as equity considerations, of how we understand place, wellbeing, and long-term sustainable relationships with marine ecosystems.

Ocean Literacy and Surfing: Understanding How Interactions in Coastal Ecosystems Inform Blue Space User’s Awareness of the Ocean

“…When considering social aspects of surfing in terms of health benefits, there is literature concerning the therapeutic benefits of blue space [ 69 , 70 ]; yet surfing studies are relatively novel [ 71 , 72 ]. These results support how surfing might challenge complexities around personal identity and social/cultural norms and in particular, hydrophilic place-based “belonging” narratives [ 73 , 74 ]. This study also supports the argument that there needs to be emphasis on updating and decolonising ocean governance perspectives, while listening to the most marginalised voices within coastal communities [ 75 ].…”

Anthropause appreciation, biophilia, and ecophilosophical contemplations amidst a global pandemic

“…The stronger biophilic draw felt by those with higher frequency of engagement in nature activities in our study may be partly explained by New Zealand's lockdown policies, which did not permit risky nature-based activities like ocean swimming or tramping. Nature deprivation was felt particularly strongly in New Zealand by surfers, who realised the importance of their previously taken-for-granted access to coasts for their wellbeing ( Wheaton et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Increased visits to densely covered trails, forest reserves, and other green spaces were recorded in Norway, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, and Seoul ( Derks, Giessen, & Winkel, 2020 ; Lu, Zhao, Wu, & Lo, 2021 ; Venter, Barton, Figari, & Nowell, 2020 ), and also reported in public surveys in the US and the UK ( Grima et al, 2020 ; Robinson, Brindley, Cameron, MacCarthy, & Jorgensen, 2021 ). Inability to access desired nature venues during lockdowns led to feelings of nature deprivation, which was in turn associated with reduced emotional health and wellbeing ( Tomasso et al, 2021 ; Wheaton, Waiti, Olive, & Kearns, 2021 ) – suggesting signs of unfulfilled biophilia ( Wilson, 1984 , 2017 ).…”

Reconceptualizing Women's Wellbeing During the Pandemic: Sport, Fitness and More-Than-Human Connection

“…Human geographers, environmental humanities scholars and feminist theorists have also been exploring complex understandings of the relationships between humans and the environment, and how relationships with nature (i.e., greenspaces, bluespaces) influence human perceptions of wellbeing (e.g., Walter, 2020;Wheaton et al, 2021), including sport and leisure during the pandemic (see Humberstone, 2021;Wheaton, 2021). Some are also leaning into the ethico-onto-epistemological turn towards posthuman, more-than-human, and new materialisms to rethink sustainability (Alaimo, 2012;Smith, 2019), pollution (Evers, 2021), climate emergency (Neimanis & Walker, 2014) and environmental politics (Alaimo, 2016).…”