The Medical College of Wisconsin is about to conduct a project called Relax and Breathe Easy. Its goal is to determine how being in nature influences our stress levels.
MCW research coordinator Courtney Jankowski says there's evidence that people feel more relaxed, focused and more calm as a result of spending time in nature, but Relax and Breathe Easy is designed to dig deeper.
“[We want to learn] how parks and green spaces in Milwaukee may affect stress levels both physiologically and self-reported stress,” she says.
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers is one of the collaborating community partners.
“We work mostly on the south side and so we jumped on this project because we wanted to have some representation, so we will be going to Kosciuszko... The southern half of the Kinnickinnic River Trail and Pulaski Park,” says sustainability and environment project manager Kelly Moore Brands.
The three other parks are located adjacent to Urban Ecology Centers throughout Milwaukee—Three Bridges Park, Washington and Riverside Parks.
Relax and Breathe Easy follows the model of citizen scientist projects.
“So we’re looking to recruit for a total of 64 participants to collect data collectors and participants from the communities surrounding these parks and involve them in the science and data collection,” says MCW’s Courtney Jankowski.
Easy to use technology will be used to gather air quality data and assess stress.
A device about the size of a pack of chewing gum, called an EmotiBit collects information throughout the participants walk, including heart rate variability and body temperature.
“All of that tells us your psychological stress levels.
Air quality is gathered by a small-purse sized device called an AirBeam that takes measurements every second of the participant’s walk.
“They look like little ghosts, and they collect air quality data in the form of particulate matter. They take three measurements. PM1 would be the smallest and the most dangerous because it not only infiltrates your lungs, but it can get into your bloodstream,” says Amanda Tokuyama. She’s GIS and field data coordinator with Urban Ecology Center, the project's other community partner.
Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers’ Kelly Moore Brands participants will receive $20 for each session.
"We definitely feel that people should be compensated for their time. It's between an hour and an hour and a half that they would be taking out of their day. Although it's literally a walk in the park, learning about how we collect data and why that's important. So we just want to make sure people feel comfortable and are compensated for their time," Brands says.
MCW will analyze and share the results with the goal of making them accessible and meaningful to the community.
“So we plan to get stories from participants and community members on the benefits of their walks. What they liked about their walks and disseminating that information as well,” says Jankowski.
MCW also aims to create web maps that fold in GPS, air quality and stress information all in one place.
“So people have an informed decision about where they should spend their time and maybe which parks they should be going to,” says Jankowski.
MCW also hopes policy makers and city planners use the information, “For future park planning to make parks as advantageous as possible,” Jankowski says.
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