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Woodland Wildlife and Wellbeing: What the 10,000-Person BIO-WELL Survey Found About Sounds, Trees and Seasons (UK)

Posted on by Just Relax Store

A walk in the woods is often described as relaxing, but which parts of the experience actually matter? A large UK survey called BIO-WELL, carried out by the University of Kent’s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology with funding from the Woodland Trust, set out to answer that by asking people which woodland sights, sounds and smells lift their mood. The findings were announced in February 2025 by both the Woodland Trust and the University of Kent. This guide summarises what those two announcements say and how to use the findings on an ordinary woodland visit. It is general information about a leisure activity, not medical advice.

What the research did

According to both organisations, more than 10,000 people across the UK were questioned for the study, and 90% of this representative sample said woodland biodiversity had a positive impact on their wellbeing. The Woodland Trust and the University of Kent describe the work as identifying specific mood-lifting traits of woods, such as spotting a squirrel scurrying up a trunk, hearing a robin’s early-morning song, seeing a bird of prey soaring or feeling the crunch of autumn leaves underfoot. Because the results are based on what people reported, they show what people say lifts their mood; the announcements do not describe a trial that measured the effect of woodland visits on health outcomes.

Which senses mattered most

The announcements give a ranking of the kinds of woodland traits that prompted wellbeing responses:

  • Sounds: 40.4%, including birdsong, the scrunch of fallen leaves and trees rustling in the breeze.
  • Natural processes and behaviours: 26.5%, such as spring flowers emerging.
  • Colours: 23.7%.
  • Textures: 7.3%.
  • Smells: 2.1%.

The practical takeaway is that listening comes first. A visit spent stopping to hear birdsong and leaves may be doing more of what respondents said they valued than one spent rushing through with headphones in. For a longer guide to slowing down in woods, see forest bathing for beginners, and for the birdsong side see birdwatching for wellbeing.

Favourite trees and birds

The research also asked which species people enjoyed. The top ten trees named in both announcements, in order, were silver birch, horse chestnut, pedunculate oak, sweet chestnut, aspen, Douglas fir, rowan, beech, larch and sycamore. Among woodland birds, the blue tit had the most wellbeing benefits, with blackbird and chaffinch following closely behind.

Any season, any weather

Both announcements report a surprising finding: seasonal differences were irrelevant to the mental health benefits. The Woodland Trust and the University of Kent draw the conclusion that a walk in the woods is beneficial in any weather and at any time of year, which is best read as encouragement to go out in any season rather than a guarantee for any individual.

Where the good woods are: an inequality finding

The research also mapped where the richest woodlands for wellbeing are. The announcements say the richest woodlands were very unevenly distributed across the UK, with lower wellbeing richness of woodlands in more deprived areas. The majority of wellbeing hotspots were in the South East and parts of Scotland, areas with a higher proportion of woodland, especially ancient and long-established woodland. The University of Kent and the Woodland Trust both cite earlier studies that only 7% of Great Britain’s woods are in good ecological condition. Dr Jessica Fisher of the University of Kent described the regional findings as concerning and said visiting woodland rich in wildlife is a privilege unequally distributed across society.

The Woodland Trust says access to all of its woods is free, and its wider wellbeing guidance says that in 2020 just 16.2% of people had easy access to a wood of at least 2 hectares within 500 metres of their home. That guidance also notes that 13% of people in the UK lack access to a garden. For people without a wood nearby, other nearby green and blue spaces still offer sights and sounds; the canals and rivers study and the guide to houseplants for a calmer home cover other routes.

Frequently asked questions

Does this prove woods treat mental health conditions? No. The announcements describe reported wellbeing responses from a survey of people. They do not describe a treatment, and anyone with persistent low mood should speak to a GP.

Do I need an ancient woodland? No. The research found more wellbeing richness where there is more woodland, especially ancient and long-established woodland, but it describes a pattern across the UK and not a requirement for a visit.

Does it matter what time of year I go? The Woodland Trust and the University of Kent report that seasonal differences were irrelevant to the benefits.

The bottom line

The BIO-WELL survey of more than 10,000 people found that 90% said woodland wildlife boosts their wellbeing, with sounds such as birdsong and rustling leaves the most-reported trigger, and no seasonal difference in the reported benefit. It also found that the richest woodlands for wellbeing are unevenly spread across the UK. Listening slowly in any nearby wood, in any season, is the simplest way to use the findings.

Sources

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