Over the years, researchers have started to pay more attention to ethnic minority people’s experiences of physical activity, but not much to their engagement and relationship with natural green spaces (NGS) – the focus of my research as a PhD student at Leeds Trinity University.

We know that spending time outdoors is good for our wellbeing and our spirituality too. Previous research has highlighted many different reasons as to why people choose to visit NGS, including socialising with others, sightseeing, completing challenges such as mountaineering, hiking and rock climbing (Wood et al., 2016). Yet, NGS are disproportionately used, with members of ethnic minority groups continuing to be underrepresented (Butler, 2019). We already know this, but it’s a cause for concern given some of the health issues faced by the South Asian population, including high levels of obesity and diabetes (Bhatnagar et al. 2016).

My recent Masters by Research study (MRes) explored the ways that 20 South Asian people understand and engage with NGS. The aim was to understand what else can be done to enable engagement. I interviewed these 20 people to find out more about their experiences. After speaking to the participants, three major themes became clear: the ways that South Asian people understand NGS; their experiences of their local NGS and their experiences of rural NGS.

People also use spaces for different reasons, including physical health benefits, to alleviate stress, spend time with friends and family, to be alone, and to appreciate the beauty that NGS have to offer. Regarding the challenges in local spaces, dogs and anti-social behaviour acted as a deterrent in visiting parks.

In rural NGS, issues around time and transport emerged, alongside the significance of ethnicity. It is important to note that there were differences of opinions amongst all these themes. Overall, I found that researchers and policy makers need to take a broader approach to how they define NGS, as people have different understandings and interpretations of what these spaces are, from gardens and local parks to beaches, national parks and mountainous areas.

I decided to undertake a PhD to establish and elaborate more on South Asian people’s experiences of NGS. In particular, I wanted to research South Asian Muslim women’s experiences of NGS, to understand more about the challenges they have faced when out in public.

In my MRes, I found some South Asian Muslim women faced challenges due to their multiple identity markers. For example, South Asian Muslim women were acutely aware of how their identities marked them out as different and ‘other’ in these spaces. These experiences influenced where they felt comfortable visiting and who they would go with.

I also want to explore this further in relation to how space can become demarcated with the construction of social hierarchies. So, I will aim to connect with people holding similar identity markers for my study.

The PhD Studentship programme at Leeds Trinity University has allowed me to develop my research further and to ultimately understand how to improve South Asian Muslim women’s experiences of NGS.

If any South Asian Muslim women would like to participate in my study, please contact me via email.

Hamza Mohammed is part of the PhD Studentship Programme at Leeds Trinity University, which means his PhD is fully funded by the University. Find out more about research on our website.