GreenTouch: EcoMind Development for Higher Education Future
(2024-2027)
Description
Research shows that ecological thinking and nature‐based recreation significantly impact higher education students’ mental health and well‐being. Specifically, spending time in nature and engaging in related activities have been found to reduce stress, improve concentration, and enhance overall quality of life. However, in recent years, there has been a noticeable disconnection from nature among higher education students, which could adversely affect their mental health and well‐being, potentially leading to psychological disorders and emotional distress. Therefore, it is imperative to actively seek solutions to integrate natural and ecological thinking into the study process.
This co‐funded project by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union is a collaborative partnership between the Cyprus University of Technology in Cyprus, the Forest Therapy Hub in Portugal, Riga Stradiņš University in Latvia, and the University of Maribor in Slovenia. The initiative aims to build digital and green capabilities for promoting interconnected higher education systems.
These efforts include developing and incorporating innovative EcoMind‐based solutions to address the mental well‐being of higher education students and increase their awareness of sustainability. The GreenTouch digital tool and the EcoMind practice e‐course will be developed and tested with the involvement of more than 2000 higher education students, academic and non‐academic staff, and other stakeholders.
CUT and the BSiH lab is contributing to the co-creation of the digital tool and e-course and leading the research aspects of the project including the quantitative and qualitative data analyses.
Publications
Dissemination of knowledge at scientific forums
Ozola, A., & Mārtinsone, K. Psychometric properties of the Nature-Based Self-Care Strategies Questionnaire. Oral presentation at the 83rd International Scientific Conference of the University of Latvia in February 2025.
Ozola, A., Svence, G, Griškēviča, I., & Mārtinsone, K. Nature relatedness, self-rated health and wellbeing among university students. Poster presentation at the Riga Stradiņš University Research Week conference “Society. Health. Welfare” in March 2025.
Kassianos, A. (2025, April 9–10). Insights from university students and staff on nature connectedness in four European countries [Congress presentation]. III Global Summit of Science, Nature and Health, Online.
Ozola, A., & Mārtinsone, K. Adaptation and validation of the short version of the Nature Relatedness Scale (NR-6) in Latvian. Oral presentation at the 67th International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University in April 2025.
Ozola, A., & Mārtinsone, K. GreenTouch: Towards a nature-based digital application. Oral presentation at the 3rd International Conference on Digital Mental Health and Well-being in Granada, Spain, in May 2025.
Ozola, A. & Mārtinsone, K. Nature-based self-care strategies: Measuring attitude-behaviour gaps. Oral presentation within the symposium “Nature-based psychological approaches for mental health and well-being” at the European Congress of Psychology in Paphos, Cyprus, in July 2025.
Koutsantoni, M., Dreimane, I., Ferraro, R., Gesse, A., Griškēviča, I., Henne, S., Juárez, S., Kožuh, I., Lovrenčič Držanič, I., Močnik, D., Ozola, A., Panayiotou, E., Renzi, M., Svence, G., Kassianos, A., Mārtinsone, K. GreenTouch Erasmus+ project: Insights and findings from the in‐depth needs analysis study. Oral presentation within the symposium “Nature-based psychological approaches for mental health and well-being” at the European Congress of Psychology in Paphos, Cyprus, in July 2025.
Ozola, A., Koutsantoni, M., Kassianos, A., Dreimane, I., Ferraro, R., Gesse, A., Griškēviča, I., Henne, S., Juárez, S., Kožuh, I., Lovrenčič Držanič, I., Močnik, D., Panayiotou, E., Renzi, M., Svence, G., Mārtinsone, K. Nature relatedness and well-being: A mediation study among university students. Oral presentation at the 39th International Scientific Conference of the European Health Psychology Society in Groningen, the Netherlands, in August 2025.
Publications (submitted or published)
Koutsantoni, M. (2025). GreenTouch Erasmus+ project: Insights and findings from the in-depth needs analysis study. Abstracts of the 19th European Congress of Psychology, European Journal of Psychology Open, 84(1), 247. https://doi.org/10.1024/2673-8627/a000085
Ozola, A., & Mārtinsone, K. Adaptation and validation of the short version of the Nature Relatedness Scale (NR-6) in Latvian. Proceedings of the 67th International Scientific Conference of the Daugavpils University. A full-text manuscript submitted.
Ozola, A., Svence, G., Griškēviča, I., & Mārtinsone, K. Nature relatedness and mental well-being among university students. SHS Web of Conferences. A full-text manuscript submitted.
Matko Ficko, M., Kosar, T., Pliberšek, T., Močnik, D., Lovrenčič Držanič, I., & Kožuh, I. (2025). The GreenTouch digital tool web development planning: Comparative analysis of mental healthfocused web solutions. In Proceedings of the 2025 24th International Symposium INFOTEHJAHORINA (INFOTEH), March 19–21, 2025, Jahorina, East Sarajevo, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina (pp. 1–6). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/INFOTEH64129.2025.10959214
Team Members
Partners
Funder
Funded by the European Union (Erasmus+). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them [Project Number: 2023-1-LV01-KA220-HED-000154847]
