Yolanda Van Heezik
Biographic Data
| ID | 341306 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Yolanda Van Heezik |
| GIVEN NAMES | Yolanda |
| FAMILY NAME | Van Heezik |
| SIGNATURE | VAN HEEZIK Y |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Otago |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0494-5311 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 23 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Overcoming the “fear of density”
The pressure for more affordable housing has resulted in intensification of residential development and biodiversity loss. Using seven medium-density housing developments in three New Zealand cities, we explore the relationship between medium-density and greenspace quality. We also compare the sites pre- and post-development to determine the extent of loss of permeable space. In six developments for which we had pre and post-data, percentage loss…
How to increase nature connectedness? Effectiveness and mechanisms of a gratitude journal intervention
Nature connectedness can promote pro‐environmental behaviour and psychological well‐being, but little is known about how nature connectedness can be strengthened. Interventions that seek to enhance nature connectedness by promoting direct nature contact may be impractical because urban areas often lack opportunities for interactions with nature in the daily lives of people. This study examines the effects of a gratitude journal exercise on nature…
A rapid assessment technique for evaluating biodiversity to support accreditation of residential properties
Nature exposure and use of open spaces in three generation families
Who uses open spaces, when, and why, are critical questions for planning and managing green and blue spaces in urban areas. We argue that use needs to be studied across a range of ages and spaces. We studied the open space use and preferences of 15 three-generation families, interviewing children, parents and grandparents. Members of each family lived close to each other so had access to the same open spaces, enabling identification of generation…
Relationships between childhood experience of nature and green/blue space use, landscape preferences, connection with nature and pro-environmental behavior
Older adults’ domestic green environments
Greenspaces and access to nature are widely accepted as being beneficial to older adult’s health and well-being. Less well known are the natural elements in their domestic outdoor environments that are used and preferred. In this paper, we identify those most preferred by 72 older adults in New Zealand living in family homes, downsized homes and rest homes. Through the use of geographic information system mapping and photos, we assessed how these…
Complexity and flexibility
In a study on urban greenspace use, we conducted one-on-one interviews with children, parents and grandparents living in multi-generational families; there were 15 families and 57 interviewees aged between 6 and 80 years. Although we set out to interview individuals, in practice, it became a fluid zooming in and out between different family members in a dynamic family environment. When preparing for this research, we could find no guidance relate…
Nature–Based Interventions for Improving Health and Wellbeing
Engagement with nature is an important part of many people’s lives, and the health and wellbeing benefits of nature–based activities are becoming increasingly recognised across disciplines from city planning to medicine. Despite this, urbanisation, challenges of modern life and environmental degradation are leading to a reduction in both the quantity and the quality of nature experiences. Nature–based health interventions (NBIs) can facilitate be…
The impacts of ageing on connection to nature
Children, Nature and Cities
That children need nature for health and well-being is widely accepted, but what type of nature? Specifically, what type of nature is not only necessary but realistically available in the complex and rapidly changing worlds that children currently live in? This book examines child-nature definitions through two related concepts: the need for connecting to nature and the processes by which opportunities for such contact can be enhanced. It analyse…
Technological inroads into understanding city children's natural life-worlds
Maps and mapping are integral elements in the methodological toolbox used by children's geographers studying children's environmental relationships. The advent of new technologies, particularly computer-mapping software, offers immense potential for enhancing understanding and representation of children's everyday spatial relationships. Computerised mapping tools appeal to children and offer new and exciting applications where children can direct…
“My garden is an expression of me”
Creating Ecologically Based Land Use and Habitat Maps Quickly and Cheaply to Support Conservation Planning at Local Scales
Effective planning to support and enhance ecological values in sites of conservation interest requires accurate, comprehensive and detailed ecologically based maps and data, not only for the conservation site but for the wider landscape in which such sites are situated. In this paper we present an efficient and low cost method for combining appropriate technologies and available data to produce such maps at a landscape level. This method is descr…
The impacts of ageing on connection to nature
Technological inroads into understanding city children's natural life-worlds
Maps and mapping are integral elements in the methodological toolbox used by children's geographers studying children's environmental relationships. The advent of new technologies, particularly computer-mapping software, offers immense potential for enhancing understanding and representation of children's everyday spatial relationships. Computerised mapping tools appeal to children and offer new and exciting applications where children can direct…
Older adults’ domestic green environments
Greenspaces and access to nature are widely accepted as being beneficial to older adult’s health and well-being. Less well known are the natural elements in their domestic outdoor environments that are used and preferred. In this paper, we identify those most preferred by 72 older adults in New Zealand living in family homes, downsized homes and rest homes. Through the use of geographic information system mapping and photos, we assessed how these…
Complexity and flexibility
In a study on urban greenspace use, we conducted one-on-one interviews with children, parents and grandparents living in multi-generational families; there were 15 families and 57 interviewees aged between 6 and 80 years. Although we set out to interview individuals, in practice, it became a fluid zooming in and out between different family members in a dynamic family environment. When preparing for this research, we could find no guidance relate…
Creating Ecologically Based Land Use and Habitat Maps Quickly and Cheaply to Support Conservation Planning at Local Scales
Effective planning to support and enhance ecological values in sites of conservation interest requires accurate, comprehensive and detailed ecologically based maps and data, not only for the conservation site but for the wider landscape in which such sites are situated. In this paper we present an efficient and low cost method for combining appropriate technologies and available data to produce such maps at a landscape level. This method is descr…
Creating Ecologically Based Land Use and Habitat Maps Quickly and Cheaply to Support Conservation Planning at Local Scales
Effective planning to support and enhance ecological values in sites of conservation interest requires accurate, comprehensive and detailed ecologically based maps and data, not only for the conservation site but for the wider landscape in which such sites are situated. In this paper we present an efficient and low cost method for combining appropriate technologies and available data to produce such maps at a landscape level. This method is descr…
“My garden is an expression of me”
Technological inroads into understanding city children's natural life-worlds
Maps and mapping are integral elements in the methodological toolbox used by children's geographers studying children's environmental relationships. The advent of new technologies, particularly computer-mapping software, offers immense potential for enhancing understanding and representation of children's everyday spatial relationships. Computerised mapping tools appeal to children and offer new and exciting applications where children can direct…
Children, Nature and Cities
That children need nature for health and well-being is widely accepted, but what type of nature? Specifically, what type of nature is not only necessary but realistically available in the complex and rapidly changing worlds that children currently live in? This book examines child-nature definitions through two related concepts: the need for connecting to nature and the processes by which opportunities for such contact can be enhanced. It analyse…
Nature–Based Interventions for Improving Health and Wellbeing
Engagement with nature is an important part of many people’s lives, and the health and wellbeing benefits of nature–based activities are becoming increasingly recognised across disciplines from city planning to medicine. Despite this, urbanisation, challenges of modern life and environmental degradation are leading to a reduction in both the quantity and the quality of nature experiences. Nature–based health interventions (NBIs) can facilitate be…
The impacts of ageing on connection to nature
Relationships between childhood experience of nature and green/blue space use, landscape preferences, connection with nature and pro-environmental behavior
Older adults’ domestic green environments
Greenspaces and access to nature are widely accepted as being beneficial to older adult’s health and well-being. Less well known are the natural elements in their domestic outdoor environments that are used and preferred. In this paper, we identify those most preferred by 72 older adults in New Zealand living in family homes, downsized homes and rest homes. Through the use of geographic information system mapping and photos, we assessed how these…
Complexity and flexibility
In a study on urban greenspace use, we conducted one-on-one interviews with children, parents and grandparents living in multi-generational families; there were 15 families and 57 interviewees aged between 6 and 80 years. Although we set out to interview individuals, in practice, it became a fluid zooming in and out between different family members in a dynamic family environment. When preparing for this research, we could find no guidance relate…
Nature exposure and use of open spaces in three generation families
Who uses open spaces, when, and why, are critical questions for planning and managing green and blue spaces in urban areas. We argue that use needs to be studied across a range of ages and spaces. We studied the open space use and preferences of 15 three-generation families, interviewing children, parents and grandparents. Members of each family lived close to each other so had access to the same open spaces, enabling identification of generation…
A rapid assessment technique for evaluating biodiversity to support accreditation of residential properties
How to increase nature connectedness? Effectiveness and mechanisms of a gratitude journal intervention
Nature connectedness can promote pro‐environmental behaviour and psychological well‐being, but little is known about how nature connectedness can be strengthened. Interventions that seek to enhance nature connectedness by promoting direct nature contact may be impractical because urban areas often lack opportunities for interactions with nature in the daily lives of people. This study examines the effects of a gratitude journal exercise on nature…
Overcoming the “fear of density”
The pressure for more affordable housing has resulted in intensification of residential development and biodiversity loss. Using seven medium-density housing developments in three New Zealand cities, we explore the relationship between medium-density and greenspace quality. We also compare the sites pre- and post-development to determine the extent of loss of permeable space. In six developments for which we had pre and post-data, percentage loss…
Geography (8 works) · Urban Green Space and Health (8 works) · Land Use and Ecosystem Services (5 works) · Psychology (5 works) · Sociology (5 works) · Urban Agriculture and Sustainability (5 works) · Biology (4 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Ecology (4 works) · Political science (4 works)