Our team

Dr Samantha Eden (Universities of Bath and Exeter) has recently completed her PhD on caffeine, physical activity and Bipolar Disorder. Participants in her research talked about the importance of engaging in physical activity outside in the natural environment, which led to her interest in the blue spaces project. She carried out all of the interviews with participants in the blue spaces study and contributed to the analysis. She loves to get outside in nature and enjoys engaging in many different actives by or in blue spaces including walking, yoga, paddleboarding and wild swimming. 

Anna Hancox is completing her Psychology BSc at the University of Bath. Whilst on a one-year placement with Prof Wright at the University of Exeter she became involved in the blue spaces project. She has a particular interest in participatory, engaged research and in blue spaces and wellbeing. She has experience of working with people with lived experience of mental health issues and is a big fan of open water swimming and blue spaces for her own mental health. Anna helped with some of the interviews for the study and their analysis, and co-ordinated the development of these webpages. 

Dr Sarah Bell is a Senior Lecturer in Health Geography at the University of Exeter. Her research explores experiences of mental health, wellbeing, disability and social inclusion in and with ‘nature’ in its broadest forms. This includes, for example, parks, gardens, woodlands, coasts, rivers, countryside, weather, seasons and climate change. Sarah’s work is underpinned by a passion for qualitative methodological development, designing sensitive approaches that promote critical awareness of varied ways of embodying, experiencing and interpreting diverse everyday geographies. Sarah loves to be near water (albeit not in it!) and is passionate about broadening inclusive blue space opportunities for everyone.  

Piran White is a professor at the University of York and Co-Lead of the Health and Environment theme within the York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI). He carries out research on the management of ecosystems to enhance biodiversity, sustainability and human health, including a number of projects that focus on the links between nature and human health. He lives near the River Derwent close to York and enjoys all sorts of activities in blue spaces including kayaking, canoeing and surfing. 

Dr Lewis Elliott (University of Exeter) is an environmental psychologist with a background in how to promote nature-based recreation. He works with data from multinational surveys to look at relationships between physical and psychological health, and our contact with different ‘green’ and ‘blue’ spaces. More recently he has been involved in the development of a conceptual framework for research into the relationships between blue spaces and health. 

Lewis is fortunate enough to live by a surfing beach (despite being unable to surf) and spends much of his free time splashing around with his toddler in the waves. 

Sally Parkin’s contribution to the research team is based on her life experience and also her professional life. Sally has had a lifelong love of outdoor water. She started sea swimming and surfing in North Cornwall in 1965 when she was five years old. Over the past few decades she has pioneered a campaign to revive wooden surf riding and promote it as an activity that has fantastic health benefits for all ages and abilities.    

Gordon Johnston is a peer researcher who works with several different UK universities. He has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder and has been a Director of Bipolar Scotland for fourteen years. Gordon works on a variety of research projects aimed at reducing health inequalities for people with mental health conditions. He lives in the village of Clackmannan in central Scotland, three miles from the Clackmannanshire Bridge across the River Forth. 

Fiona Lobban is Professor of Clinical Psychology at Lancaster University and practising clinical psychologist in Lancashire and South Cumbria Foundation Trust. She has extensive experience of developing, evaluating and implementing psychosocial approaches to support people experiencing mental distress and their friends and family networks. She has particular interest in understanding how treatments work, in order to understand what can be helpful, for who, and in what context.   She lives in the Lake District and is just a nicer person when she has been swimming in a Lake….no idea why!  

Dr Jasper Palmier-Claus (Senior Lecturer & Principal Clinical Psychologist) has expertise in participatory research and severe mental illness, and has a track record of research into the link between physical and mental health. He works 50% at a specialist bipolar and psychosis service in the NHS, and 50% conducting research at the Spectrum Centre, Lancaster University. 

Danielle Windget is a PhD student at the University of Exeter conducting research into physical activity, nature, and mental health in people with bipolar or psychosis. She helped with some of the interviews for the project and their analysis. She loves to walk by the sea whilst walking her dog, it allows her to relax and recharge after a busy day.  

Zoe Glossop is a Bsc Psychology student at the University of Bath. She has finished a year-long placement at The Spectrum Centre, during which she got involved with the Blue Spaces project, helping with the interview transcription. As well as working on her degree and placement, she enjoys getting outside in many green and blue spaces. 

Rose Johnston is a current Bsc Psychology Student at the University of Bath who undertook a year-long placement at The Spectrum Centre at Lancaster University. She helped to transcribe the interviews for this project. As a keen open-water swimmer, she is interested in understanding more about the link between blue spaces and our mental health.  

George Seymour is currently 3rd year Engineering student at the University of Exeter. As well as this is a freelance filmmaker and website creator and has been assisting the blue spaces team in creating media to represent the project. He is keen surfer and tries to spend as much time as possible at Polzeath catching waves.