As people have fewer chances to experience nature in increasingly concreted cities, a subsequent loss of biophilic attitudes is of great concern for environmental conservation (Soga et al. 2016, 2020). Gardening, as one of the most common ways people can experience nature even in cities, offers an opportunity for re-connecting urban people with biodiversity (Lin et al. 2018). To our knowledge, our study is the first to show that frequent gardeners are more biophilic and generally less biophobic towards invertebrates. Whilst in this study we cannot disregard the possibility that people garden because they are biophilic, our results confirm that gardening as a practise is indeed associated with positive attitudes towards invertebrates and thus has potential to rekindle positive associations between people and the natural world.
The importance of gardening and urban nature
The perception of invertebrates as beneficial, but not as pests, was more common amongst frequent gardeners but not necessarily in respondents who otherwise frequently spent time in nature. As gardeners are faced with the challenges and opportunities presented by herbivorous invertebrates (e.g. damaging crops) as well as the beneficial ecosystem services provided by predatory and pollinating invertebrates, frequent gardeners are likely to learn the ecological roles of particular invertebrates through direct experience. Additionally, gardeners may be initially motivated to garden for reasons that are not directly linked to a love of biodiversity, such as growing food that is culturally appropriate, less costly than buying or no/low chemical input, and for leisure, aesthetics and/or therapeutic ends (Sonti and Svendsen 2018). Hence gardening as a pathway to biophilia combines the benefits of (1) contact with invertebrates simply through being outside amongst them (Soga et al. 2019), (2) directly experiencing a functional understanding of their ecological role in relationship with ornamental/food crops grown in gardens (Lin et al. 2018), and (3) introducing people who wouldn’t otherwise intentionally spend time in nature to a new way to do so. Our findings hence support recommendations to increase gardening programs, gardening education, and equitable access to gardening space to address the ‘opportunity’ (access) and ‘orientation’ (motivation) issues associated with the extinction of experience, and consequently improve biophilic attitudes overall (Lin et al. 2018).
That time spent in natural greenspaces improves biophilia and reduces biophobia is well supported in the literature (Schlegel et al. 2015; Soga et al. 2016, 2020). However, despite experience in nearby nature being associated with greater biophilia and decreased biophobia, experience in wild nature had little to no influence on the measured variables in our study. Whist it may be surprising that not all outdoor nature experiences are predictive of biophilia, our findings affirm the growing appreciation of urban greenspaces as important for nature connectedness in an increasingly urban population (Soga and Gaston 2016).
The idea that ‘wild’ nature ‘out there’ is the only nature worth perceiving as natural has been debated for generations (Cronon 1996; Nash 1967). With the caveat that even the most remote of natural areas have been managed by Indigenous peoples for generations (Kimmerer and Lake 2001; Pascoe 2018), such ‘wild’ nature is not always accessible or sustainable to get to for urban dwellers. For those who live in cities it can be a privilege to be able to visit a national park, requiring physical ability, time, transport, and finances (Weber and Sultana 2013). Unsurprisingly then, those who live closer to national parks are more likely to visit then those who live further away (Weber and Sultana 2013). Indeed, in our study, we found that respondents were twice as likely to garden and/or visit nearby nature spaces then they were to visit national/state parks.
This is consistent with work from New Zealand, where children were significantly more likely to spend time in their immediate home gardens, despite biodiverse greenspace availability in their neighbourhood, likely due to reasons of perceived safety (Hand et al. 2017). Whilst the conservation value of national parks is irreplaceable, our results are promising in that they confirm that nearby nature experiences can contribute to improving biophilic and reducing biophobic attitudes. By bringing “nature to people, rather than people to nature” we may contribute to minimizing inequitable impacts of the extinction of experience for people in cities (Lin et al. 2018).
Urban landscape design plays a significant role in the extinction of experience (Colléony et al. 2017). Models of ‘land-sharing’ (extensive development over a large area, hence greater ‘sharing’ of greenspace between humans and wildlife) as opposed to ‘land-sparing’ (intensive development within a small area) can contribute to reducing the extinction of experience by fostering incidental interactions with invertebrates (Soga et al. 2015). Whilst land sparing in a dense city has been shown to promote greater beetle diversity (Soga et al. 2014), the interconnected matrix of greenspaces in cities such as gardens, verges, rooftops, parks, sporting fields, cemeteries and schools, can also act as ‘refuges’ for insect biodiversity (Hall et al. 2017). Hence designing and increasing public urban spaces for insect biodiversity is important not only to conserve said biodiversity directly, but also to enable access to those who spend time only in ‘nearby (urban) nature’ (Soga et al. 2015). However, as affluent areas have public and private greenspaces of greater and better quality, access to nearby nature, and hence the potential for incidental invertebrate interactions, is marked by socio-economic injustice (Rigolon 2017; Shanahan et al. 2014). Under these circumstances, residents of low-income urban neighbourhoods may be at greater risk of developing biophobic attitudes as caused by the extinction of experience (Rigolon 2017). Addressing this inequity involves providing more high- quality parks and even public spaces to grow food, such as community and allotment gardens. In doing so, people may access the wellbeing benefits of gardening (Soga et al. 2017a, b), whilst developing biophilic attitudes in those who may otherwise be at greater risk of feeling disconnected from nature.
The role of other personal factors
Our study supports findings that younger adults are generally more biophobic than older adults, at least for metrics of fear and disgust (Bjerke and Østdahl 2004; Hosaka et al. 2017). This pattern may be explained by older generations having spent more time in nature as children and is consistent with the extinction of experience hypothesis (Hughes et al. 2019; Soga and Gaston 2016).
Liking and disliking invertebrates was not associated with gender in our study. Rather, it was outdoor experiences and identification ability that explained peoples’ perceptions of invertebrates. However, males were less fearful and disgusted by invertebrates; a finding supported in the wider literature (Hosaka et al. 2017; Schlegel et al. 2015; Schlegel and Rupf 2010). The cumulative impacts from childhood of gendered socialization whereby males are expected to be ‘unafraid’, and females to be ‘disgusted’ by invertebrates may contribute to explaining this pattern and is consistent across many cultures (Davey et al. 1998).
Our finding that invertebrate identification knowledge was predictive of biophilia is consistent with most studies in this area (Schlegel et al. 2015; Schlegel and Rupf 2010; Soga et al. 2020; Zhang et al. 2014). However, despite a generally negative correlation between biophobia and identification knowledge in the literature, we found no such significant associations (Schlegel et al. 2015; Schlegel and Rupf 2010; Soga et al. 2020; Zhang et al. 2014).
Perceptions of invertebrates as beneficial/pests are metrics that combine emotions towards them, with an understanding of their ecological functioning. With the caveat that all invertebrates are somehow involved in the ecological food web, the invertebrate images chosen were equally balanced for generally ‘useful’ and ‘damaging’ species from the perspective of crop production. We found that people with greater identification knowledge were more likely to perceive invertebrates as beneficial. They were also more likely to perceive invertebrates as pests. Hence considering beneficial/pest insects from an integrated pest management approach were equalised, these findings emphasise that the ability to identify the invertebrate in question will influence either the ‘emotion’, perceived ‘usefulness’ or a combination. This is particularly relevant for gardeners who may react to known herbivore species (e.g. aphids) that eat their crops, as well as known predatory species (e.g. wasps) that control these populations. However, although we measured knowledge as invertebrate identification ability, this is but one metric which does not take into account culinary, cultural and ecological knowledge of invertebrates, which have been found to be important to describing peoples’ relationship with invertebrates (Costa-Neto and Dunkel 2016).
Attitudes towards different invertebrate species
Not only knowledge, but the ease of recognisability, direct childhood experiences, how invertebrates are approached in school curricula, and cultural associations all play important roles in people’s invertebrate preferences (Prokop and Tunnicliffe 2010). The predatory 7-spotted lady beetle as the most liked invertebrate in our study is consistent with the cultural positivity held for ladybeetles in Japan (Katayama and Baba 2020). The ladybeetle pictured is a common, charismatic species which is easily recognisable from its bright red spotted figure (Fig. 1). The Japanese primary school curriculum includes ladybeetles as model species to explain the beneficial role of predatory insects (Iwama et al. 2008). This role makes them useful to gardeners as they feed on the herbivorous invertebrates who may damage crops. Hence although we did not test this directly, it is likely that the combination of direct contact and benefit in the garden, charismatic recognisability, childhood education, and cultural associations all contributed to the ladybeetle emerging as a favourite.
That the (adult) cabbage butterfly was the second most liked invertebrate is consistent with studies finding that butterflies are favourited invertebrates for their aesthetic appeal (Schlegel et al. 2015; Shipley and Bixler 2017). Such perceptions contribute to disproportionate representation of butterflies and moths in invertebrate conservation and education, leaving less charismatic, less ‘likeable’ invertebrates off conservation lists and policy agendas (Berenbaum 2008). In a gardening context, larval cabbage butterflies are a common herbivore of brassicas such as broccoli, but adults are beneficial pollinators as adults. Despite this, they did not rank highly as either beneficial or pest species. More influential perhaps is that cabbage butterflies are commonly seen and associated with the start of spring in Japan. Furthermore, primary school students learn about cabbage butterflies as model species for insect morphology and lifecycles (Iwama et al. 2008). Cabbage butterflies thus hold aesthetic and cultural significance, recognisability, introduction from an early age, and a high likelihood for regular direct experience; all factors which contribute to greater biophilia.
Socio-cultural norms also likely played a role in stink bugs ranking highly in terms of dislike and disgust, despite not being particularly feared. Throughout Japan, an abundance of stink bugs will find their way into people’s homes each autumn, searching for an overwintering site. As their name suggests, stink bugs release a ‘foul odour’ as a defence mechanism (Waterhouse et al. 1961). The combination of ‘stink’ and ‘plague-like’ bouts of large numbers in the home likely bring up senses of invasion of private space, ideal conditions for high levels of disgust and dislike, similar to other domestic pests such as cockroaches (Wagler and Wagler 2021). Slugs and aphids reproduce in similar bouts, suddenly appearing in large numbers in the garden, and also ranked highly in terms of disgust. When designing environmental education programs related to invertebrates, it is important to acknowledge these innate socio-ecological-cultural associations, and find creative ways to shift them through positive experiences (Wagler and Wagler 2013).
Attitudes towards Hymenopteran insects (i.e. bees and wasps) and their mimics (i.e. hoverflies) were a mix of both love and fear as expected from the literature (Sumner et al. 2018). The bees and hoverfly were greatly liked, but bees, hoverflies and wasps were also highly feared likely due to fear of stings (Cho and Lee 2017; Schlegel et al. 2015; Sumner et al. 2018). Although hoverflies are harmless, they are often mistaken for bees due to their similar colouration (pers. comms). Honeybees are often loved for their association with honey, and appreciation for their vital pollinating roles are increasing in the eyes of the public (Sumner et al. 2018). Hence the high ranking of hoverflies may be that people recognise and appreciate them intrinsically, or more likely, due to their being mistaken for honeybees (see SI data Table 3; Silva and Minor 2017). Whilst more people are recognising the importance of honeybees (Sumner et al. 2018), the role of solitary bees, wasps and flies as vital pollinators remains underestimated (Smith and Saunders 2016). Opportunities for direct interaction and education on their ecological roles could help with combatting fears of stings, and in turn help to grow biophilic attitudes towards these pollinators (Cho and Lee 2017). As insect pollination is critical for many fruits and vegetables grown in home gardens, direct experiences through gardening may increase the likelihood of appreciating pollinators in particular and is worth pursuing in intervention studies.
Limitations and future directions
Evidently, the six measures of biophilia and biophobia we used are likely to be interrelated in multiple ways. An individual’s levels of like towards invertebrates, for example, is likely to be negatively associated with those of dislike and disgust. Fear and danger are also likely to be closely related, as the latter might be, at least partly, the driver of the former. It should be noted, however, that measures of biophilia and those of biophobia are not always negatively related. Indeed, positive attitudes towards wildlife can exist even for feared animals such as bears (Kaczensky et al. 2004). Further studies focusing on diverse animal species are needed to fully understand how biophilia and biophobia are related.
In our study we found significant associations between gardening, nearby nature and biophilia/biophobia, however we cannot determine direction or causality from our approach. A logical extension of our research would be to measure whether gardening experiential interventions can in fact shift biophilic/biophobic attitudes in adults. Furthermore, we did not examine how the quality of gardening activities and nature experiences influences biophilia and biophobia. Evidently, the quality, as well as the quantity, of an individual’s experiences varies substantially among people, and this can affect their attitudes towards invertebrates. It would therefore be beneficial to determine the relative importance of quantity and quality of gardening and nature experiences, as well as their interactions, in shaping people’s biophilia and biophobia. Including a direct measure of orientation towards nature (i.e. nature connectedness) would also help disentangle whether gardening acts to increase orientation and/or access to nature.
As our study included potential bias through respondents’ self-reported perceptions of invertebrates and frequency of nature experiences, further studies using more objective measures may deepen our understandings. Our recruitment protocol was biased towards social media users interested in sustainability, hence expanding our research with different populations may prove valuable. Expanding our survey to include countries other than Japan may also prove interesting to assess the cultural and contextual differences on the role of gardening and biophilia/biophobia.