Staff
George Murrell
BSc, MSc
BSc, MSc
George Murrell joined Forest Research in July 2023. Before joining Forest Research, George completed both a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Environmental Psychology at the University of Surrey.
George has interests in how multi-sensory experiences in different environments impact human health and wellbeing and the use of psychological interventions to encourage pro-environmental/pro-nature behaviour change. Related to these research interests, he completed his MSc thesis which explored the links between natural and anthropogenic soundscapes, psychological restoration and intentions to engage in place-protective behaviours, using experimental research methods. George is keen to continue researching how spending time in nature can deliver psychological benefits and how this might affect individuals’ environmental behaviours.
At Forest Research, George is working on a number of projects within the group’s wellbeing and land manager behaviours thematic research areas and has experience in using both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Member – International Association People-Environment Studies (IAPS)
Member – International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP)
This research aimed to outline what would be needed and what the benefits would be in establishing a longitudinal research network of new planting sites with local communities in different locations to monitor the social benefits, attitudes, actions, motivations and barriers associated with this planting over time.
In Brief exploring the experiences of woodland volunteers in Great Britain.
Policymakers across Great Britain want to know how to encourage more people to get involved in volunteering activities such as tree planting, citizen science and community woodland management. This review has investigated the motivations and barriers that are relevant to different groups of people when seeking to engage in volunteering activities connected to trees, woods […]
A secondary analysis of data from an online, UK representative survey, in-depth interviews and photo elicitation was used to investigate the terms people use to describe trees and places with trees, the importance of trees to perceptions of naturalness and nature connection, and whether trees were associated with greater wellbeing.
Gatersleben, B., White, E., Wyles, K.J., Golding, S.E., Murrell, G., Scarles, C., Xu, T., Brockett, B.F.T., Willis, C. (2024). Everyday places to get away – Lessons learned from Covid-19 lockdowns. Landscape and Urban Planning 246, 105026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2024.105026
Xu, S., Murrell, G., Golding, S. E., Brockett, B. F. T., Gatersleben, B., Scarles, C., White, E. V., Willis, C., & Wyles, K. J. (2021). #Springwatch #WildMorningswithChris: Engaging With Nature via Social Media and Wellbeing During the COVID-19 Lockdown. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.701769
Gatersleben, B., Murrell, G., & Geusen, J. (2023). Evaluating the effectiveness of pro-environmental behaviour change interventions: a review of reviews. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781800882133.00010
Murrell, G. & Hall, C. (2025). ‘My motivation kind of grew with the trees’ – experiences of woodland volunteers in Great Britain (In-Brief). Forest Research, Alice Holt. Available at: https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/publications/in-brief-woodland-volunteers/
Beesley, J., Brockett, B., Colley, E., Hall, C., Karlsdóttir, B., Murrell, G. (2025). How do people experience creation of new, local woodlands? (StoryMap). Available at: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/5c713d215e20490cbb959a1d40cb276c
Murrell, G., Hall, C., Karlsdottir, B. (2024). Active engagement with trees, woods and forests: A review of the literature on motivations and barriers to volunteering, community ownership and other types of active woodland engagement (Report). Forest Research, Alice Holt. Available at: https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/publications/active-engagement-with-trees-woods-and-forests-a-review-of-the-literature/
White, E. V., Gatersleben, B., Wyles, K. J., Murrell, G., Golding, S. E., Scarles, C., & Xu, S. (2021). Gardens and wellbeing during the first UK Covid-19 lockdown (Research Report No. 1). Available at: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2021-07/garden-report.pdf
White, E. V., Golding, S. E., Gatersleben, B., Scarles, C., Wyles, K. J., Murrell, G., & Xu, S. (2023). Trees and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic (Research Report No. 2). Available at: https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2024/01/Trees-wellbeing-during-the-Covid-19-pandemic.pdf
