Ellie Tsiamis

Thesis Title

Urban Nature for Young Minds: The Impact of Green Spaces for Child Mental Health

Description of Research Project

Children and adolescents are spending less time outdoors at a time when urbanisation, climate change, and biodiversity loss are reducing access to natural spaces and eroding their restorative potential, while mental health problems in young people are increasing in parallel. Regular contact with nature and green spaces has been shown to improve stress, attention, and mood, yet little is known about the specific qualities and features of natural spaces that confer the greatest mental health benefits.

This research investigates how nature contact and access support child and adolescent mental health in urban Australia. Ellie’s work focuses on identifying and mapping the specific qualities and features of natural spaces most strongly associated with mental health outcomes. Her research also aims to develop consensus-based guidelines on nature prescribing for children and adolescents experiencing mental health problems in a changing and increasingly degraded environment.

Supervisors

Principal Supervisor:  A/Prof Laura Hart

Co-Supervisor: A/Prof Amy Hahs and A/Prof Rebecca Patrick

Biography

Ellie Tsiamis is an early career researcher at the Centre for Health Equity and the Centre for Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.  She holds a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Hons) and a Graduate Certificate in Health Services Management. Ellie has a diverse background in public health and mental health research across multiple institutions, and experience in youth mental health service management at headspace National.

Her research interests sit at the intersection of child and youth mental health, environmental determinants of health, and nature connection and access.

Funding/Scholarships

NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarship

ORCID ID:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8006-7958

Links to socials or other relevant URLs

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/ellie-tsiamis-163332133