Dr Carly Wood
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Email
cjwood@essex.ac.uk -
Telephone
+44 (0) 1206 872274
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Location
ESA.3.11, Colchester Campus
Profile
Biography
Carly Wood is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at the 糖心Vlog and Director of the Health, Exercise and Active Lifestyle Research Group in the School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Science. Her research is focused on the links between physical activity, environment, and health; specifically, the role of nature-based interventions such as social and therapeutic horticulture in the prevention and treatment of poor mental health and mental illness. She is particularly interested in how nature-based interventions can be embedded within health systems to ensure access for all. In undertaking her research Carly has collaborated with a range of charitable and public sector organisations including Trust Links, Green Light Trust, The wilderness Foundation, 糖心Vlog County Council and Thrive. She is also a member of the Therapeutic Horticulture Stakeholder Group, established by Natural England to explore how to grow the therapeutic horticulture in the UK. She has received funding from a range of organisations including the UKRI Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health Network developed by researchers at University College London and ARC North Thames. She has also undertaken numerous evaluations of nature-based interventions for public and charitable organisations. .
Qualifications
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Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Practice 糖心Vlog, (2014)
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PhD Sport and Exercise Science 糖心Vlog, (2012)
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BSc Sport and Exercise Science 糖心Vlog, (2009)
Appointments
糖心Vlog
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Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science, School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, 糖心Vlog (1/10/2023 - present)
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Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Science, 糖心Vlog (1/4/2020 - 30/9/2023)
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Postdoctoral Researcher in Sports and Exercise Science, 糖心Vlog (1/9/2010 - 31/8/2015)
Other academic
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Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science, School of Sport, Rehabilitation and Exercise Sciences, 糖心Vlog (1/10/2023 - present)
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Lecturer in Sports and Exercise Science, 糖心Vlog (1/4/2020 - 30/9/2023)
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Lecturer in Sport, Exercise and Nutrition, University of Westminster (1/9/2015 - 31/3/2020)
Research and professional activities
Conferences and presentations
Cultivating Calm: Gardening for Mental Health and Social Connection
Invited presentation, Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine Conference, London, United Kingdom, 7/11/2025
Social and Therapeutic Horticulture for Mental Ill-health: Barriers, effectiveness and recommendations
Invited presentation, Keynote presentation, Trellis Annual Sonference, Perthshire, Scotland, 14/3/2025
The effectiveness of social and therapeutic horticulture for the prevention and treatment of depression and anxiety.
European Conference on Mental Health, Krakow, Poland, 10/9/2024
Presentation and Panel Member
Invited presentation, Integrative and Personalised Medicine Congress, London, 7/6/2024
Barriers in commissioning social and therapeutic horticulture in mental health care
Invited presentation, Propagating Green Therapies in the UK- Joining the dots, Tuppenny Barn, Southbourne, United Kingdom, 9/10/2023
Barriers and facilitators to referral and uptake of community gardening as a green social prescribing activity
International Social Prescribing Network Conference, 11/3/2022
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Professional Skills and Development 1 (SE101)
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Sport and Exercise Psychology (SE104)
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Professional Skills 2 (SE201)
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Health and Active Lifestyle (SE205)
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Research Methods in Sport and Exercise (SE230)
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Research Project (SE309)
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Research Project (SE318)
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Environments Shape Physical Activity: Translating Research into Practice (SE330)
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Further Research Methods in Sport, Exercise and Health (SE738)
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Research Project (SE740)
Current supervision
Publications
Publications (1)
Wood, C., Barton, J. and Smyth, N., (2020). A cross-sectional study of physical activity behaviour and associations with wellbeing during the UK coronavirus lockdown
Journal articles (32)
White, SR., Coughlan, DA., Wood, C., Wells, JET., Murray, A., Brearley, SL. and Moran, J., (2025). . International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching
Wood, C., Morton, G., Rossiter, K., Baumber, B. and Bragg, R., (2024). . BMC Public Health. 24 (1), 1197-
Burrell, MW., Barton, J., Reinhardt, GY. and Wood, C., (2024). . Journal of Health Psychology, 13591053241270410-
Wood, CJ., Barton, J. and Wicks, CL., (2024). Effectiveness of social and therapeutic horticulture for reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 15, 1507354-
Wood, C., Wicks, C. and Barton, J., (2023). . Current Opinion in Psychiatry. 36 (1), 41-46
Wicks, C., Barton, JL., Andrews, L., Orbell, S., Sandercock, G. and Wood, C., (2023). . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20 (6), 5083-5083
Wood, CJ., Barton, J. and Smyth, N., (2022). . Journal of Health Psychology. 27 (6), 1432-1444
Smyth, N., Thorn, L., Wood, C., Hall, D. and Lister, C., (2022). . Healthcare. 10 (6), 978-978
Wood, CJ., Polley, M., Barton, JL. and Wicks, CL., (2022). . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19 (20), 13612-13612
Wood, C., (2022). Editorial: Nature-based social prescriptions for improving health and wellbeing. Frontiers in Psychology. 13, 1095064-
Wood, CJ., Barton, JL. and Wicks, CL., (2022). . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 19 (20), 13166-13166
Kyriakidou, Y., Wood, C., Ferrier, C., Dolci, A. and Elliot, B., (2021). . Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 18 (1), 9-
Wood, C., Griffin, M., Barton, J. and Sandercock, G., (2021). . Frontiers in Public Health. 9, 655892-
Rogerson, M., Wood, C., Pretty, J., Schoenmakers, P., Bloomfield, D. and Barton, J., (2020). . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17 (5), 1526-1526
Wood, CJ. and Smyth, N., (2020). . International Journal of Environmental Health Research. 30 (2), 226-235
Wood, C., Flynn, M., Law, R., Naufahu, J. and Smyth, N., (2020). . Anxiety, Stress and Coping. 33 (6), 716-729
Wood, C. and Fivian, E., (2019). The roles of social media, clean eating and self-esteem in the risk of disordered eating: A pilot study of self-reported healthy eaters. International Journal of Food Nutrition and Public Health. 10 (1), 28-39
Wood, C., Barron, D. and Smyth, N., (2019). . International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 16 (22), 4443-4443
Smyth, N., Flynn, M., Rajcani, J., F Hucklebridge, M., Thorn, L., Wood, C., Golding, J., Evans, P. and Clow, A., (2019). . Psychoneuroendocrinology. 104, 185-190
Griffin, M., Bentley, J., Shanks, J. and Wood, C., (2018). . Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare. 24 (3), 209-215
Wood, CJ., Clow, A., Hucklebridge, F., Law, R. and Smyth, N., (2018). . Anxiety, Stress and Coping. 31 (2), 135-145
Wood, CJ., Pretty, J. and Griffin, M., (2016). . Journal of Public Health. 38 (3), e336-e344
Barton, J., Bragg, R., Pretty, J., Roberts, J. and Wood, C., (2016). The Wilderness Expedition. Journal of Experiential Education. 39 (1), 59-72
Pretty, J., Barton, J., Pervez Bharucha, Z., Bragg, R., Pencheon, D., Wood, C. and Depledge, MH., (2016). . International Journal of Environmental Health Research. 26 (1), 11-36
Wood, C. and Hall, K., (2015). . BMC Research Notes. 8 (1), 12-12
Barton, J., Sandercock, G., Pretty, J. and Wood, C., (2015). . International Journal of Environmental Health Research. 25 (2), 196-206
Wood, C., Sandercock, G. and Barton, J., (2014). . International Journal of Environment and Health. 7 (2), 144-155
Wood, C., Gladwell, V. and Barton, J., (2014). . PLoS ONE. 9 (9), e108701-e108701
Wood, C., Angus, C., Pretty, J., Sandercock, G. and Barton, J., (2013). . International Journal of Environmental Health Research. 23 (4), 311-320
Gladwell, VF., Brown, DK., Wood, C., Sandercock, GR. and Barton, JL., (2013). . Extreme Physiology & Medicine. 2 (1), 3-
Reed, K., Wood, C., Barton, J., Pretty, JN., Cohen, D. and Sandercock, GRH., (2013). . PLoS ONE. 8 (7), e69176-e69176
Reed, KE., Wood, C., Pretty, JN., Cohen, D., Barton, JL. and Sandercock, G., (2013). A Repeated Measures Experiment of Green Exercise to Improve Self-Esteem in UK School Children.. PLoS ONE. 8 (7), 75-92
Books (1)
Barton, JL., Bragg, R., Wood, C. and Pretty, JN., (2016). . Routledge. 9781138807648
Book chapters (9)
Smyth, N., Rossi, E. and Wood, C., (2020). Effectiveness of stress-relieving strategies in regulating patterns of cortisol secretion and promoting brain health. In: International Review of Neurobiology. Elsevier. 219- 246. 9780128167526
Wood, C., Richardson, M. and Barton, J., (2018). Physical Activity in Natural Environments. In: Physical Activity A Multi-disciplinary Introduction. Editors: Draper, N. and Stratton, G., . 1138696625. 9781138696624
Barton, J., Wood, C., Pretty, J. and Rogerson, M., (2016). Green Exercise for Health: A Dose of Nature. In: Green Exercise Linking Nature, Health and Well-Being. Editors: Barton, J., Bragg, R., Wood, C. and Pretty, J., . Routledge. 1138807656. 9781138807655
Roberts, J., Barton, JL. and Wood, C., (2016). . In: Green Exercise Linking Nature, Health and Well-being. Editors: Barton, JL., Bragg, R., Wood, C. and Pretty, JN., . Routledge. 9781138807648
Roberts, J., Barton, J. and Wood, C., (2016). Wilderness and youth at risk: Approaches for positive behaviour change through the outdoors. In: Green Exercise: Linking Nature, Health and Well-being. 125- 138
Barton, JL., Wood, C., Pretty, JN. and Rogerson, M., (2016). . In: Green Exercise Linking Nature, Health and Well-being. Editors: Barton, JL., Bragg, R., Wood, C. and Pretty, JN., . Routledge. 26- 36. 9781138807648
Wood, C., Bragg, R. and Pretty, J., (2016). The benefits of green exercise for children. In: Green Exercise: Linking Nature, Health and Well-being. 46- 52
Pretty, J., Wood, C., Hine, R. and Barton, J., (2013). Nature for Rehabilitating Offenders and Facilitating Therapeutic Outcomes for Youth at Risk. In: Routledge International Handbook of Green Criminology. Routledge. 1317809009. 9781317809005
Wood, C., Barton, J., Colbeck, I., Hine, R., Mourato, S., MacKerron, G. and Pretty, J., (2011). Health Values from Ecosystems. In: UK National Ecosystem Assessment Technical Report
Grants and funding
2024
The effectiveness of social and therapeutic horticulture for the prevention and treatment of depression and anxiety: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
MQ: Transforming Mental Health
Evaluation Thrive App
Thrive
Active travel social prescribing pilot
University of Suffolk
2023
Growing Together Basildon 锟� evaluation of the establishment of a new therapeutic community garden
University College London (Funder)
Wild Wellbeing: An evaluation of 糖心Vlog Wildlife Trust锟絪 programme of mental health support for vulnerable young people.
糖心Vlog Wildlife Trust
PhD Studentship Multiple health benefits of participation in nature-based interventions
糖心Vlog
Wild Wellbeing: An evaluation of 糖心Vlog Wildlife Trust锟絪 programme of mental health support for vulnerable young people.
糖心Vlog Wildlife Trust
2022
Evaluation of Eastlight Community Homes All In programme
Eastlight Community Homes Limited
The benefits of being in nature
Brandnation
2021
What is the feasibility of prescribing community gardening to reduce loneliness and improve wellbeing in individuals with mental health problems?
University College London (Funder)
Tendring Loves Conservation. An evaluation of 糖心Vlog Wildlife Trust's programme of engagement to connect local people to nature
糖心Vlog Wildlife Trust
Grow Care Farming: An evaluation of Natural England's project to build capacity and infrastructure of Care Farming
Social Farms & Gardens
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