The relationship between students' perceptions of the University of Pretoria's on-campus green spaces and attention restoration

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that natural green areas provide several psychological benets to individuals. One such benet is the restoration of attention capacities, an advantage that is of particular importance to university students. The present study, therefore, aimed to determine where students spend their free time on campus at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, how they perceive their on-campus green spaces and the extent to which they found these spaces restorative. Participants responded to a threepart questionnaire, investigating demographic characteristics, green space usage, and the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS). Statistical analyses were conducted to determine which of the green spaces contributed most signicantly to overall PRS scores. All green areas made signicant contributions, but the campus's botanical garden was the greatest contributor to PRS. The ndings of this study serve to encourage tertiary institutions to protect their green spaces, as the psychological well-being and attention restoration of students are affected by it.