LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Research participants are celebrating the cleanup of the Oak Street Alley project.
It was organized to not only make the neighborhood cleaner, but to study whether a clean environment improves the mental well-being of those who live there.
Participants took part in an 18-month-long project between the University of Louisville's Center for Healthy Air Water and Soil and an organization called Beargrass Thunder.
It's the end of an ongoing study to make neighborhoods cleaner and trash free to improve everybody's spirit.
"Picking up trash installing native gardens, making the area more approachable and more welcoming for the people who live here," Lauren Anderson, a research manager at UofL, said.
Participants have taken part in this project since last summer. Last year, 61% of the respondents said they spent about 30 minutes in the alley picking up trash and said they felt useful.
U of L researchers said there is a strong connection between green space and health.
"We did a pre- and post-survey to check on mental distress and mental well-being of the people that live up and down the alleyway," Anderson said.
All hands were on deck doing everything they could to make the area more inviting.
"Some of them installed new fences, some of them cut doors into their fences so that they could come out here," Mariah Corso, co-owner of Beargrass Thunder, said.
Researchers found through a post-survey that making the area more approachable and aesthetically pleasing does improve the well-being of others.
"The small amount that we had come in have shown that there has been a slight uptick in well-being and we're hoping there will be more participants to do the study," Anderson said.
It's also leading to more motivated residents to get outside to improve their mental health.
"It's interesting to do follow-up surveys, when its possible, to see if there are additional gains after that first initial year," Anderson said.
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