Critical Conversations on the Benefits, Healing, and Inequitable Distribution of Nature Access at Northwest Nature and Health Symposium

Anouk-Belle Janess · The Daily · May 28, 2025

On some level, humans intuitively understand that a connection with nature is healthy for our physical and mental well-being. Yet, the benefits of nature remain inequitably distributed due to historical and ongoing socioeconomic barriers, such as colonialism, systemic racism, and redlining.

The eighth annual Northwest Nature and Health Symposium on May 21 hosted diverse voices and emerging insights on a multitude of topics including environmental justice, greening carceral environments, and land-based healing. The symposium was organized by the UW Center for Nature and Health (CNH), made up of over 400 researchers, policymakers, health care providers, and community organizers who research the benefits of nature to push policy and collaborate with communities to reduce inequities in nature access.

The event began at 9 a.m. with presentations that discussed the neuroscience of nature exposure, increasing outdoor recreation opportunities for youth from low-income families, and Washington State community-academic-government partnerships on environmental and climate justice, respectively.