About Us

Vision

We envision a world that understands and values the reciprocal relationship between nature and human well-being, and creates equitable engagement with nature and its benefits for future generations.

Mission

We seek to illuminate the connections between nature and human well-being through scientific investigation. We equip students and collaborate with decision makers and communities to inform policies and programs for equitable engagement and sustainable relationships with nature.

Research

While we already understand that even a little contact with nature is beneficial, we still have much to learn. For example, we need to know more about the mechanisms through which nature experiences affect changes in the mind and the body. We also need to understand what aspects of nature have the largest effects and how those effects vary across different individuals and populations. Nature and Health conducts research to better understand these benefits and how to leverage them.

Research Examples

• Greening Research In Tacoma (G.R.I.T.)
• Leveraging Greener Schoolyards For Better Health
• VetHike: Improving Symptoms in Veterans with PTSD

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Collaborate

We are mindful that Western science has excluded and disadvantaged many communities, particularly those from low-income and BIPOC communities. We aim to counter this history by fostering trusting, meaningful, and reciprocative relationships with our communities and partners. To that end, we connect our network of researchers with practitioners, policymakers, and community organizations who can co-design community-led and culturally-responsive studies.

Collaboration Examples

• Working with communities to better understand and reduce inequities in access to nature and to reduce disparities in well-being. 
• Forming the Nature and Health Equity and Racial Justice Task Force which aims to support social scientists and community participants who are working to improve nature access and resilience and forming a research affinity group that is centered on the intersectional realities faced by BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and disabled communities.
• Facilitating interactive multi-day workshops for the BIPOC Collective to build professional relationships between BIPOC researchers while expanding knowledge and skills about how to conduct research through self-reflective practices and collaborative inquiry.

Steer Policy

To create a lasting, nationwide Nature and Health movement, we need programs and policies that are scalable across many different communities. We work with healthcare providers, policymakers, educators, and the communities we serve to translate our findings into programs, practices, and policies that benefit all people and nature. 

Policy Examples

• Speaking at the White House Invest in Nature Summit to underscore the need for young people to engage meaningfully with nature every day.
• Co-developing a guide on practical ways to use nature-based solutions to reduce climate risks, promote health of urban trees and forests, and create additional co-benefits of improved human health and well-being within communities.
• Co-publishing a book on designing and building places that are beneficial to the physical, mental, and emotional health of humans, while also considering the health of the planet. 

Connect

To better understand the needs of our community and to learn about emerging research, we host many different types of community events—ranging from community dinners to symposia. As leaders in the Nature and Health Alliance, we work alongside a collective of experts and community members to advance nature and health policies and practices around the country. By fostering authentic communities of practice at the local, regional, and national levels, we aim to create an enduring nature and health movement that inspires equitable policies and programs around the country.

Event Examples

• Community Dinners
  Our quarterly dinners bring together researchers, educators, healthcare providers, policy makers, and community organizations to learn about the latest nature and health research and to find innovative ways to collaborate.
• Public Talks
  Public engagement is central to informing our work. That’s why we host talks and series that are accessible to the community.
• Symposia
  We recognize that we must amplify access and equity in all that we do. In this spirit, our annual symposia focus on decolonizing data, creating intentional communities of practice, using nature as a buffer against health disparities, and similar topics.

View Upcoming Events     View Past Events

At Nature and Health, we understand that time in nature is paramount to thriving in a world that is increasingly more urbanized, stressed, and disconnected. While there are many facets to this research, the following topics are central to our work. 

Improving Health

Recent and compelling research indicates that access to green space can promote the health and well-being of individuals of all ages. The public health implications of better green space access include increased physical activity, decreased obesity, reduced stress, and improved mental health. Beyond promoting healthy behaviors and outcomes, parks offer opportunities for communities to gather and build stronger connections. Through a community-engagement process, our researchers study the impact of increasing access to a park using a Trust for Public Land (TPL) supported green schoolyard initiative. The study examines measures related to physical health, mental health, academic performance, social/community factors, participatory design effectiveness, and environmental attitudes. Results from the research will inform district officials, parks planners and managers, and healthcare providers and researchers. 

Increasing Access to Nature

In the United States, 74% of people who identify as Asian, Black, Indigenous, or Latinx live in a census tract that is considered nature deprived.¹ To better understand and address these negative trends, our research reveals disparities in who is served by urban park systems, based on maps of current park use and demand for various types of outdoor experiences. We also measure local and regional variability in people’s preference for various natural environments and built attributes of parks. These methods help us identify local and regional gaps in the availability of different types of outdoor opportunities and how they could be filled to create more equitable networks of urban parks.

Boosting Climate Change Resilience  

Urban forests and tree cover play a critical role in reducing the impacts of climate change. They mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the impacts of extreme heat, and help communities access nature. These same forests become more vulnerable in the face of climate change. As climate change intensifies, we must increase urban tree cover to support human health and well-being. To help cities protect and expand their tree cover, our researchers co-published a range of action opportunities that can be incorporated into climate adaptation initiatives. We also give regular talks to highlight the linkages between nature and mental health in the face of climate change to inspire new approaches to healthcare. 

Easing Pandemic Stress 

Many of us have experienced the simple pleasures of nature. Whether it’s taking a daily stroll around the block, listening to birds singing on a crisp morning, or kayaking on a sunny day, the sensorial experiences of nature often leave us feeling calm and reinvigorated. As people took to parks and trails to cope with the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the benefits of green space became more evident than ever. Nature and Health researchers have found that park access was associated with better mental health among children and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. While pandemic restrictions have eased, Nature and Health’s research remains vital to addressing our country’s emergent physical and mental health epidemics.

2014
We began when a small group of UW researchers and members of the broader community got together to talk about how time spent in nature could positively affect health and what the implications of those effects are for urban planning, outdoor programs, school design, and myriad other plans, programs, and policies.

2015
With support from the UW Center for Creative Conservation and the Dean of the College of the Environment, Dean of the School of Public Health, Howie Frumkin and Professor Josh Lawler reconvened the group at a local brewpub, doubling its size. The group met every few months to share research findings, program plans, and policy ideas informally over dinner. It continued to grow to over 160 researchers, educators, health care providers, policymakers, and others—all interested in the ways that time spent in nature can improve health.

2016
As our group gained momentum, we published multiple papers on topics spanning from Indigenous knowledge to renaturing cities.  

2017
In a paper led by Howie Frumkin, the community published an agenda for research to identify potential health benefits of time spent in nature. Guided by the agenda and the needs of the growing community, we embarked on a mission to better understand the relationships between nature and health. We launched our first annual symposium.

2018
We received a foundational grant from REI, allowing us to officially launch Nature and Health at the University of Washington under the newly established EarthLab. The grant allowed us to expand research to better understand nature’s health benefits and the effectiveness of programs and policies designed to take advantage of those benefits. We hired our first Program Manager.

2019
We built and launched our Steering Committee. This transdisciplinary group helps guide the direction of UW Nature & Health, particularly focusing on research.

Our annual all-day symposium explored our common goals and collective strategies related to the human health benefits of contact with nature. Recognizing that we must amplify access and equity in all that we do, our sessions focused on equity in nature through decolonizing data, creating intentional community organizations, using nature as a buffer against health disparities, and understanding nature through history, culture, and therapy. The symposium featured nine speakers and a keynote address.

In a paper led by Gregory Bratman, five UW Nature and Health researchers co-author a framework on how ecosystem service assessments can be expanded to include mental health. This groundbreaking paper provides a conceptual model of how we can conserve nature and integrate it into cities to boost the mental well-being of urbanites. 

2020
Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, our researchers published 19 papers on topics ranging from Indigenous health to connecting children with nature through apps. To continue advancing the community while social distancing requirements were in place, we hosted a series of webinars featuring invited speakers from around the country. By the end of the year, our network had grown to more than 300 people from the Pacific Northwest and beyond. 

2021
Our virtual three-day symposium, with over 100 speakers attracted more than 300 participants from around the world. Nature and Health co-director, Josh Lawler, is featured in Geekwire and Washington Trails magazine. Our research team published 21 new papers—including an evaluation of the Amazon Spheres in Seattle and the effects of hiking on veterans with PTSD. Our network grew to 360 researchers, educators, healthcare providers, policymakers, and community advocates.

2022
The REI Cooperative Action Fund celebrates its first year with a new $2 million investment in 34 nonprofit organizations promoting justice, equity and belonging in the outdoors, including a gift to UW Nature and Health.

This year, we co-hosted our first cohort of summer interns who explored the themes of land-based healing and greening schoolyards. As our in-person programming came back online, we hosted Community Dinners centered on equitable forest recreation and outdoor schools.

Our research team churned out 18 publications covering topics such as loneliness, inequitable access to nature, and wildfire smoke.

Gregory Bratman, a key Steering Committee member and researcher is named as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher. 

2023
With funding from The Mental Insight Foundation and support from our summer interns, we launched the Nature and Health policy initiative. This team developed a set of actions that we can use to start informing policy in Washington and beyond. We learned that building a policy initiative and the capacity to inform policy will take significant effort. Rigorous investigations are necessary into cost-benefit analyses that relate to healthcare cost savings and other metrics that are translatable to policy contexts. By working more closely with policymakers, we hope to create lasting change that affords everyone an equitable opportunity to engage with nature and its benefits.

The REI Cooperative Action Fund committed to supporting our programming from 2023-2025, allowing us to continue hosting community gatherings and strengthening our research network.

Gregory Bratman joins our Core Team as the program’s co-director. Dr. Bratman is also named as a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher for a second year in a row and is invited to speak at the Invest in Nature White House Summit.

2024
After ten years of research, we now better understand the reciprocal relationship between nature and human well-being. To turn our findings into systemic change, we are working more closely with policymakers and decisionmakers to create policies and programs that promote equitable engagement with nature and its benefits. To reflect this expanded focus, our Steering Committee updated our mission and vision.

In May, we hosted the seventh Northwest Nature and Health symposium with seven speakers from around the country and more than 100 attendees.

2025
We published our first strategic plan and formalized the Northwest Nature and Health Coalition—a group of researchers, healthcare providers, community organizers, policymakers, and parks and recreation staff who work at the intersection of nature and health in the Pacific Northwest.