Connect to Nature at UW
This page providing resources for connecting with nature around the UW was created as a collaboration with UW Sustainability, UW Nature & Health, and the UW Sustainability Action Plan’s Engagement working group.
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How Environmental Generational Amnesia Affects Our Mental Health
Robin Tricoles · BrainFacts · July 24, 2023
Interview with Peter Kahn, Nature and Health researcher and Steering Committee member
Most people are familiar with amnesia, the inability to recall events that happen before or after a significant incident, such as a head injury.
Can Virtual Reality Mimic Nature’s Power to Make Us Healthier?
Meghan Bartels · Scientific American · July 14, 2023
Featuring Gregory Bratman, Nature and Health researcher and Steering Committee member
For decades, scientists have been exploring how exposing humans to nature—by planting trees along urban streets, visiting forests or even just growing houseplants—may improve physical and psychological health.
The Salt Lake Tribune: Equitable Access to the Outdoors will Improve Health and Conservation in Utah and Other States
Nalini Nadkarni, a Nature and Health researcher and Nature and Health Alliance member, is featured in The Salt Lake Tribune. In this piece, Nalini highlights how emerging cross-disciplinary collaborations are unlocking new findings in the field of nature and health.
Read moreFrom Labs to the Streets, Experts Work to Defuse Childhood Threats to Mental Health
The Picower Institute · May 18, 2023
Featuring Gregory Bratman, Nature and Health researcher and Steering Committee member
Threats to lifelong mental health can arise for young children from sources including poverty, abuse or neglect at home and racism, inequity and pollution outside their doors, but the hopeful message that a range of experts brought to MIT May 11 was that amid these many risks, approaches to provide effective protections and remedies are numerous and growing.
Environmental and Social Determinants of Child Mental Health
Threats to lifelong mental health can arise for young children from sources including poverty, abuse or neglect, racism, inequity, and pollution. On May 11, 15 neuroscientists, physicians, psychologists, public health researchers, and advocates came together to discuss new research and solutions to children’s mental health challenges during a daylong “Environmental and Social Determinants of Child Mental Health,” symposium hosted by MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and The JPB Foundation.
Read more at MIT News
Taming the Anxious Brain with Nature in Mind
Interest in the new frontier of nature-informed mental health has amplified in recent years. Nature-informed (psycho)therapy explores nature-based methods of psychological healing, grounded in the belief that the natural world has profound mental health benefits, especially for anxiety and stress related challenges.
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Gregory Bratman Speaks at the 2023 Invest in Nature White House Summit
Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden-Harris Administration is taking aggressive action to conserve and restore nature, provide communities the tools they need to be resilient, and tackle the climate crisis.
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2023 Nature and Health Symposium: Healing Connections
On April 21-22, 2023, community members were invited to gather for the Healing Connections: Nature and Wellness Symposium and Community Day to celebrate Earth Day. The symposium was held at the Pagoda in Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, WA.
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BIPOC Research Collective at Nature and Health: Actions for Restoration, Sustainability and Health
Story by Allie Long
The traditional depiction of nature in research—as well as in US History, literature, art and most academic inquiries—is largely conceptualized to fit white-dominant narratives. More often than not, this comes at the direct expense and erasure of other cultures and experiences.