Where Nature Meets the Mind
Celebrate Earth Day with a Powerful Talk on Nature and Wellbeing
This Earth Day, join an inspiring conversation with Gregory Bratman, PhD—a leading voice in environmental health and co-director of the Center for Nature and Health.
Discussion on Global Mental Health and Climate Change
The 2023-24 Global Mental Health Speakers series is a collaboration between the UW Consortium for Global Mental Health and the Population Health Initiative. Each event is followed by a 30 minute informal reception to build community and connection among the people gathered.
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Interlinkages Between Mental health, Nature and Our Changing Climate
This panel session described the ways in which mental health and the natural world are related. It began with brief framing remarks from the moderator, noting how time spent in nature is a protective factor for mental health, before segueing into two sets of panel discussions that touch on how climate change is affecting our mental 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
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.
Read moreOlder Adult Walking Programs in Urban Park and Indoor Environments – Implementation and Perceived Restorativeness
Green exercise, or exercise performed in a natural environment, has additional health benefits than exercise alone. However, older adults may experience barriers to getting outside including distance from natural spaces. Therefore, urban parks and forests provide older adults with an opportunity to engage in accessible green exercise.
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Finding Respite in the Nature Nearby to Combat Stress
Kiyomi Taguchi · UW News · April 17, 2020
Featuring Kathleen Wolf, Nature and Health Researcher
Taking a walk can make you feel better, but is there scientific research? Yes, says Kathleen Wolf.
Nature Interaction and Human Well-being: A Hypothesized Model of Feeling a Sense of Presence in Nature
Over the last three decades, there has been an increasing and convincing body of evidence for the physical and mental health benefits of interacting with nature. However, there has been surprisingly little focus on how people’s psychological states during a nature experience may influence these benefits.
Read moreHealth and Nature During COVID-19
What does the emergence of COVID-19 mean for the nature and health movement that we’ve been building since 2014? During this March 2020 webinar, four nature and health experts from the Pacific Northwest led an in-depth discussion and Q&A on this topic.
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