What first drew me towards nature-based wellbeing practices
My interest in nature-based wellbeing practices developed gradually, through observation rather than a single defining moment. While accompanying my children to forest school, I began to notice a consistent shift in how we all felt in woodland environments. We appeared calmer, more grounded, and less hurried. At the time, I didn’t yet have the language to describe this experience, but the change was tangible.
What struck me was that this sense of calm felt different from simply being outdoors. We spent time outside in many ways, yet the woods seemed to have an immediate and distinctive effect. The environment felt soothing almost instantly, prompting a question that stayed with me: what is it about woodland spaces, specifically, that supports this sense of grounding and ease?
This curiosity led me to explore the question more intentionally. I began reading and researching, and eventually undertook Forest School training, initially to better understand how I could support my children in outdoor settings. Although Forest School training is primarily focused on children, the experience itself proved unexpectedly revealing. Being outdoors in an environment that encouraged freedom of movement, curiosity, and an absence of performance or expectation felt both grounding and liberating. It became clear that part of what felt supportive was the permission to simply be, rather than to achieve or perform.
At the same time, my own approach is naturally pragmatic, and I remained cautious about relying solely on personal experience. I wanted to understand whether what I was observing was supported by wider research. It was during this period that I encountered Shinrin-yoku, often translated as forest bathing, a practice that originated in Japan in the 1980s as part of preventive health and wellbeing approaches. Unlike recreational outdoor activity, Shinrin-yoku emphasises slow, mindful immersion in nature through the senses.
A growing body of research supports the relationship between time spent in natural environments and improved wellbeing. Large population studies, including research drawing on the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey and work from the University of Exeter, have found that spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with higher levels of self-reported health and psychological wellbeing. Notably, these benefits appear consistent across age, gender, socioeconomic background, ethnicity, and for people living with long-term health conditions or disabilities. The findings also suggest that the time does not need to be continuous; shorter visits across the week offer similar benefits.
These findings sit alongside several well-established theoretical frameworks. The biophilia hypothesis, popularised by biologist Edward O. Wilson in his 1984 book Biophilia, proposes that humans have an innate tendency to seek connection with the natural world. Earlier, Erich Fromm used the term “biophilia” to describe a love of life and living systems, a concept that Wilson later extended to suggest a biological basis for human affiliation with nature.
Other theories further support this relationship, including Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory, which suggests that natural environments help restore directed attention, and Ulrich’s Stress Reduction Theory, which proposes that exposure to natural settings can reduce physiological stress responses. Research associated with Shinrin-yoku has also explored links with immune function, cardiovascular health, stress regulation, mood, and feelings of awe and connection, offering multiple lenses through which to understand the human–nature relationship.
For me, encountering this body of research helped contextualise what had previously felt intuitive rather than understood. The sense of slowing down, inner calm, and presence I had noticed was not the result of something intangible or “magical”, but rather part of a well-documented interaction between environment, attention, and the nervous system.
This understanding continues to shape my learning and practice. It has reinforced an interest in wellbeing approaches that are gentle, accessible, and rooted in environment and experience, rather than in fixing or striving. Nature, in this sense, is not a solution, but a supportive context — one that invites presence, regulation, and connection in its own quiet way.
Reference note
This post draws on research and frameworks including findings from the Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey, research from the University of Exeter on time spent in nature and wellbeing, the practice of Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), Edward O. Wilson’s Biophilia (1984), Kaplan’s Attention Restoration Theory, and Ulrich’s Stress Reduction Theory.
Woodland environment supporting calm and reflection
From lived experience to evidence-informed practice
