Mental health and connecting to nature
This page shows some links to evidence about Mental Health and connecting to nature.
Nature for all is a global partnership to inspire a love for nature. Their publication Connecting with Nature to Care for Ourselves and the Earth: Reccomendations for Decision Makers has a good reference list.
Frumkin, Howard, et al. "Nature contact and human health: A research agenda." Environmental health perspectives 125.7 (2017): 075001. Tabulates evidence based health benefits of nature contact.
Much of this work is about ‘contact’ with nature. When you ecoconnect you may never actually contact your species. Often human ‘contact’ can be a problem for species. Being an ecoconnected ‘friend’ of a species may still deliver mental health benefits without actual ‘contact’ [I do not have this evidence yet]. Playing QuestaGame helps you get outdoors and observe. This can add to field trips by naming and storing species observations (photographs) without disturbance.
Make friends with a species, get ecoconnected, be happy :-)
This page is not professional mental health advice. Please see a mental health professional if you are currently experiencing symptoms.
“To explore and affiliate with life is a deep and complicated process in mental development. To an extent still undervalued in philosophy and religion, our existence depends on this propensity, our spirit is woven from it hope rises on its currents.”