Mentioned in recent newsletters
Chawla L. Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss. People and Nature. 2020;2(3):619-642. doi:10.1002/pan3.10128. In this article Dr. Louise Chawla explores the increasing incidence of environmental anxiety (also known as eco-anxiety) in children. Using an extensive literature review she explores how children cope with knowledge of environmental degradation. She concludes by discussing the importance of learning to cope constructively and in partnership with others. She identifies the characteristics of programming that connects children with nature and supports healthy methods of coping. (This article was mentioned in the August 22, 2023 newsletter.)
Books and Reports
Kaplan, R. and Kaplan, S., The experience of nature: a psychological perspective. Cambridge University Press. 1989; 368 pages. This book by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan leads readers through the psychological research that underlies the Attention Restoration Theory. ISBN 0-521-34139-6 (hard copy) ISBN 0-521-34939-2 (paperback)
Roszak T, Gomes ME, Kanner AD, eds. Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. Sierra Club Books; 1995. 338 pages. ISBN 0-87156-499-8 (Hardcover); 0-87156-406-8 (Paperback)
Louv R. Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-deficit Disorder. Updated and expanded. ed. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; 2008;xii, 390 p. ISBN 9781565126053
Finney, C. Black Faces, White Spaces. University of North Carolina Press. 2014; 194 pages. ISBN: 978-1-4696-1448-9
Wall Kimmerer, R. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions; 2015: 408 pages ISBN: 9781571313560
Williams F. The Nature Fix : Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative. First edition. ed. W.W. Norton & Company; 2017:xii, 280 pages. ISBN 9780393242720, 0393242722
Van den Bosch M, Bird W. Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health. Oxford Textbooks in Public Health. Oxford University Press; 2018:368. ISBN 9780198725916
Reports/Toolkits
Wellness Outdoors
Roszak T, Gomes ME, Kanner AD, eds. Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. Sierra Club Books; 1995. 338 pages. ISBN 0-87156-499-8 (Hardcover); 0-87156-406-8 (Paperback)
Louv R. Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-deficit Disorder. Updated and expanded. ed. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill; 2008;xii, 390 p. ISBN 9781565126053
Finney, C. Black Faces, White Spaces. University of North Carolina Press. 2014; 194 pages. ISBN: 978-1-4696-1448-9
Wall Kimmerer, R. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Milkweed Editions; 2015: 408 pages ISBN: 9781571313560
Williams F. The Nature Fix : Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative. First edition. ed. W.W. Norton & Company; 2017:xii, 280 pages. ISBN 9780393242720, 0393242722
Van den Bosch M, Bird W. Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health. Oxford Textbooks in Public Health. Oxford University Press; 2018:368. ISBN 9780198725916
Reports/Toolkits
Wellness Outdoors
Peer Reviewed Research Papers (in chronological order)
Ulrich, R.S., Visual Landscapes and Psychological Well-Being. Landscape Research, 1979. 4(1): p. 17-23. Five years before he wrote the “view through a window” paper, Roger Ulrich wrote this paper that provided evidence that viewing photographs of nature scenes, but not urban scenes, improved mood and lowered anxiety in stressed.
Ulrich, R.S., View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 1984. 224(4647): p. 420-1. DOI: 10.1126/science.6143402. This is a classic paper in which Roger Ulrich documents that patients who had views of trees from their hospital windows recovered faster and used fewer doses of strong pain medication following gall bladder surgery than did patients who had a view of a brick wall.
Ulrich, R.S., Simons, R.F., Losito, B.D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M.A., and Zelson, M., Stress Recovery during Exposure to Natural and Urban Environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 1991. 11(3): p. 201-230. DOI: 10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80184-7. In this paper, Ulrich and colleagues begin to pull together previous data and develop the rationale for what has become known as the Stress Reduction Theory for the health benefits of views of nature.
Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., de Vries, S., and Frumkin, H., Nature and health. Annu Rev Public Health, 2014. 35: p. 207-28. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182443. This “review of reviews” provides a good introduction to the varied mechanisms by which nature can improve health.
Frumkin, H., Bratman, G.N., Breslow, S.J., Cochran, B., Kahn, P.H., Jr., Lawler, J.J., Levin, P.S., Tandon, P.S., Varanasi, U., Wolf, K.L., et al., Nature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda. Environ Health Perspect, 2017. 125(7): p. 075001. DOI: 10.1289/EHP1663. This perspectives article was the product of a workshop held at the Natural Capital Symposium at Stanford University in 2016. The article summarizes the evidence for the health benefits of nature that was available at that time, then outlines a research agenda for the research that needs to be done to inform policy.
Chawla L. Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss. People and Nature. 2020;2(3):619-642. doi:10.1002/pan3.10128. In this article Dr. Louise Chawla explores the increasing incidence of environmental anxiety (also known as eco-anxiety) in children. Using an extensive literature review she explores how children cope with knowledge of environmental degradation. She concludes by discussing the importance of learning to cope constructively and in partnership with others. She identifies the characteristics of programming that connects children with nature and supports healthy methods of coping. (This article was mentioned in the August 22, 2023 newsletter).
Ulrich, R.S., View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 1984. 224(4647): p. 420-1. DOI: 10.1126/science.6143402. This is a classic paper in which Roger Ulrich documents that patients who had views of trees from their hospital windows recovered faster and used fewer doses of strong pain medication following gall bladder surgery than did patients who had a view of a brick wall.
Ulrich, R.S., Simons, R.F., Losito, B.D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M.A., and Zelson, M., Stress Recovery during Exposure to Natural and Urban Environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 1991. 11(3): p. 201-230. DOI: 10.1016/S0272-4944(05)80184-7. In this paper, Ulrich and colleagues begin to pull together previous data and develop the rationale for what has become known as the Stress Reduction Theory for the health benefits of views of nature.
Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., de Vries, S., and Frumkin, H., Nature and health. Annu Rev Public Health, 2014. 35: p. 207-28. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182443. This “review of reviews” provides a good introduction to the varied mechanisms by which nature can improve health.
Frumkin, H., Bratman, G.N., Breslow, S.J., Cochran, B., Kahn, P.H., Jr., Lawler, J.J., Levin, P.S., Tandon, P.S., Varanasi, U., Wolf, K.L., et al., Nature Contact and Human Health: A Research Agenda. Environ Health Perspect, 2017. 125(7): p. 075001. DOI: 10.1289/EHP1663. This perspectives article was the product of a workshop held at the Natural Capital Symposium at Stanford University in 2016. The article summarizes the evidence for the health benefits of nature that was available at that time, then outlines a research agenda for the research that needs to be done to inform policy.
Chawla L. Childhood nature connection and constructive hope: A review of research on connecting with nature and coping with environmental loss. People and Nature. 2020;2(3):619-642. doi:10.1002/pan3.10128. In this article Dr. Louise Chawla explores the increasing incidence of environmental anxiety (also known as eco-anxiety) in children. Using an extensive literature review she explores how children cope with knowledge of environmental degradation. She concludes by discussing the importance of learning to cope constructively and in partnership with others. She identifies the characteristics of programming that connects children with nature and supports healthy methods of coping. (This article was mentioned in the August 22, 2023 newsletter).