Nature Research & reading
There is so much research happening now related to how nature impacts our health. I am often contacted by graduate students working on their thesis or dissertation. This is a link to my dissertation on the restorative benefits of wilderness solitude completed at NC State. The references I cité include many of the people who have had a tremendous impact on my understanding of how nature impacts health including Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, Qing Li, Roger Moore at NCSU, Richard Louv, William Hammitt, Kalivi Korpela and many others.
I have included links below to a number of resources related to research on the health benefits of spending time in nature. You will also find a list of suggested books at the bottom of the page.
​
Recent Articles
The urban brain: Analysing outdoor physical activity with mobile EEG (British Journal of Sport Medicine)
Hiking Makes You Smarter (Backpacker Magazine Article)
The New Science of the Creative Brain on Nature (Outside Magazine)
​
Links
American Society of Landscape Architects (Health Benefits of Nature)
Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs
Center for Biodiversity & Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History
Green Exercise (University of Essex)
International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine
International Union of Forest Research Organizations
Kalevi Korpela (University of Tampere, Finland)
Landscape and Human Health Laboratory
Natural England (Greening Dementia Literature Review 2013)
​
Books (with links)
Forest Bathing: How trees can help you find health and happiness (Qing Li)
Your Guide to Forest Bathing (Amos Clifford)
Ecopsychology (Roszack, Gomes & Kanner)
Ecotherapy (Buzzell & Chalquist)
Your Brain on Nature (Selhub & Logan)
The Nature Fix (Florence Williams)
The Nature Principle (Richard Louv)
The Experience of Nature (Rachel & Stephen Kaplan)
Wilderness and the American Mind (Nash)
Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature (Young, Haas, McGown)
Listening to Nature (Joseph Cornell)
Sharing Nature with Children (Joseph Cornell)
Forests, Trees, and Human Health
Open Space; The Research Centre for Inclusive Access to Outdoor Environments
Restorative Environments Network
The Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard University School of Public Health
Therapeutic Landscapes Network
Wanderforschung (German for Hiking Research)/Dr. Rainer Braemer
Yale University-Griffin Prevention Research Center
​
​