But well before the pandemic began in 2020, our children were suffering. Most of them were not experiencing nature on a regular basis. Most children were already spending around 10 hours each day in front of electronic screens. Depression rates were already on the rise as were rates of obesity, ADHD, myopia and other disorders related to lack of exposure to nature, coined Nature-Deficit Disorder by author Richard Louv. Over the past decade, a growing number of studies have shown that children and adults must experience nature on a regular basis to maintain physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. Thanks to the Park Rx America movement, doctors are now beginning to prescribe time outdoors. We now know the minimum dose of nature for children ages 0 to 17 years old is 60 minutes each day (120 minutes per week for adults). Yet on average, children are getting less than 10 minutes each day outdoors.

Time in nature benefits humans in countless ways, but the emotional and spiritual impacts of nature exposure are powerful and oftentimes profound. Children learn important social emotional skills through seemingly simple nature interactions. We are kinder, gentler, happier, more patient, creative, innovative, and loving, of ourselves and others, when we go outdoors into nature. Interactions with sunlight, ionized energy from the earth, phytoncides plants emit into the forest air, sounds of nature, fractal patterns in nature, exposure to blue zones of water, and other aspects trigger chemical and physical changes in our bodies that boost our immune function and make us feel better. We exercise more when we go into nature and we eat better and sleep better. As little as 10 minutes in a forest can provide health benefits and boost feelings of wellbeing.  And the opportunities to experience awe and wonder abound in nature and are medicine for the soul.

The concept of Nature Therapy is not new. Mindfulness practices centered on nature have been around for thousands of years and were practiced by many early cultures. The Nature and Forest Therapy practice we are highlighting in this project combines ancient concepts with modern science and understanding of how nature supports health and wellbeing. The practice focuses on the concept of Shinrin-Yoku, also known as forest bathing, which originated in Japan in the 1980s during the technology boom. During this time, Japanese companies were developing and producing much of the cutting-edge technologies of the day and this led to chronic stress and anxiety and epidemic suicide rates. The Japanese government intervened and began looking for health prevention strategies and found the nature-based interventions had the biggest impact. Forest bathing was built around ancient mindfulness practices.

Today, forest bathing preserves can be found across Japan and Asia. There, forest bathing is often required by employers. When people visit a forest bathing reserve, they check-in and get their blood pressure taken. After their forest bathing experience, blood pressure is re-checked. There is much data to show these experiences have immediate positive impacts on wellbeing.

Here in the United States, forest bathing has been around for a couple decades on the East and West coasts. The practice has slowly been making its way across the Midwest. In urban centers where there are more opportunities to learn about diverse wellness practices, folks may have heard of or even tried forest bathing. Unfortunately, this practice tends to be inaccessible to lower income folks and those living in rural communities.

As our schools and communities look for ways to help children cope with mental illness, it is important we include nature-based experiences as part of the solution. We can teach kids beginning in Preschool about the healing power of nature and help children develop lifelong relationships with the natural world. And although school forests and outdoor classrooms would be ideal, most sites in our region have access to some elements of nature that can be incorporated into a nature-based therapeutic experience for students.

We imagine a world in the not-so-distant future where every child in Minnesota has access to the outdoors during school and at daycare. In this world, our children do not fear nature; they embrace it. They have opportunities to get dirt under their fingernails and feel the squishy mud between their toes. They get to hear the sounds of the breeze blow through the forest and the waves gently lap along a lakeshore. They feel the sunshine on their skin and smell the sweet, damp earth after a rainstorm. They get to feel the pride of having climbed a tree, caught a fish, built a fort or planted a garden. They know how to find a sense of peace by sitting quietly under a tree or laying in the grass. They know they are but one small being among countless beings of many shapes and sizes in this world and that they have just as much to teach the world as each plant and animals has to teach us. And they know they can always turn to nature for respite and peace; to find a safe space where they are not judged and there are no expectations. 

Project Funders

Learn more about Project Get Outdoors, Inc. at www.mnprojectgo.org .