The breadth and depth of horticultural therapy is impressive. Horticultural therapy interventions are increasingly being utilized as supportive and holistic approaches within other therapeutic disciplines to achieve rehabilitative, intellectual, psychosocial, and vocational goals. The objectives of any intervention, of course, is to reach therapeutic goals and to improve overall health and wellness. Through specific actions and insight, horticultural therapy interventions can provide something that other disciplines can’t…a meaningful connection to and stewardship of our natural environment.
Stress due to Climate Crisis
Climate change is affecting humanity on a global scale. Weather extremes and natural disasters are creating great uncertainty for our future and the future of the planet. Climate Anxiety is a term used to describe heightened emotional, mental, or somatic distress in response to our changing climate.
Eco-distress is a term often used with children who are experiencing something like climate anxiety. Neither of these problematic issues are considered mental illness, but if left unchecked could develop into stress-related illness. Taking meaningful action is a good way to mitigate climate anxiety. An example of meaningful action would be creating native plant gardens around your home to support wildlife and interacting with those natural environments regularly. These meaningful actions can easily be modified into a multitude of horticultural therapy interventions.
Nature Connectedness
Nature connectedness focuses on the psychology of the human-nature relationship. It has been described as a “measurable psychological construct” that looks beyond casual contact with nature. Nature connectedness focuses on how an individual views their place within the natural world, and asks the question; What causes an individual to have a strong or weak connection to nature? How an individual views nature can be a determinant of their health and wellbeing, specifically mental wellbeing. A strong connection to nature greatly increases pro-environmental behaviors and stewardship of the natural environment. This is something that is greatly needed to improve our current climate crisis. Nature connectedness strives to strengthen the human-nature connection to support human health and wellness as well as promote pro-environmental behaviors on a societal scale.
“No one will protect what they don’t care about, and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”
Sir David Attenborough
E. O. Wilson taught us through his landmark book, Biophilia, that a healthy relationship with nature is foundational to human wellbeing.History has shown capitalistic values are at the core of our current dysfunctional relationship with nature. The view of nature as a commodity resulted in the utilitarian use of, and few protections for, our natural environment. This rampant misuse of nature was not considered negative activity but more of a pathway to human survival and prosperity which has led to a warming climate and significant loss of biodiversity. Recent studies conducted in the UK found a meaningful life was four times more important than socio-economic status. Nature connectedness provides the framework to make meaningful and sustainable change. The premise being, we will not be able to heal ourselves without healing the natural environment as well.
The Five Pathways to Nature Connectedness
Recycling programs, composting food waste, and reducing your carbon footprint are all helpful practices, but these actions alone won’t solve the problem. Knowledge and environmental education, which are important, don’t necessarily create a sustainable connection to nature. Spending time in nature is beneficial, but how we interact with nature matters more.
A nature connectedness research group at University of Derby in the UK has developed, The Five Pathways to Nature Connectedness Handbook. This is a roadmap of sorts that guide the reader toward, not just spending more time within natural environments but how to interact with natural environments on a more personal, deeper level. You quickly notice how similar these intentions are to the foundations of horticultural therapy. Yet, all five pathways do encourage that deeper more personal experience.
- Senses-focusing on each sense individually offers deeper exploration. Three types of herbs will all stimulate the sense of smell, but all three can be distinctly different. Explore those differences.
- Beauty-as the saying goes… “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder”. Nature provides limitless examples of beauty. Use beauty as a focal point.
- Emotion-find opportunities for nature to inspire feelings of awe, calm, joy, and delight. Express these emotions verbally, take photos, or start journaling.
- Meaning-different cultures use different words and metaphors to describe nature. Find sources of poetry, song, and art from other cultures.
- Compassion-activate this pathway with targeted actions that will support wildlife and native species.
Implementing the Five Pathways
The Five Pathways to Nature Connectedness provides a construct for ways of being in, engaging with, and relating to our natural surroundings. Implementing the pathways can call for some ingenuity and creativity. A focused strategy will help to seamlessly integrate nature connectedness into horticultural therapy interventions.
| Intention | Pathway | Action |
| Engagement | Notice nature more often. Create activities that invite interaction. Suggest a challenge like 1000 Hours Outside | Over the course of one month: Everyday journal three things you notice in nature & take photos. |
| Shared Connection | Normalize “nature talks” as a social practice. Share your own experiences and practices in nature. Encourage others to do so as well. | Start TH sessions with sharing nature experiences. Promote and encourage “nature talks”. Share in-person, on-line, as poetry or short stories. |
| Designing Spaces | Design spaces that encourage stimulation of the senses, beauty, emotion, meaning and compassion which will forage a closer relationship with nature. | Outside: create “sit-spots” that offer a place to pause and reflect on surrounding nature. Inside: bring nature in, maximize views of nature from outside, use house plants! |
| Celebrate! | Re-establish an emotional connection to nature with celebrations. Local & global traditions tie nature’s calendar to human life. Remind everyone we are a part of the natural rhythms of the nature. | Recognize the summer & winter solstice. Honor other cultural celebrations to acknowledge the seasons with ethnic food and song. |
| Embody | Apply the principles of engagement, shared connection, design, and celebration to your daily life. This will strengthen your own connection to nature. Set an example by taking action to support wildlife and native species. Be an inspiration to others. | Reach beyond your HT interventions. Participate in wellness fairs, community functions. Re-introduce “nature words” to elementary school garden programs. |
Pathways in Practice
Nature connectedness is closely related to horticultural therapy on many fronts and establishing a closer relationship to nature as part of horticultural therapy interventions holds countless benefits. Not only will the intervention work toward reaching therapeutic goals but would also foster pro-environmental behaviors while improving emotional and mental health. Our current climate crisis has in part, created a secondary mental health crisis on a global scale. Studies show the best way to mitigate climate anxiety and eco-distress is through meaningful action.
As horticultural therapists we have a unique understanding of the healing power of nature. Through climate crisis, it has become evident that it is nature who now needs to be healed. Teaching our children to create a symbiotic relationship with nature is essential for sustainable pro-environmental change. For those who are offered the opportunity to engage with nature and experience its beauty using all five senses, to connect emotionally and find meaning in the change of seasons will find the compassion necessary to foster a sense of stewardship that is so urgently needed. By taking a few simple steps, we can help mitigate stress related illness, improve emotional and mental health, and foster pro-environmental behaviors. Horticultural therapy is unparalleled in that no other therapeutic discipline has the capacity to make positive change on a societal level.
