Nature Rx – How Nature Can Make You a Healthier, Happier You!

Nervous for Winter?

We all live in Michigan and as we all know, Michigan winters can be cold and long! With less sunlight and less green, we miss the freedom of summer and warmer weather. But did you know that nature, something we see everyday as we commute to campus, can help you through these winter months? Research done here at U-M shows that just 20 minutes spent engaged with nature can decrease feelings of stress. Additionally, time spent with nature has a myriad of other benefits including improved cognitive function, improved immune response, feelings of awe and resiliency, and increased cardiovascular health. Nature Rx, a grassroots initiative across the Ann Arbor campus, is disseminating these benefits of nature so you can be a healthier, happier you!

Nature Rx – The Origins

Nature Rx is a national movement across college campuses dedicated to highlighting and advocating for the distinct impacts of nature on health. The movement began at Cornell University and in 2019, a nursing student interning with Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum took notice. She, along with other students and MBGNA staff, hand picked 100 green spots around campus and greater Ann Arbor where our community could find quiet time in nature. They mapped these spots using ArcGIS Pro. In 2022, Information Technology Services hopped on board where they transformed these green spots into a wayfinding app, housed in the Michigan App. Now, you can find your way to spots of relaxation and recharging and it is all at your fingertips.

Nature Rx – Who We Are

Nature Rx is composed of organizations and individuals who are all united by the idea that nature can heal. All of us on the project team have at one point or another been impacted by nature. As of October, our sponsors are the

Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, Voices of the Staff, Information Technology Services, MHealthy, and Michigan Medicine’s Department of Communication and their Office of Patient Experience. With the inaugural Nature for Wellness Symposium planning, LSA, SEAS, Rackham, and the Planet Blue Ambassador Program have joined in as program sponsors. You can see we are an interdisciplinary group with a wealth of backgrounds and perspectives to draw wisdom from. The folks from all these different units are some of the kindest and most generous people on our campus. They inspire me every day and I am so grateful to be on a campus with such good and dedicated people.

Nature Rx – What We Do

Nature Rx is an initiative that has progressed by the good will of people and organizations on campus. Our biggest resource is the Nature Rx app. It is THE place to go when you are feeling stressed and need to adventure away from your anxiety. Our friends in MHealthy and MBGNA have also conducted a number of Nature Rx meditation walks. These walks, usually an hour or so in length, teach a number of skills and challenge individuals’ perceptions in order to demonstrate how they can easily integrate nature into their wellness routines and practices. For example, a facilitator may bring swatches of different colored fabrics and participants see how many places in nature match those colors. You’d be surprised at some of the unique colors exhibited in the outdoors when you take time to observe nature.

Nature for Wellness Symposium

Our biggest project at the moment is the inaugural Nature for Wellness Symposium. This symposium is the culmination of my four years at UConn and my last eighteen months at U-M. Through countless experiences of my own, I know nature needs to be a part of the public health dialogue, particularly on college campuses where students experience acute and chronic levels of stress. The symposium hopes to elevate this dialogue in our community and advance the Nature Rx initiative. It is a two day event on campus where you can build your winter wellness toolkit, network across campus, and take advantage of a free zero waste, low carbon lunch. All of our campus community is welcome to register and attend the free Nature for Wellness Symposium on November 7th and 8th.

I know in my soul that Nature Rx perfectly bridges the sustainability and wellness visions on our campus. Take part in both by coming to our symposium and building up your winter wellness toolkit as the days get shorter and darker!

Sam is a graduate student in the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability.