Flourishing in nature: A review of the benefits of connecting with nature and its application as a wellbeing intervention

By C. Capaldi, Holli-Anne Passmore, Elizabeth K. Nisbet, John M. Zelenski, R. Dopko. 2015

386 citations recorded by the source corpus.

From the increasing number of people living in urban areas to the continued degradation of the natural environment, many of us appear to be physically and psychologically disconnected from nature. We consider the theoretical explanations and present evidence for why this state of affairs might result in suboptimal levels of hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing by reviewing the large body of research on the mental health benefits of connecting with nature. The advantages of contact with nature as a potential wellbeing intervention are discussed, and examples of how this research is being applied to reconnect individuals to nature and improve wellbeing are given. We conclude by considering the limitations of, and proposing future directions for, research in this area. Overall, evidence suggests that connecting with nature is one path to flourishing in life.

Subfields: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/1fe37bfb197c0b319ddc00e9c6486ebd5f612527

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Citations in the corpus

Nature contact and mood benefits: contact duration and mood type (2018, methodology): “For the purposes of this research, we adopt the definition proposed by Capaldi et al. (2015): environments and physical features of non-human origin, ranging from landscapes to single species of plants or animals.”
Mindfulness in Nature Enhances Connectedness and Mood (2019, positive): “ontact and connectedness with the natural environment are important for human flourishing and well-being (Capaldi, Passmore, Nisbet, Zelenski, & Dopko, 2015) and also have consequences for environmental behavior.”
The Wellbeing Benefits Associated with Perceived and Measured Biodiversity in Australian Urban Green Spaces (2019, background): “The body of literature supporting a link between nature and psychological wellbeing is extensive, and encompasses a wide range of benefits such as restoration from mental fatigue, improved stress recovery, and positive changes to mood and self-esteem [7,8].”
Engaging with Natural Beauty May Be Related to Well-Being Because It Connects People to Nature: Evidence from Three Cultures (2017, positive): “…and stress reduction (Ulrich et al., 1991), an abundance of research demonstrates that people tend to feel and function better when nature is near (Capaldi, Passmore, Nisbet, Zelenski, & Dopko, 2015; Howell & Passmore, 2013; MacKerron & Mourato, 2013; McMahan & Estes, 2015; Russell et al., 2013).”
Absorption: How Nature Experiences Promote Awe and Other Positive Emotions (2018, positive): “These findings support theoretical perspectives that contact with nature can promote flourishing and positive well-being (Capaldi et al., 2015; see also Corral-Verdugo & Frı´as-Armenta, 2015).”
Nature contact, nature connectedness and associations with health, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours (2020, background): “Given the amount of screen-time we now engage in (ONS, 2017), this is perhaps surprising, and we note that the two studies that we are aware of (Arendt & Matthes, 2016; Zelenski, Dopko, & Capaldi, 2015) both focus on pro-environmental behavioural outcomes rather than health and wellbeing.”
Noticing nature: Individual and social benefits of a two-week intervention (2017, background): “They called for, as did Capaldi et al. (2015), experimental studies assessing the positive effects of nature involvement on well-being over more extended periods of time. one such study was a two-week nature intervention conducted by Passmore and Howell (2014b), in which participants were randomly…”
Exploring potential mechanisms involved in the relationship between eudaimonic wellbeing and nature connection (2017, background): “This has catalysed calls for nature exposure to be increased as a cost-effective way to enhance people’s nature connection and associated sense of wellbeing (Capaldi et al., 2015; Trigwell et al., 2014).”