Heightening Ecological Connection Through Course-Based Approaches to Well-Being and the Natural Environment

A promising response to the college mental health crisis is the development of credit-bearing nature-informed courses supporting student mental health. This has led to improvements in student well-being, while creating gateways for educating undergraduates regarding nature and health. While encouraging, few have utilized courses for fostering mutually respectful dialogue and experiences around diverse epistemological worldviews. Integrating scientific ecological knowledge (SEK) and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) engages students holistically in the study of mind, body, emotion, and spirit, in addition to field-based practices supporting these complementary knowledge systems. This mixed-methods study examined the effects of a day-long wilderness trip on college student mental well-being over a 4-year period. The experience is nested within a semester-long credit-bearing course designed to teach students the benefits of natural environments. Prior to the trip, students discuss SEK and TEK literature and potential contributing mechanisms. On the day, students participate in a 2.5-hour forest therapy walk, followed by lunch, and self-selected activities. Measures include the Profile of Mood States (POMS) pre-post trip, as well as Photo Stories. From 2021 to 2024, the study found significant decreases in POMS scales of tension-anxiety, fatigue, anger-hostility, depression, confusion-bewilderment, and total mood disturbance and increases in vigor-activity and esteem-related affect. Photo Stories describe students’ growing connections with the natural world via five themes: reciprocity and interconnectedness, discovery, mental well-being, slowness and presence, and cycles. Findings suggest the ability of nature-based courses to not only support student well-being but to bridge gaps in SEK and TEK.