Five Nature-Based Mental Health Boosters

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so hit the trails and hike your way to wellbeing! Hiking isn’t just good for your body — it can improve your mood and reduce stress. Whether it is a short stroll on a nearby trail, or a weekend backpacking trip into the wilderness, being outdoors resets your natural rhythms and gives your body a nature boost. So grab your water bottle and head outside!

Five Nature-Based Mental Health Boosters

🌻 1. Practice Noticing in Nature

Spend just a few minutes each day observing some of the natural elements around you—trees, sky, birds, or even a weed growing through a crack in the sidewalk. Don’t try to overanalyze what you are seeing, just notice the details – the shape of a leaf, the color variations within a flower, or the way sunlight filters through the trees. This simple mindfulness exercise can help calm the nervous system and build a stronger connection to nature.

🌳 2. Find Your Unique Thread to Nature

Identify what aspects of nature you feel most drawn to—trees, water, flowers, or wildlife—and build small, regular experiences around those. Pick up a tree identification book and begin to decode which species make up your neighborhood. Start an herb or flower garden- even in a small container. Sit one morning a week for a few minutes by a nearby stream. By finding your thread, you can begin to build nature more intentionally into your daily and weekly routines.

🐦 3. Go for a sensory hike

Head out the door and into a sensory-infused hike! Consciously use as many senses as you can. Focus on identifying the scents of the trail.  What do you smell? Damp earth, pine needles, perhaps a lingering tinge of campfire. Feel the rough bark of a tree or the soft cool sponginess of moss. Turn your gaze on not only the colors surrounding you, but the intricate weavings of light and shadows. Even a short sensory-fueled hike can help regulate your nervous system and reduce stress. 

🍁 4. Use Nature Metaphors for Self-Reflection

Try using metaphors based on the natural world to help you process your emotions or work through a problem. For example, to determine what you may need to let go of, think of the leaves falling in Autumn. What worries or regrets in your life should you let go of and let fall away?  Processing emotions through nature-based metaphors can feel less threatening. Identifying your current challenges as storms or even wildfires can help you understand that even the most challenging times can be transient, and sometimes destruction clears the way for new growth.

💚 5. Connect to nature and connect to community

People who feel disconnected or lonely can begin their journey to community by strengthening their bond with nature. By creating a more intentional relationship with nature, individuals can hone their skills of noticing, acceptance, and compassion. These experiences and lessons can be carried into their relationships with friends, neighbors, and family. Additionally, there is something special about being out in nature that brings people together – spending more time outdoors will draw you to other people who love being out there too, leading to connection and community.

*Content created from information shared by Nature-Informed Therapists Gina Strauss and Sarah Boone.

Downloadable Copy of the Five Nature-Based Mental Health Boosters