September 17, 2021 - Joensuu/Finland
Shinrin-yoku, forest bathing, is described as the practice of immersing oneself in nature with all of one's senses (Kotera et al., 2022). Shinrin-yoku was first introduced in 1982 by the Japanese Forest Agency as a way to relieve worker stress when the percentage of workers with anxiety and stress was more than 50% according to the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan (Li, 2019). In today's modern landscapes, especially in the world's largest cities, what we often hear is the sounds of engines, and what we often see is mostly concrete. We only see small areas of greenery. However, our current modern world is just a small part of humanity's history on Earth. Until the first industrial revolution, humans had spent 99.99% of their existence in natural environments, meaning that we have spent 0.01% of our lives in urbanized surroundings (Song et al., 2016). Industrial Revolutions have marked a significant departure for people from natural environments. No matter how many centuries there are between us and our ancestors who lived in the nature, their experiences have remained a part of our collective memory. This might explain why we seek out to spend time in green spaces or why we feel better in natural settings. It could be a sense of reconciliation. This might also explain why Japanese Forest Agency has found its inspiration in the forest to ease the stress levels of the workers.
This inclination of humans towards nature has been explained in several concepts and theories under many disciplines, such as evolutionary history, environmental psychology, and even neuroscience (Bennett, 2018; Berto, 2014; Ullrich, 1983; Kaplan, 1995; Antonelli et al., 2019; Sudimac et al., 2022).
In the context of evolutionary history, there is a term called Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA) to describe the ancestral environment in which humans evolved and adapted. (Bennett, 2018). Our ancestral environment had a closer connection with nature and our ancestors had a deep understanding of nature for their survival (Asher, 2023). According to Grinde & Patil (2009), nature served as a source of sustenance and shelter, and the presence of green in the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness likely influenced our brain evolution, proposing that we are probably adapted to live in green environments.
Therefore, leaving the way of life that we are genetically designed for may cause stress in people, suggesting that we may physiologically and possibly psychologically navigate to natural environments, but not to urban ones. (Grinde, 2002; Ulrich et al., 1991).
Restorative effect theories in the field of environmental psychology usually explain the psychological benefits of nature on people (Grinde & Patil, 2009). The term 'restorative' here refers to the process of renewal and recovery on physical, psychological, and social fronts (Hartig, 2004). For example, Stress Recovery Theory proposes that the visual environment has a big role in stress recovery, and this stress recovery is faster in natural environments than in the urban ones (Ulrich, 1991).
Both evolutionary history and environmental psychology suggest that immersing ourselves in natural environments relieve stress, making it easier to state that the practice of forest bathing has the high potential of washing the stress off of humans. Neuroscientific research also supports the benefits of nature and forest bathing on calming the mind. I first present how neuroscientists explain the science of stress to pave the way to tell how nature affects our stress levels:
The calming effects of nature on our brain's fear and stress responses are highlighted according to recent neuroscientific research. Sudimac et al. (2022) discovered that spending time in nature led to decreased activity in the amygdala, indicating that participants in the research perceived the natural environment as safe and calming, which lowers fear and stress levels. According to a different study conducted by Antonelli et al. (2019), it has been found that forest bathing can lower cortisol levels and can reduce stress levels in the short term.
What has been written so far validates that nature is a profound source of relaxation and stress relief. I have mentioned that the mass departure of people from nature started with the Industrial Revolution, and urbanization has started since then. There is one more thing that has been affected by the Industrial Revolution: Educational systems! Each industrial revolution has brought a new pattern for the educational systems to prepare individuals for the workforce, and this was achieved by standardized classrooms,Ā standardized methods of instruction, standardized textbooks, and standardized assessment techniques, which resulted in mass education (Beno, 2019). This model of education has created students as passive receivers of information, leaving very limited space for the student agency, differentiation, experimentation, and critical and creative thinking processes in their learning journeys. The pre-determined subject content by the teachers has been presented to the students, and students have been evaluated over this content in just a few hours, creating learning environments where students connect learning with necessity, silencing their needs and wants, and experiencing stress due to assessment techniques. Overall, it does not offer an optimal learning environment for the learners. They can not be in the state of experiencing the joy of learning when they are constantly told what to learn and how to learn; furthermore, they can not be in the state of learning when they experience stress. Therefore, urbanization and mass education seem to be some of the reasons why people experience stress.
In conclusion, taking ourselves and our students outdoors to engage in nature activities, such as forest bathing, or forest schools themselves, can be some of the perfect solutions for the stress levels induced by our modern systems. These can foster well-being due to decreased stress levels and thus optimize learning, collaboration, communication, trust, and creativity, where learning is connected to curiosity but not with necessity, fear, or stress. Here, nature pedagogy may be the key term, which is about creating settings for care and education that recognize, embrace, and appreciate nature (Warden, 2018). There are environmental educators worldwide aiming to promote nature pedagogy, and one of them is amazing Gaye Amus, the founder of Learning In Nature Ltd where she offers seminars and courses on sustainability, nature education and outdoor learning.
A very warm thank you for reading to this point. I believe that the stronger the relationship between humans and nature, the more meaning, fulfillment, and joy we get from our lives cognitively, mentally, socially, and spiritually. I do not think it is a coincidence that countries which care about and protect their forests and nature are the happier ones and the happiest ones. Our human nature has a big potential of flourishing in nature and with nature as one.
In other words, children, the adults who guide them, and our environment, we are all nature itself, nourishing and renewing each other (Amus, 2022).
Questions:
Do you take your students to the forests?
If yes, how often?
And, what kind of activities do you do with them?
PS: Gaye Amus has had an article published called āAn alternative journey into forest kindergartens and the Reggio Emilia approachā. It is about some of her experiences in early childhood education in Finland during the years 2007-2012 (Please see the 1st link below).
She started and co-founded the Children in Permaculture project and is the co-author of the new book āEarth Care, People Care and Fair Share in Education: The Children in Permaculture Manualā (Please see the 2nd link below).
She is the author of the book āCome Out and Play: A Learning Journey Towards Nature Pedagogyā. This book is about her experiences as well as her personal journey in Finland, and gives parents and educators useful advice on why and how to take their kids outside. This book is in Turkish (Please see the 3th link below).
In 2015, she started the nature movement for kindergartens and primary schools in Turkey with Forest Schools and Forest Kindergarten Leader trainings (Please see the 4th link below).
References
Amus, G. (2022). Ćık dıÅarıya oynayalım. Epsilon
Antonelli, M., Barbieri, G., & Donelli, D. (2019). Effects of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) on levels of cortisol as a stress biomarker: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of biometeorology, 63(8), 1117-1134.
Asher, H. (2023, November 14). Why nature connection is an important evolutionary trait. Silvotherapy. Retrieved July 1, 2024, from https://silvotherapy.co.uk/articles/nature-connection-evolutionary-significance
Bennett, K. (2018). Environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EEA). Encyclopedia of personality and individual differences, 1(1627), 1-3.
Beno, M. (2019). The implications of the industrial revolutions for higher education.
Berto, R. (2014). The role of nature in coping with psycho-physiological stress: a literature review on restorativeness. Behavioral sciences, 4(4), 394-409.
Grinde, B. (2002). Happiness in the perspective of evolutionary psychology. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 331-354.
Grinde, B., & Patil, G. G. (2009). Biophilia: does visual contact with nature impact on health and well-being?. International journal of environmental research and public health, 6(9), 2332-2343.
Hartig, T. Restorative environments. Encycl. Appl. Psychol 2004, 3, 273ā279.
Harvard Health Publishing. (2024, April 3). Understanding the stress response. Harvard Health. Retrieved July 9, 2024, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
Sale, J. (2010, September 23). Anxiety and the brain. Counsiling-directory. Retrieved July 8, 2024, from https://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/memberarticles/anxiety-and-brain
Kahn Jr, P. H., & Kellert, S. R. (Eds.). (2002). Children and nature: Psychological, sociocultural, and evolutionary investigations. MIT press.
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Kotera, Y., Richardson, M., & Sheffield, D. (2022). Effects of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) and nature therapy on mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International journal of mental health and addiction, 20(1), 337-361.
LeDoux, J. (2007). The amygdala. Current biology, 17(20), R868-R874.
Li, Q. (2019, April 5). The secret power of Shinrin-Yoku. REVOLVE. Retrieved July 1, 2024, from https://revolve.media/features/the-secret-power-of-shinrin-yoku
Sudimac, S., Sale, V., & KĆ¼hn, S. (2022). How nature nurtures: Amygdala activity decreases as the result of a one-hour walk in nature. Molecular psychiatry, 27(11), 4446-4452.
Song, C., Ikei, H., & Miyazaki, Y. (2016). Physiological effects of nature therapy: A review of the research in Japan. International journal of environmental research and public health, 13(8), 781.
Ulrich, R. S. (1983). Aesthetic and affective response to natural environment. In I. Altman & J. F. Wohlwill (Eds.), Behavior and the natural environmentĀ (pp. 85ā125). Plenum Press.
Ulrich, R. S., Simons, R. F., Losito, B. D., Fiorito, E., Miles, M. A., & Zelson, M. (1991). Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments. Journal of environmental psychology, 11(3), 201-230.
Warden, C. (2018, February). Nature Pedagogy: A common thread connecting nature-based settings worldwide. Natural Start. Retrieved, July 10, 2024, from https://naturalstart.org/feature-stories/nature-pedagogy-common-thread-connecting-nature-based-settings-worldwide
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