Nature and Health Resources
Understanding the benefits of nature for health and well-being
Spending time in nature is not only enjoyable, but it also supports our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. These benefits extend beyond individuals. Communities with greater opportunities for nature connection often experience stronger social ties, improved community well-being, increased resilience, and healthier populations overall.
The research backs this up. But not everyone has equal access to nature and its benefits.
CSU Extension’s Nature and Health programming aims to:
- Increase opportunities for nature exposure and nature connectedness
- Reduce barriers to accessing nature and outdoor experiences
- Expand engagement in outdoor learning, recreation, and community-based activities
Whether you’re an educator, community leader, health professional, volunteer, or outdoor enthusiast, our resources can offer you evidence-based, culturally relevant tools, curricula, activity guides, research, and materials to help you bring nature-based programs and experiences to your communities.
What you’ll find here:
- Specially designed toolkits for planning and implementing nature-based programs
- Nature and health lesson plans for youth and adult audiences
- Activity guides for outdoor learning experiences and bringing nature inside
- Science-based research and articles on the health impacts of nature
- Guided meditations
- And more
Ready to get started? Explore our resources.
Resources
Nature and health toolkit
Nature is more than a place to visit. It’s a powerful resource for improving health, strengthening community connections, and enhancing quality of life. Download our toolkit to get started planning and implementing nature-based programs.
Curricula, lesson plans, and activity guides
Guides for educators
Nature and Health Articles and Research
- Spend Time in Nature: It’s Good for You, Your Community and the Planet
- Take a “Bath” in Nature: Forest Bathing for the Whole Family
- Horticultural Therapy
- Forests Make Us Healthier
- 8 Health Benefits of Getting Back to Nature
- Outdoor Recreation Roundtable: Health Vision & Webinars
Guided Meditation Series
Walking Meditation
Guided by Orion Zuni
This outdoor walking meditation guides practitioners to slow down and connect the breath with each step, bringing gentle awareness to the body, senses, and surrounding environment. With no destination in mind, each step becomes an anchor to the present moment, fostering calm, grounding, and a deeper connection to nature.
Gratitude Meditation
Guided by Orion Zuni
This short Gratitude Meditation gently guides practitioners to focus on the heart and invite appreciation for simple moments, people, or experiences, allowing feelings of warmth and ease to arise. By quietly repeating thanks and noticing its impact, the practice nurtures a sense of connection, positivity, and presence that can be carried into everyday life.
Happy Place Meditation
Guided by Orion Zuni
Happy Place Guided Imagery, which is impactful for all ages, especially youth and adolescents, invites practitioners to relax and use their imagination to enter a place of safety, calm, and happiness. By engaging the senses and exploring sights, sounds, scents, positive emotions can be cultivated along with a sense of “inner refuge” that can be accessed at any time.
Sit Spot Meditation
Guided by Sue Schneider
The Sit Spot Meditation invites practitioners to settle quietly in one outdoor place, awakening the senses to sounds, sights, textures, and breath as they arrive fully in the present moment. Through stillness and attentive awareness, they deepen a feeling of connection, recognizing themselves as part of the living ecosystem that surrounds and sustains them.
Steady Tree Meditation
Guided by Sue Schneider
Steady Tree Meditation invites practitioners to embody the grounded strength of a tree, rooting deeply into the Earth while standing tall with calm, flexible stability. Through imagination and breath, they sense themselves as part of the living web and offer quiet wisdom and care to the world around them.
Rooted Listening Meditation
Guided by Sue Schneider
Rooted Listening meditation invites practitioners to ground themselves in the Earth, imagining roots extending from the body to receive steadiness, wisdom, and nourishment. From this place of connection, they offer a heartfelt question and listen deeply with the whole body, allowing guidance to arise naturally in whatever form it comes.
Mountain Meditation
Guided by Sue Schneider
The Mountain Meditation offers practitioners the opportunity to imagine themselves as a steady, grounded mountain, embodying strength and stillness amid changing weather. Inspired by Jon Kabat-Zinn’s teaching in the book Wherever You Go, There you Are, this practice can strengthen our capacity to observe thoughts and emotions as they pass like clouds without disturbing our inner stability.
Lake Meditation
Guided by Sue Schneider
In the Lake Meditation, practitioners visualize the mind as a body of water, observing thoughts and emotions as ripples on its surface without judgment. Drawing from Jon Kabat-Zinn’s teaching in the book Wherever You Go, There you Are, this practice can cultivate calm awareness, allowing the “lake” of the mind to settle into clarity and openness.
Related Program
Mindfulness Training for Everyday Life
Get an introduction to the fundamentals of mindfulness in this online training program. Learn how to increase your awareness, move beyond distractions, and live more consciously.