Essays
| Lucy Jones | Healing Our Disconnection from the Earth |
| Francesco Becheri | Forest Therapy. The Example of Pian dei Termini |
| Francesca Cirulli, Marta Borgi | The Call of Nature: Biophilia |
| Marina Boido, Alessandro Vercelli | The Forest as a Source of Holistic Wellbeing |
| Qing Li | Introduction to Shinrin-yoku / Forest Bathing |
| Marco Battain | A Helpful Mountains' Touch |
| Giuseppe Barbiero, Rita Berto | The School that listens to the Mountains |
Lucy Jones
Journalist and writer
Green. Verdant. Lush. Viriditas. Frogs. Acorns. Lime. Fern. Basil. Grasshopper. Jade. Moss. Fresh. New. Old. Breathe. Go!
Blue. Ocean. Cornflowers. Forget-me-nots. Eyes. Sky. Kingfisher. Neptune. Robin’s eggs. Blueberries. The shadows in mountains. Calm. Earth.
For a long time, even when the wilderness was something to be subdued by human animals, people have sought connection with the wider living world for their sense of wellbeing, and expressed their love accordingly. Visitors, a poem by the ancient Chinese writer Du Fu (713-770) feels timeless, read today, especially in the recent context of the Covid-19 pandemic:
“I have had asthma for a long time.
It seems to improve here in this house by the river.
It is quiet too. No crowds bother me.
I am bright and more rested. I am happy here.”
Van Gogh, who experienced mental illness, famously painted blossoming almond trees while recovering in Arles. In a letter to his sister at the time, in 1887, he wrote:
“Having as much of this serenity as possible, even though one knows little – nothing – for certain, is perhaps a better remedy for all diseases than all the things that are sold at the chemist’s shop.”
The contemporary writer Annie Dillard, perhaps one of the greatest noticers of the natural world who writes in English, describes the profound experience of mountains in 1974:
“Mountains are giant, restful, absorbent. You can heave your spirit into a mountain and the mountain will keep it, folded.”
Blossom. Rivers. Peace. Rest. Containment. Birdsong. Soft earth. Essential.
“I am happy here.”
An association between wellbeing and a connection to a healthy natural environment has been entrenched throughout our history. From the creation of urban parks to ease the strain of city-dwellers to using natural places to treat those in psychic pain, people have long acted on an intuitive sense that we require communion with the wild for our sanity.
Now, at the moment of our greatest disconnection and estrangement from the natural world, we, in the industrialised West, seem to have forgotten.
But, concurrently, at this time of widespread destruction and extinction, scientists in many
disciplines across the world are showing us how and why connection with the rest of nature
affects our minds.
What kind of ecological connections and relationships - in this great forgetting – are we
missing out on? If we restore our bond with the natural world – could we also restore part of
ourselves? How do we reimagine what it means to be respectful co-tenants on Earth?
The woodland is quiet and still and cold. The sky is grey, overcast. At first glance, it seems
that life here is suspended. But, as I look closer, my senses attune to the motion within. A
woodpecker’s staccato beat. Sparrows chirrup and goldfinches prick the sky. Acorns drop. I pick
one up and stroke its curved smoothness. The forest smells of rock and rain and gentle rot and
homes.
Harvestmen wander.
A scarlet elf cup peeps through fallen leaves. Boletus emerge yellow
and red on the ground. Iridescent blue-black beetles, huddled together, sleep in the cracks of
the oak tree bark.
I lose myself looking for slime moulds on the logs. I come back to myself,
grateful to be among a communion of beings.
Like many, walking among the living world is my daily sanity strategy and thanks to researchers I understand a little more about why.
When we spend time in the mountains, or by lakes or rivers, or in a garden or park, evidence suggests that our parasympathetic nervous system is more likely to be activated, which helps balance the stress response system. After exposure to nature, our stress recovery response is faster and more complete when compared with exposure to built environments.
This has important repercussions for our immune systems. The vital link between the nervous
system, immune function and mood is becoming increasingly clear and enhanced immune function may
be one of the central pathways to explain the benefits of nature. When I am in the woods, I
breathe deeply, smelling the pines and terpenes, tearing off a leaf and rubbing it between my
fingers, for evidence shows these chemicals emitted by trees and plants can boost the immune
system. I turn my face to the sun, to increase my intake of Vitamin D.
Awe is a fascinating pathway, with a measurable physiological impact on our health. Most of our
experiences of awe – surprisingly, perhaps – happen in the natural world.
One day, some years ago, I stood at the bow of the boat. Our eyes scanned the water, back and forth. Suddenly, the guide called out, beckoned, and pointed. And then we saw it. Rising out of the navy ocean was the smooth, shiny blue-black back of a Blue Whale. It moved through the water, slowly, gracefully, revealing all 25 metres of its colossal length, and plunged back into the deep.
To be that close to the largest animal known to ever have existed – with a heart the size of a small car, a tongue the weight of an elephant, and a blowhole so big a baby could crawl through it – was an experience of awe at its most intense.
We all know that feeling awed by something – be it a mountain range, a piece of art or music – feels good.
But until recently we didn’t have the science to explain why, or how much, it can affect the body and the mind. New research suggests it’s far more powerful than we might think. People really do need beauty as well as bread.
Since the 1990s, a lab run by Dacher Keltner in Berkeley has taken a scientific approach to awe for the first time.
An intriguing study about cytokines (an overactive cytokine response is associated with disease, depression and ill health) suggests that awe had an important, physiological effect. Professor Jennifer Stellar measured cytokine levels in samples of gum and cheek tissue and the presence of positive emotions in 200 young adults, while she was working in Keltner’s lab. She found that only awe predicted reduced levels of cytokines – Interleukin 6, an inflammation biomarker – to a significant degree.
“That awe, wonder and beauty promote healthier levels of cytokines suggests that the things we do to experience these emotions – a walk in nature, losing oneself in music, beholding art – has a direct influence upon health and life expectancy,” said Keltner, who was co-author of the study. And it can even affect people suffering from mental illness. After white-water rafting, PTSD symptoms of military veterans decreased by 30 per cent and they reported less stress and a higher sense of wellbeing.
It may also affect how we behave and treat each other.
To see how awe might change perceptions of self and of other people, Keltner showed one group of
participants a video of canyons, mountains and other awe-inspiring scenery and another a natural
scene that was supposed to be funny. Afterwards, both groups were told they’d won a prize. They
were then asked if they wanted to share their cash prize with strangers.
The people who’d laughed at the comedy scene were a lot less keen. They wanted to keep their
winnings. But the people in the ‘awe’ group were more likely to share winnings from a lottery
cash prize with strangers afterwards. People were more ethical, kind and generous after feeling
awe and this phenomenon has been replicated in experiments over and over again.
Why would people be more generous and kind after experiencing awe? Using functional MRI, scientists saw that awe reduced activity in the default mode network, the area of the brain associated with the sense of self.
Awe, then, may shift us out of self-interest. It can help us bond and relate to each other. It
turns off the self, the day-to-day concerns, to propel us into focussing on something bigger and
hard to comprehend.
It makes me worry about the abundance of wonder in the natural world that we are losing as
habitats shrink and our connection wanes. Hedgehogs, butterflies, puffins, glow worms, skylarks,
badgers, murmurations. We may also be losing an opportunity: for transformation in the way
humans relate to each other, and the earth.
Could we heed the words of the brilliant writer and marine biologist Rachel Carson? “It seems reasonable to believe – and I do believe – that the more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us the less taste we shall have for the destruction of our race. Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions, and they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction.”
There is a stone wall in the nearest green area to my house, an urban cemetery. The wall doesn’t look like much but, if you take the time to notice, it is covered in jade goblets of lichen, fractal sprays of leaves, stained glass moss. A living painting.
Moss is in its element in autumn and winter, when there is less shade and more precipitation. Look closely, and you will discover new kingdoms. The moss on my wall is lidded with sporophytes – capsules which contain spores, like little witches’ hats – that glow kryptonite green. A pocket microscope reveals tiny insects, aliens on another planet. It is soft to the touch, and I stroke its lichen neighbours’ filigrees.
When I zone out to moss, I am no longer in my head, brooding or ruminating, but patched into the
vastness of life. I walk to balance my nervous system, to reduce stress and inflammation, to
harness the phytoncides and effects of fractal shapes on the brain.
But, in this liminal space, in our afflicted world, there is also a sense outdoors of a change
of energy that is harder to measure in a lab. In nature, we can witness that power of life which
may restore our equilibrium, and, as autumn turns to winter, and winter turns to spring, tune
into, as Walt Whitman put it, the “urge and urge and urge, always the procreant urge of the
world.”
Natural landscapes have always fostered imaginations and ideas, given young brains the
simulation to thrive and grow, and the senses direct experiences. We need to touch and smell and
hear and feel the world to know it, and to love it.
But what about those urbanites – the growing majority of us – who’s nearest ‘natural space’ is a
small park or road verge? What if it’s difficult to get into the mountains, to grand natural
environments, to the ocean?
Some cities and towns are leading the way in transforming urban environments.
Singapore has already built green rooftops, green walls, green balconies and vertical gardens into its urban areas. The Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, which was opened in 2010, is particularly radical, integrating ‘forest-like’ nature: butterfly species living in the grounds of the hospital have grown from three to eighty-three. In the US, in Milwaukee and San Francisco, people are planting up car parks and growing community orchards. Detroit has more than 1,500 community gardens and small urban farms of two to three acres driven by the community’s desire for real, fresh, nutritious food. In Australia, Melbourne is aiming to double its tree canopy coverage by 2040 as part of its ‘Melbourne Forest Strategy’. In Montreal, space once used for parking cars or now-narrowed roads is filled with plants and flowers.
What else might living in reciprocity with the more-than-human world look like? Cleaning up
pollution, and rejecting urban pesticides and herbicides. Switching street lights off at night
to help moths and other nocturnal animals. Protecting urban forests and woodlands from
development. Removing the obstacles that prevent all groups of people from accessing restorative
natural environments. Creating wildlife corridors and linking habitats between houses and areas
and out to rivers and connecting ecosystems. A new ecological relationship is crucial for our
adaptation to the unfolding climate crisis.
If we want healthy lives, then, we must realise that our wellbeing is related to the wellbeing
of the planet. Human health cannot be divorced from the health of the world.
We are all part of the same system.
Home. The word ‘ecology’ comes from the Greek oikos, meaning ‘household’, ‘home’ or ‘place to live’. Safe. Held. Care. Reciprocity. Shelter. Warmth. Fed. Calm. Loved.
Francesco Becheri
Founder and scientific director of the Pian dei Termini forest therapy development and research project
Forest therapy is a preventive medicine tool. This discipline, via scientific method, analyses the therapeutic relationship between humans and the forest environment and its beneficial effects. It is an interdisciplinary and inclusive field of research that combines studies on human beings, the environment, health and economics.
Areas allocated to forest therapy must possess a number of essential prerequisites (arboreal species, plant emission levels, exposure, dominant winds, accessibility, reception) to make them potential candidates for the experiment. Within those areas, it is essential to select forest paths with small elevation differences and wide enough to be suitable for everyone, regardless of age or ability levels. Lastly, to certify the therapeutic nature of the chosen forest area and establish its functional worth, it is necessary to identify a number of scientifically proven health responses in people who visit it. That is why experimental forest therapy sessions are conducted on the specific site, measuring pre/post variations in physiological and psychological indicators and linking them to the weather, climatic and biochemical characteristics of the air. Once the data has been collected, you move on to the analytical phase to demonstrate the therapeutic effects and their relative validation via scientific publications.
Alongside Forest therapy, there is also a practice aimed more at promoting wellbeing and recreation in forests. This is called “Forest bathing” and does not demand the same rigour in the testing of paths and verification of physiological and psychological improvements in participants. The eleven forest therapy stations present in Japan in 2006 have now risen to 62 and the aim is to reach 100 by the end of 2025. Depending on size, every Forest therapy station can accommodate between 200 and 1500 people per month.
The Pian dei Termini project, which from the first looked to Japan as a partner and inspirational model for developing a scientifically based action with a strong international perspective, has taken shape partly thanks to dialogue with Prof. Qing Li, an immunologist, founder and chairman of the Japanese Society for Forest Medicine and vice president of the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine. For more than fifteen years, Li has been systematically studying the health link between human beings and nature. With an approach that authoritatively combines hospital work, scientific research, teaching and diffusion, he is recognised as one of the most prominent figures in this field.
The collaboration with Qing Li and Japan showed its first results via a joint scientific research conducted during the lockdown ensuing from the Covid-19 pandemic and published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in 2020 (https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/21/8011). This partnership took shape using a video conceived by Dr Francesco Becheri in which images and sounds of a forest in the vicinity of Prato were visible and audible. The video was “administered” to a sample of people confined in their homes with a view to studying the effects seeing such images produced on the levels of lockdown anxiety. The experiment lasted five days and was conducted remotely. This study, which saw the collaboration of CNR (Ibe and Ifc) and Neurofarba Unifi, showed that the experimental group of subjects who were shown a video of the forests had a significantly greater reduction in triggered anxiety than the control group exposed to a video of urban contexts.
This is further confirmation of the key role played by nature in promoting health even during the harshest pandemic phase.
What is Pian dei Termini and where is it located geographically?
Pian dei Termini is in the municipality of San Marcello Piteglio (PT) and the Pian dei Termini
company manages a 15-year licence for two properties and land (15 ha) of regional state property
belonging to the Patrimonio Agricolo Forestale of Regione Toscana. The project for the
utilisation and promotion of the Pian dei Termini estate secured the company’s victory in the
management tender and makes express reference to the creation of a Forest Therapy Station. The
wooded areas are situated on the southern slopes of the upper Tuscan-Emilian Apennines at
altitudes of between 900 and approximately 1050 metres asl. The company’s land, crossed by Via
Pratorsi, skirts the Teso forest and includes routes – forest paths and roads – that extend,
with generally moderate gradients, almost entirely through forest systems with a mix of chestnut
trees (some monumental), beech and fir trees of various species, in particular Douglas fir and
silver fir.
These paths also lead easily to the Montanaro and Porta Franca CAI mountain refuge huts.
Moreover, in the immediate proximity of the buildings, home of the SAS “Pian dei Termini”, is an
astronomical observatory run by the Gruppo Astrofili Montagna Pistoiese and visited by thousands
of people every year.
Among the objectives of the Pian dei Termini station is the promotion of good health and
preventive healthcare, a reduction in the direct and indirect costs of the public health
service, improvements to the region’s forests and increased income for local agricultural and
agroforestry businesses.
The activities on offer are directed at two user types. In the clinical sphere: palliative care
patients, diabetics, those suffering from hypertensive, psychiatric/psychological, metabolic
disorders and stress, and in need of rehabilitation treatments (e.g. post Covid-19); and in a
non-clinical sphere: tourists, students, companies and workers.
Proven positive effects were found in several spheres.
The first is in the affectionate/motivational sphere with improved mood, increased strength and
satisfaction, reduced sadness/depression, anxiety, impulsiveness and aggressiveness (and
increased prosocial activity).
The second is in the cognitive sphere and showed improved focus and capability of the work
memory and creativity.
The third is in the physical sphere and saw a reduction in pain, post-operational recovery times
and mortality, improved sleep quality and cardiovascular and respiratory health and a stronger
immune system.
The Salute in Natura di Pian dei Termini project is closely bound to the metropolitan area via
the green routes traced by forestation. From the remote inland mountain areas, activities to
promote health connect with urban forestation, river parks and city parks. From this
perspective, the approach is organic, integrated and widespread. The municipalities of Florence
and Prato have manifested a desire to activate policies in this sense. Below is an extract from
the Agenda Urbana di Prato 2030, which makes reference to this plan.
Urban forestation becomes a pro-health tool with the slogan: a tree instead of a pill
The Municipal Operations Plan, Urban Forestation Plan and Prato Urban Jungle project have pushed
the discussion in Prato on the role played by nature in the urban context to the heart of the
international debate. Prato is standing out within the realm of green cities for its promotion
of a debate that sees nature as a local structure with an ecosystemic function and one of
resilience that enables urban areas to play an active environmental role in tackling climate
change and reversing the trend. These considerations from Prato and other European cities are
driving a new and significant interpretation of the role played by nature in the city – that of
serving as an active tool in human health and from the angle of promoting coordination of
urbanistic, environmental and health planning in keeping with a new motto: a tree instead of
a
pill. The research initiated with DAGRI in Florence looks in precisely this direction,
establishing indicators and ascertaining in what conditions urban green spaces take on this
meaning as well as developing the necessary guidelines to design urban green spaces from this
standpoint. This study is the starting point for developing an innovative strategy for the
Structural Plan on the scale of the whole municipality. Projected into the medium-/long-term, it
will explore ways to generate a healthy city in keeping with the principles of the Toronto
Charter (WHO) and equipped with indicators and detectors, to be developed as part of the Smart
City Plan, that monitor the effects of pro-health action over time. The Structural Plan must
pinpoint an overall strategy that drives urban forestation towards the planning of pro-health
programmes at regional level.
Within this framework, it is important to work in synergy with the Regione Toscana departments,
Società della Salute and Servizio Sanitario della Regione Toscana, with a view to promoting a
programme of urban and health policies aligned with the strategies of the Green Deal and Next
Generation EU programmes – and therefore able to access European funding to finance action and
investment.
With this shift in focus, urban greenery can be divided into two large areas: public
greenery,
in the sense of that decorating public spaces, streets etc.; and greenery for health,
inserted
into urban forestation and pro-health programmes. They must be constantly monitored via a
specific detection network, the creation and, more importantly, management of which will have to
be funded within the scope of the national and regional welfare system, as it is a public health
tool.
Cities are the greatest culprits in the climate emergency. The environmental conditions of
cities impact negatively on the health of their population in the form of high air pollution
levels, heat islands, a shortage of restorative green spaces, etc.
Cities require farsighted and ambitious urban forestation programmes. They must become healthier
places that improve the mental and physical health of their population.
Cities must promote general action on an urban scale, adopting a new paradigm whereby nature is
a constant presence in the cityscape. This will spawn an active city environmentally speaking
and as regards human health. From this perspective, Italy is introducing its first Forest
Therapy activities, based on scientific evidence as to the positive impact of the natural
environment on human mental and physical health and its validity as a therapeutic aid. The
Regione Toscana has launched experimentation in the Pian dei Termini Forest Therapy Station in
San Marcello Pistoiese.
Working in close synergy with the Società della Salute and the healthcare system plus the
Regione Toscana departments, the Structural Plan must construct a model that introduces the
principles of Forest Therapy into urban strategies, systemically coupling the issue of human
health with green spaces on an urban scale. More specifically, an overall programme will have to
be developed that combines urban greenery and natural extra-urban systems in a single functional
vision to promote nature in the city from a public health stance. This must incorporate the
system of existing and planned large parks, Parco di Galceti, Parco dell’Ippodromo, Parco delle
Cascine di Tavola, Parco Centrale, Parco dei Ciliani, Parco di San Paolo, Parco delle Fonti,
Parco di Cafaggio, dei Golfi Agricoli, Parco Fluviale del Bisenzio, Riversibility and the
Sistema delle Gore with the city’s large natural systems of Calvana and Monteferrato.
The Structural Plan must promote the creation of a new urban model that develops an integrated
system of green spaces at local level, based on a framework of large areas and developed as a
sequence of natural spaces that are ever more widespread and close to the lives of the local
population. All functional to a polycentric dimension of Prato that promotes the prospect of
urban forestation as a means of promoting health via the formation of a green urban
infrastructure that translates in operational terms into the slogan: a tree instead of a
pill.
Francesca Cirulli and Marta Borgi
Researchers at the Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health. National Institute of Health
A sharing of experiences in nature is often linked to the narration of positive experiences: garden parties with friends, summer camping with entire afternoons spent climbing the highest tree, hiking along alpine paths or a beautiful sunset while strolling through city parks. What drives humans to seek out natural environments and spend time outdoors? Why do we seem to gain so much pleasure and benefit from it? Aside from all scientific considerations, there is an important historical aspect to consider. Although we struggle to believe it, humans have lived in cities for very little time. Homo – the race we belong to – began its evolutional journey approximately two million years ago and our species,Homo sapiens, appeared in Africa approximately 200,000 years ago. Almost entirely throughout our history, we lived in forests and savannahs surrounded by nature and were extremely good at exploring and colonising a variety of natural environments. Only for a few thousand years have we lived in cities and for an even more limited period have created vast urban areas and, in some cases, metropolises where access to nature may be almost totally absent. If we sometimes perceive cities as hostile environments it is because the aspects of our physical structure, physiology, mental processes, emotional responses and even our social relations have evolved by adapting themselves to the natural environment. And we inescapably feel the call of that natural environment still today. It is what E.O. Wilson described as “biophilia”: people’s innate affinity for the natural world.
The benefits of green environments: scientific research and the first therapeutic applications
If we consider human biological history and our close connection with the natural world, it is
not surprising that scientific evidence on interaction between the environment and mental health
is growing exponentially, showing a link between access to green environments and a reduction in
stress levels, psychological distress and symptoms of depression. Walking in natural
environments, listening to the sounds of nature or even observing a virtual natural environment,
translates into reduced perception and a greater capacity to cope with stress factors of a
psychological nature. Exploiting the ability of the natural environment to favour emotional and
behavioural wellbeing therefore not only represents a preventive strategy for the wellbeing of
the general population but also counters the development of mental disorders in sections of
population particularly at risk (e.g. teenagers) and the vulnerable, as too in minorities and
populations at risk of social exclusion. A greater use of green spaces and the presence of more
vegetation in the place of abode have been associated with a more harmonious behavioural
development (reduced emotivity and relationship issues between peers) and an increase in
prosocial behaviours. Spending time in natural environments in the form of walks or outdoor
activities also boosts concentration, a particularly important factor during growth phases.
These links appear robust, as found in numerous studies that differ substantially in the
composition of the population being examined, in the type of green space adopted and in the mode
of interaction. Despite their diversity, these studies all seem to converge on the notion that
spending time in nature and having access to green spaces have beneficial effects on our
physical and mental health, on our behaviour and on our socialising.
As early as the start of the 1980s, Japan launched a broad-ranging research programme to
demonstrate the medical and therapeutic effects of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku in Japanese).
The first “forest therapy” centre was subsequently opened and Japanese universities now offer a
medical specialisation in “forest medicine”. These practices then spread to the Western world,
starting in Scandinavian countries where forest bathing has become a global trend as a reaction
to the current flow of stimuli and society’s frenetic everyday life.
Why are green spaces good for us? The mountains and experiencing “wonder”
In addition to epidemiological studies, experimental work in the field is producing ever more
evidence on the mechanistic aspects of the link between green spaces and health. These studies
try to answer the question “Why is green space good for us?” Although knowledge of the
mechanisms underpinning the impact of the natural environment on human health is still
insufficient to produce a definitive theoretical framework, we know today that many of the
beneficial effects reported regard the furthering of brain functions thanks to reduced mental
fatigue and the greater relaxation produced by spending time in natural environments. For
example, studies conducted by Stanford University have revealed that, compared with subjects who
had spent the same time in city shops, those who had just completed a 90-minute walk through the
trees presented a lesser activation of brain areas linked to rumination, the repeated and
constant occurrence of negative images and thoughts that reinforce one another, a common symptom
in depressive states.
Some of the beneficial effects of exposure to natural environments may also stem from the high
concentration of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) emitted by trees and plants,
including phytoncides (also known as terpenes). These compounds appear to influence human health
in terms of anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective action. Future studies will have
to consolidate the evidence on the matter.
The mechanisms underpinning the beneficial effects of exposure to vegetation may even be
indirect. For example, living close to a park or a green space may encourage people to devote
more time to physical exercise, with positive repercussions on health, mental health included.
Trees and shrubs can also mitigate certain environmental risks such as atmospheric pollution and
high air temperatures as well as acoustic pollution – all known environmental risk factors for
human health. Another important indirect effect to consider is that green spaces can lead to
spontaneous groupings of people in a relaxing environment. Social relations are linked to
numerous physical and psychological health benefits. The presence of a green space can encourage
positive social interaction which promotes social cohesion and leads to improved health and
wellbeing.
Lastly, the positive effects of green spaces may depend on nature’s ability to provoke, which
has been called soft fascination, a feeling that results in people effortlessly paying
attention
to the environment in which they are immersed.
It seems the exact opposite of the constant rumination that prevents us paying attention to
where we are and what we are doing. That flow of thoughts often with a negative emotional
content whereby we only listen to stimuli “within ourselves” and do not pay attention to what is
“outside us”. In nature but, more importantly, in remote environments such as mountain forests,
the environment “calls us” with its fascination and its beauty, despite the sense of subjection
and awe it elicits with its majesty. Mountains, forests and blue spaces attract our attention
but leave us space and time to reflect. They make us more alive but, equally, more relaxed and
in a good frame of mind.
Green spaces and health: a challenge for the future
This last decade has consolidated an awareness of the enduring bond between people’s health and
that of the ecosystem. There is therefore a strong need for global approaches and efforts to
implement programmes and policies in which several sectors cooperate to protect public health
via a more careful and informed use of natural resources. Practices such as
shinrin-yoku or the
body of interventions grouped under the banner green care, including forest therapy, form part
of this train of thought and represent interesting complementary activities that can combine a
focus on the natural environment in terms of management, care and conservation with innovative
approaches centred on human health via the active fruition of natural resources.
The period that has seen us gathered in cities and urban megalopolises, far removed from nature,
is a really short time in our evolutionary journey but it has sufficed to establish a close link
between urbanisation and an increase in mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and
schizophrenia.
In the current years, we are witnessing a rediscovery of the natural environment as a
consequence of the burden of mental illnesses and psychological malaise caused by demanding,
unhealthy and work-intense lifestyles.
The potential future of these practices is huge especially if we are able to systematise the
wealth of notions already accumulated in several disciplinary sectors, for a better and more
informed use of our country’s natural legacy and with a view to promoting its use and
conservation while, at the same time, improving the health and wellbeing of our species.
Marina Boido and Alessandro Vercelli
Neuroscience Insitute Cavalieri Ottolenghi. University of Turin
The term Shinrin-yoku can be translated into English as “Forest bathing” and was coined in Japan
in the 1980s. It is considered a form of nature therapy as we can benefit via our senses from
walking in the woods, breathing in the air, admiring the colours and perceiving the sounds.
Total immersion in a forest atmosphere produces an extraordinary sense of wellbeing in our
organism. It is no wonder that this now widespread practice has also caught on in Italy. Several
regions (from Piedmont to Sicily) offer routes through green spaces, sometimes close to lakes
reflecting the mountains and involving some hours’ walking for an immersive and restorative
experience in the forest.
Why is being immersed in nature so vital for our physical and mental health? How can living near
green (trees, meadows, forests, parks) or blue (lakes, rivers, coastal waters) settings
influence our bodies and minds?
Until a few years ago, there was only empirical proof that contact with nature benefits our
physical and mental wellbeing but recent studies have begun to show scientifically that exposure
to natural environments can generate actual changes in our bodies. The first evidence regards
the cardiovascular system: being in contact with nature considerably reduces blood pressure and
heart rate. Moreover, it can also modulate the action of the immune system positively and
perform anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions.
The effects on mental health seem all the more obvious. Being surrounded by nature promotes
happiness and wellbeing, and decreases mental illness, anxiety and depression. Experimental
studies have also shown that it can impact positively on various aspects of cognitive function,
memory and concentration.
The colours green and blue have always conjured up a sense of nature, harmony and equilibrium,
concepts linked to a feeling of reassurance and tranquillity. Experiments in which some
university environments were painted green while others were not have demonstrated a student
preference for green-coloured environments, because more relaxing and cheerful. But what is the
reason? How and why can nature trigger the described physical and mental responses?
Studies on the effects of Shinrin-yoku have highlighted that plants release volatile substances
that can induce beneficial responses throughout the body, acting on the cardiocirculatory and
immune systems. However, these substances also seem to be very effective on our nervous system,
on which they can act by sustaining brain function, reducing mental fatigue, inducing relaxation
and improving cognitive performance and mood. Secondary plant metabolites called terpenoids and
terpenes (including pinene, limonene, carvone, β-caryophyllene) have been identified among these
molecules. They demonstrate a wide range of biological activities suggesting that the forest
aerosols containing these compounds can be linked to the beneficial effects of forest
bathing.
As well as displaying strong antioxidant and anti-neuroinflammatory activity, some of these
substances seem also to be neuroprotective. So, terpenoid-based drugs (perhaps administered in
aerosol form) might play a significant role in treating human neurodegenerative illnesses in the
future.
his brings us to the relatively new concept of “exposome” coined by C.P. Wild in 2005. It is
described as “the totality of human environmental exposures from conception onwards,
complementing the genome”, i.e. all the (positive and negative) environmental factors to which
individuals are exposed throughout their lifetime and which can complement (and even modify) our
genome expression. Immersion in nature therefore also falls within the concept of exposome and
numerous studies are underway to understand what genetic modifications it can trigger.
Some research suggests, moreover, that breathing in the air of the forest might not suffice to
produce a positive effect on brain activity and on psychological responses but that it is
necessary to see plants and contemplate the natural environment. In fact, it seems that cortisol
(the stress hormone) levels decrease in particular when it is possible to look at a forest
rather than breathe in its air, helping create a sense of relaxation. The biological mechanisms
underpinning these responses are not yet fully known and may even rely on a placebo effect
(linked to psycho-biological phenomena bound to the visualisation of natural scenes) that can
produce variations in hormone levels. These are not, by contrast, observed when visualising
screens with human subjects. Based on this premise, we might think of asking patients with
disabilities or other health issues to visualise a forest with the aid of virtual reality to
facilitate their recovery from stress.
Virtual reality allows us to simulate real situations using computers, special visors and
specific interfaces. So, we can have the perception of being in the woods while at home.
“Virtual forest bathing” experiences proliferated during the lockdown imposed by the COVID-19
pandemic, providing a calming and relaxing solution to the anxiety triggered by isolation.
Although, as we have said, the mere sight of nature seems in itself to produce beneficial
effects, we might expect the effect to be maximised by combining virtual reality with the
inhalation of terpenes and modest physical activity. Such comprehensive set-ups are not,
however, available at the moment.
Naturally, there are other components of the nature experience that probably help generate the
described beneficial effects. Physical activity in the form of walking can, in itself, reduce
blood pressure and lower blood sugar and cholesterol, thus preventing cardiovascular and
metabolic illnesses for example. It can also exercise positive effects on cognitive capacity,
improving memory and concentration (because at cellular level it influences the connections
between neurons and helps make the brain more plastic as well as liberating molecules such as
exerkine and osteopontin). Of course, studies are underway to try and understand whether walking
in the woods really makes the difference compared with walking in the city centre and looking at
shop windows, for example, and therefore confirm that the nature experience is as fundamental as
it seems.
Moreover, these experiences may have social worth: although practicable alone, forest bathing is
usually a group experience during which people can socialise and spend time in others’ company.
This is good for the mood and health, slowing down the cellular ageing process (and that of
neurons), preserving the memory and reducing stress.
As well as the potential therapeutic applications associated with being in contact with
vegetation, what has been said should also be used to inspire the urbanistic principles of the
future. Given the reduced human contact with nature and rapid global urbanisation, we must
preserve and improve opportunities for experiencing nature. This is also closely connected to
the recent concept of “one health” by which human health, animal health and that of the
ecosystem are inextricably linked and interconnected. The studies underway will help
individuals, communities, doctors and public policy makers to understand ever better and
preserve the direct line running between human, public and global health.
Qing Li
Professor at Nippon Medical School, Tokyo
Vice-president and Secretary General of the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine
(INFOM)
President of the Japanese Society of Forest Medicine
What is Shinrin-yoku / Forest bathing?
Humans have enjoyed forest environments for ages because of the quiet atmosphere, beautiful
scenery, mild climate, pleasant aromas, and fresh, clean air. Researchers in Japan have tried to
find preventive effects against non-communicable diseases from forests and have proposed a new
concept called “Shinrin-yoku/Forest bathing”.
Shinrin-yoku is translated into Forest bathing in English. Shinrin in Japanese means ‘forest’,
and yoku means ‘bath’. Therefore, Shinrin-yoku means bathing in the forest atmosphere, or taking
in the forest through our senses. This is not exercise, or hiking, or jogging. It is simply
being in nature, connecting with it through our sense of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.
Shinrin-yoku is like a bridge. By opening our senses, it bridges the gap between us and the
natural world.
People can enjoy the Shinrin-yoku through all five senses.
1. Sense of sight: green color, yellow color and red color, forest landscape, etc.
2. Sense of smell: special good smell, fragrance from trees and flowers, phytoncides.
3. Sense of hearing: forest sounds, listen to the birds singing and the breeze rustling in the
leaves of the trees.
4. Sense of touch: touching trees, put your whole body in the forest atmosphere.
5. Sense of taste: eating foods and fruits from forests, taste the fresh air in forests.
Why forest bathing / Shinrin-yoku is necessary?
Stress is a keyword to understand why Shinrin-yoku is necessary. In 1984, the word ‘technostress’
was coined to describe unhealthy behaviour around new technology. Technostress can arise from
all manner of everyday usage, like checking your phone constantly, compulsively sharing updates
and feeling that you need to be continually connected.
Symptoms run from anxiety, headaches, depression, mental fatigue, eye and neck strain to
insomnia, frustration, irritability and loss of temper. Since the year 2000, we have
officially become an urban species. The urban population worldwide grew from just 746 million in
1950 to 3.9 billion in 2014, according to the United Nations Population Division. By 2050, 75%
of the world’s projected 9 billion population will live in cities. In Japan, prevalence of
cancers and non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease
and hypertension are increasing and more than half of deaths are attributed to non-communicable
diseases.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, the percentage of workers with
anxiety and stress was more than 50% in 1982, 62.8% in 1997, 58% in 2007, and 60.9 in 2012,
suggesting a major mental health problem. Stress can induce almost all lifestyle-related
diseases, such as cancers, hypertension, depression, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, gastric
ulcer, obesity, alcoholism, panic disorder, eating disorder. Therefore, the health management
of workers, especially in relation to stress-related diseases, has become a major social issue
and an effective new method for prevention of diseases is needed. There is also the phenomenon
known as karoshi, or death from overwork in Japan. In 2016, the Ministry of Health, Labour and
Welfare of Japan released a Cabinet-endorsed white paper on the extent of working overtime in
Japan. Almost 23 per cent of companies said their employees worked more than eighty hours of
overtime a month. Of those companies, 11.9% said some employees worked more than a hundred hours
of extra time a month. It is urgent to establish preventive measures against stress and
lifestyle-related diseases; however, effective prevention methods have not been established. The
forest environment has long been enjoyed for its quiet atmosphere, beautiful scenery, calm
climate, clean fresh air and special good smell. Empirically, forest environments may reduce
stress and have a relaxing effect; therefore, walking in forest parks may have beneficial
effects on human health. Based on the above background, in Japan, a national health programme
for Forest-bathing or Shinrin-yoku began to be introduced in 1982 by the Forest Agency of Japan
for the stress management of workers in Japan. In 2005, I conducted the first Shinrin-yoku study
in Iiyama, Nagano prefecture in Japan and the terms of Shinrin-yoku and Forest Bathing in
English were first named and defined by author in this study.
Shinrin-yoku is also a short leisurely visit to a forest field, which is similar in effect to
natural aromatherapy, for the purpose of relaxation and the breathing in of volatile substances
called phytoncides (wood essential oils) derived from plants (trees), such as alpha-pinene and
limonene. Because forests occupy 67% of the land in Japan, Shinrin-yoku is easily
accessible9. It has become a recognized relaxation and/or stress management activity in Japan.
Shinrin-yoku as a method of preventing diseases and promoting health is becoming a focus of
public attention. According to a public opinion poll conducted in Japan in 2003, 25.6% of
respondents had participated in a Shinrin-yoku trip, indicating its popularity in Japan.
Currently, the terms of “Shinrin-yoku” and “Forest bathing” are internationally accepted because
both “Shinrin-yoku” and “Forest bathing” are the titles of English books and books in other
languages.
Evidence-based Shinrin-yoku
Some people study forest, some people study medicine, I study forest medicine to find the
beneficial effects of Shinrin-yoku on human health.
In Japan, since 2004, serial studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of forest
bathing/shinrin-yoku (forest envirinments) on human health by the project team.
My research team has obtained a vast amount of data, proving that forest bathing promotes both
physical and mental health by reducing stress.
1. Effects of Shinrin-yoku on immune system
It is well known that immune system including natural killer (NK) cells plays an important role
in defense against bacteria, viruses and tumors. It is also well known that stress inhibits
immune function. Forest environment (Shinrin-yoku/forest bathing) may reduce stress. Therefore,
the author speculated that forest environment may have beneficial effect on immune function by
reducing stress. Thus, I conducted several experiments to investigated the effects of
Shinrin-yoku on human immune function.
In the first Shinrin-yoku study, 12 healthy male subjects, aged 37-55 years, were selected from
three large companies in Tokyo, Japan. The subjects participated in a three-day/two-night trip
to forest areas at Iiyama in Nagano prefecture located in the Chubu (central) region of Japan in
early September, 2005. On day 1, the subjects walked about 2.5 km. On day 2, they walked about
2.5 km over two hours both in the morning and afternoon, respectively, in two different forest
parks; and on day 3, the subjects finished the trip and returned to Tokyo after blood was drawn
and a questionnaire survey was completed. Walk in forests significantly increased human NK
activity and the numbers of NK cells. NK cell activity went up from 17.3% to 26.5% with a 53.2%
increase. NK cell numbers went up from 440 to 661 with a 50% increase. It has been reported that
NK cells kill tumor or virus-infected cells by the release of perforin, granzymes, and GRN via
the granule exocytosis pathway. It was found that the forest bathing also significantly
increased the numbers of intracellular perforin-, GRN-, and GrA/B-expressing lymphocytes.
However, city tourist visit did not increase human NK activity, numbers of NK cells, or the
expression of the selected intracellular perforin, GRN, and GrA/B, indicating that increased NK
activity during forest bathing trip was not due to the trip itself, but due to forest
environments.
To explore how long does the increased NK activity last after a forest bathing trip, I conducted
2nd Shinrin-yoku experiments in the birthplace of Shinrin-yoku in Japan in 2006. The
Shinrin-yoku trip significantly increased human NK activity, the numbers of NK cells, and the
percentages of GRN-, perforin-, and GrA/B-expressing cells in PBL, which confirmed the previous
findings. The increased NK activity, number of NK cells, and percentages of GRN-, perforin-,
and GrA/B-expressing cells lasted more than 7 days and even for 30 days in the cases of NK
activity, the number of NK cells, and GRN- and GrB-expressing cells. These findings indicate
that a forest bathing trip increased NK activity, the number of NK cells, and the levels of
intracellular perforin, GRN, and GrA/B, and that these effects lasted for at least seven days
after the trip, even 30 days. The important finding is that visiting a forest, rather than a
city, increases NK activity and the intracellular levels of perforin, GRN, and GrA/B. It is very
important in the preventive medicine.
I also found that Shinrin-yoku significantly increased NK activity and the positive rates of NK,
perforin-, GRN-, and GrA/B-expressing cells in female subjects. The increased NK activity and
the positive rates of NK, perforin, GRN, and GrA/B-expressing cells lasted for more than 30 days
after the trip, which confirmed the previous findings in male subjects. In addition, I found
that a day trip to a forest park also increased human NK activity in male subjects.
Phytoncides released from trees significantly increased human NK activity and the intracellular
levels of perforin, GrA, and GRN in human NK cells both in vitro and in vivo. Phytoncide
exposure significantly decreased the concentrations of adrenaline and noradrenaline in urine,
indicate that phytoncide exposure and decreased stress hormone levels may partially contribute
to increased NK activity.
Taken together, because NK cells can kill tumor cells by releasing anti-cancer proteins, such as
perforin, GRN, and GrA/B, and forest therapy increases NK activity and the intracellular level
of anti-cancer proteins, the above findings suggest that Shinrin-yoku may have a preventive
effect on cancer generation and development.
2. Effects of Shinrin-yoku on the nervous system
Forests also regulates the nervous system.
The nervous system is made up of the sympathetic nervous system (the ‘fight or flight’ part,
which gets your heart going), and the parasympathetic nervous system (the ‘rest and recover’
part, which calms everything down). Common sense tells us that spending time in nature helps us
relax and feel calm. Many studies have reported that Shinrin-yoku can increase the activity of
parasympathetic nerve and reduce the activity of sympathetic nerve showing relaxing effects
(psychologically calming effects).
3. Effects of Shinrin-yoku on stress hormones
There are three kinds of stress hormones: adrenaline (which mainly indicates mental stress),
noradrenaline (which mainly indicates physical stress) and cortisol (which can indicate
both).
My research team has found that Shinrin-yoku and phytoncides can reduce stress hormones, such as
adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol and may contribute to stress management. In
addition, because the effect of forest bathing on adrenaline was greater than that on
noradrenaline, the effect on mental stress was greater than on physical stress.
4. Effects of Shinrin-yoku on blood pressures and heart rate
Many reports have found that forest environments reduced the levels of blood pressure and heart
rate in middle-aged subjects with high-normal blood pressure.
I found that Shinrin-yoku significantly reduced blood pressure and the reductions in blood
pressure after walking in a forest environment were 7 mmHg for both SBP (from 141 to 134 mmHg),
and DBP (from 86 to 79 mmHg). This suggests that walking in the forest park, but not in the
urban area reduced blood pressure and that forest therapy has a potential preventive effect on
hypertension.
5. Potential preventive effects of Shinrin-yoku on depressed states
Shinrin-yoku can reduce the symptoms for anxiety, depression, anger, fatigue and confusion and increased the vigor in the Profile of Mood States (POMS) test in both male and female subjects. In addition, forest bathing is particularly effective against mental stress (mental fatigue). Li et al reported that Shinrin-yoku significantly increased level of serotonin in serum, and significantly increased the score for vigor and decreased the score for fatigue in the POMS test. These studies suggest Shinrin-yoku has a preventive effect on subjects in a depressed state.
6. Effect of Shinrin-yoku on sleep
Three studies investigated the effect of Shinrin-yoku on sleep. We previously found that Shinrin-yoku significantly increased sleep time in middle-aged male office workers. Recently, my research team found that Shinrin-yoku significantly improved the sleepiness on rising and the feeling refreshed (recovery from fatigue) assessed by the Oguri-Shirakawa-Azumi sleep inventory MA version (OSA-MA), indicating that Shinrin-yoku may improve sleep quality. Morita et al also reported that two hours of forest walking improved nocturnal sleep conditions for individuals with sleep complaints, possibly as a result of exercise and emotional improvement.
7. Effect of Shinrin-yoku on adiponectin
Adiponectin is a serum protein hormone specifically produced by adipose tissue. Studies have shown that lower blood adiponectin concentrations are associated with several metabolic disorders, including obesity, type 2 DM (diabetes mellitus), cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. Recent studies have suggested that adiponectin shows anti-tumorigenesis activity in several cancers, including prostate, breast, endometrial, brain, and colon cancer. My research team found that Shinrin-yoku can increase the level of serum adiponectin.
8. Effect of Shinrin-yoku on dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S)
Levels of DHEA and DHEA-S, the major secretory products of the adrenal gland, decline dramatically with age, concurrent with the onset of degenerative changes and chronic diseases associated with aging Epidemiological evidence in humans suggests that DHEA-S has cardioprotective, antiobesity, and antidiabetic properties. My research team found that Shinrin-yoku significantly increase serum dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) levels.
9. The potential preventive effect of Shinrin-yoku on non-communicable diseases
It has been reported that stress may induce and/or exacerbate many non-communicable diseases,
such as cancers, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, gastrointestinal ulcer, and depression5.
Shinrin-yoku can reduce stress hormone levels, such as urinary adrenaline, urinary
noradrenaline, salivary cortisol4, and blood cortisol levels suggesting that
Shinrin-yoku may have preventive effects on non-communicable diseases mediated by reducing the
stress hormones. It has been reported that Shinrin-yoku reduces blood pressure and heart rate
showing potential preventive effect on hypertension.
It also has been reported that Shinrin-yoku effectively decreases blood glucose levels in type 2
DM (diabetes mellitus) patients and shows preventive effect on type 2 DM. In addition,
Shinrin-yoku shows potential preventive effects on depression by reducing stress
hormones, by reducing negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, anger,
fatigue, confusion, and by increasing the level of serotonin in serum and the positive feelings
such as vigor. Shinrin-yoku-induced increases of the level of serum
adiponectin and DHEA-S also contribute to this effect. Moreover, Shinrin-yoku may have
preventive effects on cancers by increasing anticancer proteins in NK cells, such as perforin,
granulysin and granzymes.
10. Potential preventive effects of Shinrin-yoku on COVID-19
Elderly people, patients with underlying diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases
and respiratory diseases are easy to develop COVID-19 and become more severe, and the mortality
rate is also higher because of the reduced immune function in these patients38. Therefore,
immune function is very important to prevent COVID-19. Shinrin-yoku may have preventive effect
on COVID-19 by boosting immune function. Mental stress and various mental disorders due to
“lockdown” and “isolation” are also major social problems. Shinrin-yoku reduces the negative
emotions, mental stress and stress hormones, and increases vigor. In fact,
my research team has found that virtual exposure to forest environments based on audio-visual
stimuli brought by a short computer video showing forest environments, with an urban video as a
control showed effective to reduce negative emotions such as anxiety in people forced by
lockdown in limited spaces in Italy during COVID-19 pandemic. Kim et al also reported the
positive effects of a Forest Healing Program in a Korean forest on motional stress and sleep
quality for exhausted medical workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak in Korea40. Therefore,
Shinrin-yoku may have preventive effect on COVID-19-induced mental stress and mental
disorders.
Shinrin-yoku also has preventive effects on hypertension and heart diseases to prevent
COVID-19.
Taken together, Shinrin-yoku will play a very important role on the preventive of COVID-19 by
boosting immune function and by reducing mental stress in post-COVID-19 health management and
disease prevention.
Bibliography
Marco Battain
President of CAI Turin and Head of the Group “The mountain that helps”
Spending time in the mountains is one of the two cornerstones (the other being the group) of
mountain therapy, a form of bio-psycho-social rehabilitation for people with motor, sensorial,
relational and social issues.
This practice has been catching on in Italy for some decades now and is present in more than 100
Sections of Club Alpino Italiano (CAI), which work with the health service, authorities,
associations and communities, and the members of which flank activities.
For most of its visitors, the mountain environment is an “other” environment, especially
inasmuch as it is perceived as a less manmade landscape than most of the customary places of
residence. Its “naturalness” originates from a relative lack of constructions, noise, smells and
other sensorial perceptions that are rarely pleasing. On the other hand, and on closer
examination, the mountain environment also has a similar number of equally less pleasing
stimuli, from the conformation of the ground to the winter rigours of areas in the shadows and
so on.
However, there is no denying the pro that maintains a positive balance in terms of differences
compared with urban areas, at least in mid-mountain areas because, of course, high altitudes are
not the friendliest of environments for everyone, mountaineers included. The combination of
colours “in the right place” (e.g. green meadows and woods, blue skies and alpine lakes), the
sound of water flowing in a stream, the pure air, the fragrance of the flowers, the heat of the
sun on your skin, the wholesome flavour of local foods and even a bird of prey circling in the
sky above all create a harmonious landscape that is reassuring and beneficial to some
degree.
Although it is not the aim of mountain medicine to identify, at all costs, a neurophysiological
or psychological mechanism linked to the relationship forged between human being and
high-mountain nature, in all those who love spending time in the mountains it is easy to find an
explicit desire to repeat the basic sensorial experiences mentioned above.
The small price for
enjoying these pleasing sensations may be that of fatigue on the slopes, carrying a load with
equipment and provisions, the need for heavier than usual footwear, perspiring, shortness of
breath or some other minor inconvenience. In the sphere of mountain therapy activities – which
in the case of CAI volunteers are not driven by any purpose of scientific analysis or
verification – neither sensational performance results nor grandiose goals are sought because
the aim is to overcome all together (in a group) difficulties that may be objectively modest but
individually important. Think, for instance, of the gradual return to the mountains of a member
who has been ill: they cannot aspire immediately to great results but their presence in the
mountains becomes possible again thanks to the sense of being in harmony with the environment
and the willingness of their climbing companions (real or virtual it matters not). Similarly, a
person suffering from a mental illness and who has relational difficulties finds the mountains a
less complex scenario, a natural environment with fewer pitfalls and a human environment filled
with positive messages. A similar mechanism is also found in those with limited movement who can
only reach the desired destinations with the use of off-road equipment. In such cases, only the
solidarity of other members enables them to gain the benefits hoped for.
In addition to the sensorial stimuli of mountain and nature, visiting the mountains with other
members – at least according to experience developed in the sphere of mountain therapy – enacts
transformative relational processes that progressively strengthen body and mind. In the latter
case, belonging to an established group of mountain-lovers in which you have a place and play a
recognised role strengthens the determination to reascend the slope of life and society.
When preparing a mountain therapy project, the association, centre or service establishes the
general and specific objectives, divided by type of hardship, and requests the assistance of CAI
volunteers to achieve them.
Special meetings are planned to gauge the different feelings, opinions, behaviours, attitudes
and anything else that comes between the before and after of every activity. Unfortunately, the
parameters are not yet all verified measurement tools.
Visits to high areas by mountain therapy groups adopt a fairly delicate approach (in Piedmont in
compliance with the Carta Etica della Montagna, an ethical mountain charter) because
conducted
in small groups, in all seasons, with no special infrastructures, with a cultural interest in
local traditions and communities, and with a focus on the current and future phenomena linked to
climate change – and it is widely stated that mountain therapy is good for the mountains, too.
Giuseppe Barbiero and Rita Berto
GREEN LEAF - Groupe de Recherche en Education à l’Environnement et à la Nature, Université de la Vallée d’Aoste
Be touched by the mountains
We have a rich and complex relationship with the mountain environment. The human imagination sees
the mountains as a metaphor for resolve, pride, ancientness, holiness and restraint. Since the
beginning of time, we have admired the grandeur of mountain ranges and honoured their
antiquity.
We develop a reverential apprehension for the mountains because they are a holy environment.
Many significant spiritual events have taken place on mountains. Without looking beyond the
Italian tradition, the Tablets of the Covenant were delivered to Moses on Mount Horeb and the
Transfiguration of Jesus occurred on Mount Tabor. The mountains are where the wild world resists
domestication and where it is harder to grow plants and raise animals. The mountains are a place
of restraint where resources are few and their inhabitants learn parsimony. This forges the
character of the mountain population, pragmatic people who focus on the essential and are
reluctant to take gambles. The mountain environment has also been a place of refuge for hermits
and fearless rebels such as the Partisans of the Resistance against Nazi-Fascism.
The mountains are teachers of life. At the Laboratorio di Ecologia Affettiva of the University
of the Aosta Valley we have drawn on mountain metaphors and applied them as teachings for a
school that lets itself be “touched” by the mountains.
This has spawned a “school that listens to the mountains”, originally in Gressoney-La-Trinité
but subsequently extended to several other rural schools in the Aosta Valley. The school is
built around three cardinal points: a silence that lets the mountains be heard (mindful
silence); direct contact with the mountains (outdoor education); and bringing
the mountains into
the classroom (biophilic design).
Mindful silence: letting the mountains be heard
A school eager to listen to the mountains must begin by learning to be silent. But silence comes
in several forms. There is a silence that can be called passive, imposed from the
outside
(parents, teachers, local features, activity type), in which the voice becomes silent but not
the thoughts that swiftly intervene to fill that silence. And there is an active silence which,
diversely, emerges from within. This silence opens us up to a new focus. We believe silence is a
primary need but one that must be taught like any other child skill. That is why we have offered
the children a type of silence freely chosen by them, active silence, and which we have called
mindful silence.
In 2007, we embarked on a path of experimental observation to ascertain whether practising
active silence might have an effect on children’s ability to concentrate. In 2012, we showed
that active silence was more effective than free play in restoring children’s focus after the
mental fatigue generated by school activities. Finally, in 2015, we developed the so-called
Standard di Étroubles which shows that an alpine forest is the most successful
environment for
regenerating children’s attention, although active silence is far more effective than free play
for children restricted to indoor environments. The Standard di Étroubles experience
then flowed
into the Bracing Biophilia project involving the Gressoney-La-Trinité primary school.
In
Gressoney-La-Trinité, silence was the guiding principle behind all the educational
experimentation. Silence entered the children’s school life gradually so that the children
became masters and conscious guardians of their own silence. After two years’ work in which
active silence was consistently chosen in an extremely regenerative environment, the children
showed improved capacity for concentration.
Outdoor education: in direct contact with the mountains
What happens when you combine the generative energy of active silence with the restorative energy
of the mountains? This is the question asked by Bracing Biophilia, a research programme
centred
on stimulating and sustaining children’s biophilia, conducted in the Gressoney-La-Trinité
primary school in the Aosta Valley. Gressoney-La-Trinité is a village with a population of
approximately 300 belonging to the Unité des Communes Valdôtaines Walser and situated at the
foot of Monte Rosa in the upper Lys Valley. The natural environment of the upper Lys Valley is
well conserved and lends itself to outdoor educational activities in environments with a high
standard of biophilia. Biophilia is our innate predisposition to forge an emotional bond with
the living world. It comprises a set of attitudes, emotions and values that, when taken as a
whole, constitute our relationship with Nature. Biophilia is present in all children but it is
often not stimulated or sustained because children live indoors in totally artificial urban
contexts where Nature is invisible or even absent.
The main intention of Bracing Biophilia was to use the Valle del Lys as a learning
environment.
A special outdoor educational programme with four objectives was developed to stimulate
biophilia in pupils: (1) raise pupil awareness of nature’s cycles; (2) boost pupils’ ability to
observe and describe the area they live in and reinforce their local identity; (3) introduce a
practice of active silence and raise pupils’ awareness of the natural environment; (4) introduce
sustainability practices that guide pupils towards a model of responsibility.
Biophilic design: bringing the mountains into the classroom
Activities in a biophilic school envisage teaching experiences outdoors in direct contact with
the mountain scenario (outdoors) and teaching experiences in the school classroom
(indoors).
Conventional school classrooms are artificial surroundings that do not stimulate biophilia;
rather they interrupt the fascination exercised on children by Nature and, in the long run,
inhibit their biophilia. This makes it necessary to redesign the school classroom to reduce the
divide between indoors and outdoors. Biophilic design is a type of building design that creates
artificial surroundings filled with Nature (real and/or reproduced in form, colour and material)
that can sustain children’s biophilia.
The Gressoney-la-Trinité primary school is a small rural mountain school with three classrooms:
a large teaching classroom, a small classroom and a multipurpose classroom primarily used as a
dining room. Until the summer of 2017, the school maintained its original set-up with three
classrooms that together provided a conventional learning environment. During the 2017 summer
holidays, the school’s indoor spaces underwent a building upgrade to turn the conventional
learning environment into a learning environment based on biophilic design. The upgrading
affected the three school spaces – large classroom, small classroom and multipurpose classroom –
where the most substantial architectural and design solutions that feature in biophilic design
were applied. Special attention was paid to: lighting, making it diffused and dynamic; to
creating spaces offering protection and favouring exploration; to a visual connection with
Nature through large windows and a material connection with Nature using decorative panels of
brown cork and stabilised lichen; to a connection with the vegetable world by introducing indoor
plants; and to variable temperatures and air flow via a controlled mechanical ventilation
system.
For experimental purposes, in the building upgrade of the multipurpose classroom we applied the
Biophilic Quality Index (BQI), a technical measuring tool that assesses the biophilic standard
of an environment and its restorative value. In practice, the BQI makes it possible to perfect
the restorative aspect of a biophilic design. The multipurpose classroom was redesigned using
the BQI to create a prototype school environment as close as possible to the restorative
features of the outdoor natural environment. At the end of the experiment, on 17 July 2019, the
Gressoney-La-Trinité primary school was registered to undergo the Living Building Challenge
(LBC) certification process, the first European school to hold the biophilic-design requisites
of the LBC building certification system.
Trial
The “school that listens to the mountains” may be a lovely idea but remains such until its
effectiveness as a restorative educational space is experimentally demonstrated. One of the
objectives of the Bracing Biophilia project was to compare conventional indoor school
environments with learning environments created using biophilic design and with outdoor learning
environments in the mountains. If the biophilia hypothesis is correct, then living in
surroundings that stimulate biophilia ought to facilitate recovery from mental fatigue and, as a
result, improve school performance as a consequence of the fascination exercised on children by
Nature.
Our longitudinal study observing children’s biophilia took place over three school years, from
2016 to 2019, and is one of the longest studies in the sphere of research into this subject. The
first year of the programme (2016-17) was spent studying the educational activities normally
conducted in school, before the building upgrade and biophilic design of the school executed in
the summer of 2017. To favour a correct fruition of the upgraded spaces, from the second year
(2017-18) one of our researchers (Alice Venturella, an expert in outdoor learning) flanked
teachers in their work of integrating traditional educational activities with active silence and
outdoor education practices. From the third year of the research programme (2018-19), our
laboratory coordinated a number of experimental observations seeking to verify the quality of
the intervention. We compared the subjective assessments and objective performance of the
children in Gressoney-La-Trinité before and after the biophilic redesign intervention
(within-subjects design) and the same Gressoney-La-Trinité children with contemporaries in an
urban school (between-subjects design). The specific aim of the study was to assess whether the
intervention as a whole had effectively reduced the time required for children to restore their
directed attention after mental fatigue. Overall, we collected 18 experimental observations
during which we measured the two constructs of biophilia – fascination and affiliation – and the
Italian Student Engagement Index (SEI), a highly reliable school-performance predictor.
The data collected during our experimental observations are in line with the assumptions of
biophilia. Students’ fascination, and therefore their recovery from mental fatigue, grew when
moved from a conventional learning environment to a learning environment based on a biophilic
design which comes the closest to an outdoor learning environment. Alleviating mental fatigue
also improved school performance and so the SEI also improved when moved from a conventional
learning environment to a biophilic-design learning environment.
The biophilic-design learning environment can be further improved by adopting the Biophilic
Quality Index criteria, bringing it even closer to a learning environment in Nature –
by far the best result.
Lastly but no less importantly, we found that continuous and direct exposure to Nature for quite
a long time slowly modified the children’s sense of affiliation with Nature. As already said,
Bracing Biophilia is the ideal continuation of the Standard di Étroubles, a
number of
experimental observations conducted in Nature on a group of city school pupils and which
demonstrated that (1) the alpine woods exercise a fascination that activates children’s
unvoluntary attention and restores their directed attention and (2) children can perceive the
restorative value of different environments. However, the Standard di Étroubles did not find
significant changes in children’s connection with Nature. The most likely explanation is that
sporadic outdoor activities are not sufficient to change city schoolchildren’s sense of
affiliation with Nature. Bracing Biophilia exceeds the limits of the Standard di
Étroubles in
the sporadic nature of pupils’ contact with Nature. The Gressoney-La-Trinité pupils live in a
rural environment with a high biophilic standard every day but, like all children, spent many
hours of their day in conventional school surroundings with poor biophilic standards. If
children are also to enjoy continuous contact with Nature when confined to indoor spaces, we
must first redesign environments to biophilic standards to make them as similar as possible to
learning environments in Nature. Biophilic-design classrooms reduce the divide between indoor
learning environment and outdoor learning environment.
This longitudinal study suggests that the improvements shown by pupils cannot be attributed to
cognitive maturation processes – the children’s average age remained constant over the three
years – but to the opportunity to live continuously in environments that stimulate
biophilia and
also slowly alter the sense of affiliation with Nature.
Final observations
What do children need to stimulate their biophilia? Firstly, children need to spend time immersed in Nature. The urban lifestyle does not favour contact with Nature, which has progressively waned. Our experimental observations reveal that educational activities conducted outdoors in a rural mountain area with a high standard of biophilia are the most effective in advancing learning processes. The school system tends to favour indoor learning and conventional classrooms. However, if school-age children have to spend a great deal of time indoors, learning environments should be based on biophilic design. The greater restorative effects and enhanced pupil engagement in biophilic-design learning environments are probably to be attributed to a fascination that real and/or reproduced Nature exercises on pupils. Learning environments with a biophilic design guarantee continuity of contact with Nature and, over time, continuous and lasting contact with Nature establishes a more deep-rooted affiliation with Nature, not only in mountain environments but in urban environments too, and lays the bases for pro-environmental behaviour as adults.