The Nature Experience: Walk and Talk provides a space for students and faculty to connect and dedicate time to enjoy the outdoors by walking along Rocky Branch Trail every Friday.

Laura Boyd, assistant director of Prevention Services, leads and organizes the program. She said The Nature Experience: Walk and Talk is one of the many drop-in spaces Prevention Services established to give students an accessible space to find connection and support among other students and mental health professionals.

“The goal of having this as a drop-in space is to make it very accessible and very inclusive,” Boyd said. “You don’t have to have an appointment, you don’t have to come every week — you don’t necessarily have to come right at the beginning. … We are checking in with each other. We’re talking about what’s going on here, like, ‘Hey, what are you listening to? What are you reading? What’s happened this week?’ It’s just meant to be a way to have an easy, accessible connection.”

Each drop-in space has a theme and focus. Boyd said she established The Nature Experience in 2019 after reading about the Japanese practice of forest bathing, which dedicates time to being outdoors and soaking in nature benefits mental health. 

“The act of being out in nature, spending time being quiet, you’re taking in the solitude and the solace of nature and the environment and soaking that in,” Boyd said. “We know that vitamin D is directly impacting mood. We know that being outdoors can have other wellness benefits — impacts cognition, amongst other things. … We need to get people outside and in community with each other.”

Boyd said the benefits of forest bathing are best obtained by walking slowly to take in nature, as slower walking results in a calmer nervous system. Dr. Qing Li of The Japanese Society of Forest Medicine reflects this sentiment, saying spending time outdoors benefits sleep habits, regardless of physical activity.

“Nature is a resource, and it’s an extremely accessible and inclusive resource,” Boyd said.

Boyd said the weekly Friday afternoon schedule was intentional, as many students do not have the option of leaving campus for the weekend and may feel lonely without classes.

Julia Beron, a master of social work intern with Prevention Services, regularly attends the drop-in space. She said the scheduling of The Nature Experience provides a definite end to the week and sets the tone for a relaxing weekend.

“Friday, at the end of the day, is the perfect end to the week just to destress and talk about our week,” Beron said. “It represents Friday and the excitement for the weekend and excitement to relax and sleep in. … It’s definitely the closure to my week that I need.”

Lauren Bradley, a fourth-year studying social work and a mental health ambassador, said The Nature Experience has given her a guaranteed time to meet with friends she has developed valuable friendships with over her years attending the drop-in space.

At the meetings, Boyd said she gives everyone who attends the event a choice to draw from a bucket of quotes about the outdoors. She said this gets attendees thinking about how others appreciate nature and how it relates to how they feel about being outside, taking away thoughts on how valuable nature is to the human experience.

The Nature Experience meets every Friday at 3:15 p.m. at the back entrance of Campus Health by the parking lot.