Joshua Lawler rides his bike to school. A professor at the University of Washington’s College of the Environment, Lawler shares an office with a dozen plants, years of neatly-organized ecology journals and a painted self-portrait from a friend he says probably scares his students. Lawler has hot water, tea and a selection of mugs at arm’s reach, seemingly always ready to steep into conversations.
Meetings in Lawler’s office have historically focused on the impact of people on plants and animals. In recent years, conversations have evolved to also include the impact of nature on people, as Lawler is the director of the university’s newly-formed Nature for Health program.
Composed of multi-disciplinary researchers and community members, the program aims to accelerate our understanding of the health benefits of nature and then apply that understanding to develop better programs and policies to improve human health.
It may seem at odds that those concerned with conserving the natural world are encouraging more people to explore and use it.
“A lot of environmental and conservation messages have been focused on biodiversity and endangered species,” Lawler says. “Those are important to some people, but if we look at what else nature provides, we can find things everyone finds important—clean water, clean air, energy and health benefits.”
If demonstrating the health benefits leads more people to spend time outside, that’s perfectly okay. Lawler believes the more people spend time outside the more they’ll value it and have an interest in conserving it.
“If we need more parks, that will be a good problem to have,” he says.
In Autumn 2018, REI pledged $1 million to Nature for Health. “The best researchers in the world are proving that getting outside is critical to our mental and physical well-being,” says REI CEO Jerry Stritzke. “It’s time to rethink time outdoors as a must-have, not a nice-to-have.”
Nature for Health researchers and professionals can scientifically prove there’s a strong correlation between human health—everything from cardiovascular health, to stress and anxiety relief, to decreased depression and improved eyesight—and time spent in nature. Still, Lawler says there’s plenty more to understand.
“This donation from REI has been critical,” he says. “There are some really important questions we don’t know the answers to. What actually happens in our bodies and minds? How much time do you have to spend in nature to get the benefits? What kind of exposure to nature do you need?”
Soon, Nature for Health will kickstart new pilot projects to dig deeper. The goal? Gather data to tackle bigger questions that will lead to designing better schoolyards, buildings and programs.
“For REI, the ultimate goal of supporting this research and similar studies is to have the country’s policymakers, decision-makers and local and regional leaders appreciate that time outdoors is not just part of the American experience but part of the quality of life and well-being everyone should have access to,” says Marc Berejka, director of government and community affairs at REI.
From informal meetings over dinner, beer or even a simple cup of tea in Lawler’s office, Lawler and his Nature for Health colleagues have learned a lot about the power of bringing people together. And they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
Lawler says, “As we realize how beneficial nature is for our health, we’ll realize how important the natural world is and how much we need to keep it around in a way we haven’t before.”
This story first appeared in RANGE Magazine Issue 10, which is dedicated to the idea of progress. Get your hands on a copy HERE.
XX Ashlee Langholz