“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ~ John Muir
We are excited to announce that Rochester Ecology Partners (REP) was awarded a $5,000 grant the Browncroft Pediatric Research Foundation to coalesce the science behind the benefits of nature-based learning with the health and wellness of Rochester’s children. In addition, REP will leverage this grant to develop a tool to assess the impact of our programs on health and social/emotional wellbeing of participants. This project will help bring forward the ultimate benefits found from REP’s educational programming and mission to connect all people to nature where they live, work, and play.
The benefits of being in nature are profound for learners of all ages. Not only does nature-based learning help solidify an environmental ethos and create a new generation of conscientious stewards of the Earth but being in nature has demonstrated positive impacts on our health – both mental, physical, and social. Rochester Ecology Partners is excited to dig into the current research surrounding the health benefits of nature-based learning and align it with the needs of Rochester’s children to see in what ways we can help create a healthier future for our community. At the culmination of this grant, we will share out our findings with you, our audience, and use this information to better serve the Rochester community. We hope to utilize this project to bring together a community of learners around the ways in which we can leverage nature-based learning for the improved wellness of our young citizens.
“Within minutes of being in a natural setting things like cortisol, a stress hormone, improve, within 15 minutes, the ability to solve puzzles and cognitive benefits are seen. Even attention seems to get better. At around that time, blood pressure improves and so does pulse.” ~ Nooshin Razani, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at UCSF
The science behind nature-based learning is there, and we are excited to learn more and see how we can leverage this knowledge to improve our practices and programmatic offerings for the community.
Reach out to us for more information or to contribute to this initiative: contact@rocecology.org
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