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Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them, and their value will never be known. Improve them, and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The story of humans and their interactions with natural environments is long and varied. A large part of this story has encompassed how, and in what ways, natural environments have influenced human health. From a historical perspective, this influence has involved both individuals responding to natural environments and also using natural environments for health-related reasons, as well as the ways in which societies have served to provide for these interactions. Two questions underlie the provision and use of natural environments for health. First is the question of whether or not natural environments can actually create positive health outcomes such as reduced stress, lower blood pressure, or a heightened sense of well-being. Second is the question of how natural environments effectuate or cultivate these impact factors related to health. Is the impact due to the natural setting simply being somewhat of a novelty for many individuals, and this ‘change of pace’ offering an offset to modern living? Or is there something about natural environments that helps foster a change in health status or the maintenance of that status? From another perspective, visitors to natural environments often come with others, such as family and/or friends. Does the very presence of these other people serve as a facilitating factor in enhancing health?

Natural settings often have different types and levels of environmental characteristics such as levels of pollution, crowding or high visitor use, and proximity to external influencing agents such as traffic, visual disturbances, and litter. Other characteristics of natural environments that often have some direct correlations to positive health factors include higher air quality, modified temperatures, reduced levels of noise and signs of urban disturbances, and the presence of vegetation, water, beautiful scenery, and quiet. Both the literature and our own experiences often suggest to us, that it is a combination of these and other variables related to the environment that often provides us with a powerful antidote to the stress of modern-day life and influences our health status.

Whether it be the verdant healing gardens developed in ancient Babylon, the herbs and plants gathered by our ancestors for medicinal purposes, or the vision quests practiced by First Nations, all the way to the development of greenspaces or nature preserves in our modern urban environments, societies of all eras and regions have recognized that natural environments play an important role in the fostering of positive health benefits. Whether these benefits are accrued through a quiet walk along a stream, or hiking up a challenging mountain, enjoying the camaraderie of friends out for a picnic in a municipal park, or even breathing in the air while in a cool, green forest, health comes to us, while in nature, and through nature.

This book is about the myriad of ways that nature and natural environments serve to foster health. Whether the natural environment provides a setting, an experience or some intrinsic quality, in this book we examine the long relationship people have had with natural settings, how this relationship can result in improved health, some of the theories and concepts that frame our thinking regarding the human/nature interaction, and how research has informed our thinking about how natural landscapes impact our health.

In addition, we have examined how different groups have responded to the health/natural environments interaction. For example, indigenous and First Nations peoples have used natural medicines and healing rituals involving natural landscapes for thousands of years, with this traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) carrying over into modern times. In another example, we examine the role that children and different life stages play in health-related issues and natural environments.

Along with issues of life stage or membership in a particular group, either historical or contemporary, we believe that the health-related benefits that natural environments provide to people can be augmented by the development of specifically designed programs or experiences. Towards this end, structured programs, such as those offered through organizations engaged in adventure education, and similar types of programs can be used to promote the health benefits associated with natural environments.

Finally, providing evidence-based knowledge and then developing subsequent policies that support the use of natural environments for enhancing health is an ongoing process. Like other research processes, developing research efforts specifically targeted towards understanding the health/natural environment connection often face a number of issues that need to be addressed. In addition, evidence-based policy needs to account for the myriad of situations and needs of the variety of people who engage in natural environments, whether deliberately or vicariously for health-related outcomes. As suggested by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote at the beginning of this Preface, what often matters most is what individuals do with their ‘spare time’. For many, that spare time is often spent in a natural environment and increasingly, for health-related outcomes.

Alan W. Ewert Denise S. Mitten Jillisa R. Overholt