Noticing Nature
Participants are instructed to designate brief periods in day-to-day life to pay close attention to nature and notice how it makes them feel. They are also encouraged to take photos of nature when they experience strong emotions and write about their experiences.
Reasoning
Humans are a biophilic species, with nature as our primary environment of evolutionary adaptation. Accordingly, time in nature is associated with feelings of calm, awe, and wonder, and perceptions of belonging and shared humanity. “Nature bathing” (e.g. calmly walking a forest trail) is associated with lowered blood pressure, less anxiety, and greater self-reported health and well-being. Urban neighborhoods with more greenery (e.g. tree canopy) are linked with higher life expectancy. In contemporary urban settings often set apart from nature, time in natural settings can be calming and restorative. Deliberately attending to the presence of nature or a nature-based element in any setting (e.g. local trees, potted plants) can also yield these benefits. People report feeling amazed by a colorful sunset or mesmerized by pattering rain or delighted by the color and crunch of fall leaves - all of which can have a calming and grounding effect.
Procedure
Participants are instructed to spend a few moments each day attending closely to elements of nature, adopting a stance of curiosity and wonder. They are instructed to notice how it feels to pay attention to something nature-based, and focus in a detailed way on sensations (e.g. sounds, smells, sights, tactile experiences, etc..), their own emotional experience, and any thoughts or realizations that occur. Participants are also encouraged to take a photo when they encounter something nature-based that has a strong impact on them. Then, they are instructed to write a description of their photo and any feelings and thoughts related to their photo.Participants are instructed to do this at least 10 times over a 2 week period.
Primary Citation & Study Summary:
Passmore, H. A., & Holder, M. D. (2016). Noticing nature: Individual and social benefits of a two-week intervention. Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(6), 537-546.
Participants who paid special attention to nature, took photos, and wrote about how it made them feel for two weeks reported increased positive emotions, elevation (a sense of awe, inspiration, and transcendence), as well as being kinder, and feeling more connected to others and the world around them than those paid attention and took photos of human built environments/objects, or who passed through the same period of time business-as-usual.
More Evidence
Passmore HA, Yargeau A, Blench J. Wellbeing in Winter: Testing the Noticing Nature Intervention During Winter Months. Front Psychol. 2022 Apr 25;13:840273. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.840273. PMID: 35548509; PMCID: PMC9082067.
Participants who took photos of nature scenes reported a positive-to-negative emotion experience ratio of 8:1 compared to 3:1 for control condition photos of human built-objects. Only nature photo takers reported higher levels of positive affect, satisfaction with life, elevation, and hope agency, nature connectedness and marginally significantly higher levels of transcendent connectedness after two weeks.