Healing campuses: Implementing Nature-Based Interventions to Promote University Student Mental Health and Wellbeing
Abstract
Innovative and accessible strategies are needed to address mental health burden among university students. Nature-based interventions (NBIs), which involve therapeutic activities conducted in nature spaces, are emerging to promote student wellbeing on university campuses. This review examined the range of NBIs implemented within universities and their reported benefits using a systematic search and narrative synthesis methodology. Evidence was searched from database inception to August 2026, identifying twelve studies representing eleven trials across five countries. Interventions involved forest therapy (n=5), mindfulness-based programs (n=4) adapted for outdoor campus settings, and therapeutic horticulture interventions (n=3). Evidence suggests that forest therapy is associated with reductions in stress and anxiety and improvements in mood, attention and overall wellbeing. Nature-integrated mindfulness programs were linked to reduced depressive symptoms, rumination, stress and anxiety, alongside enhanced wellbeing, mindfulness and connection to nature. Preliminary evidence suggests on campus therapeutic horticulture interventions may be associated with improvements in anxiety among university students and represent an accessible and affordable way to build nature and social connection. While findings are promising, evidence remains limited and of weak quality, highlighting the need for further robust research on implementation and sustainability within university contexts.
Related
- Implementing music therapy and dance movement therapy for preventive and therapeutic healing at community level: A perspective
- Editorial: Music-based interventions for mental health and wellbeing
- Effectiveness of green health prescribing and nature-based interventions in primary care and community settings for older adults: a systematic review of health, wellbeing and social outcomes
- Incidence of Naloxone-Use Before and After Implementing Opioid Safety Measures for Patients Hospitalised on General Wards in a Swiss University Hospital
- Effects of immersive virtual reality-based physical activity interventions on anthropometric variables and physical fitness in university students: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
BibTeX
@misc{oshea2026healing,
title = {{Healing campuses: Implementing Nature-Based Interventions to Promote University Student Mental Health and Wellbeing}},
author = {Melissa O’Shea and Brittany Patafio and David Skvarc and Cindy Zhou and hannah capon and Tracy Garvin and Nina Hunter and Claire Henderson-Wilson and Justin Lawson and Dieter Kotte},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/r2hmj_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/r2hmj_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Healing campuses: Implementing Nature-Based Interventions to Promote University Student Mental Health and Wellbeing
AU - Melissa O’Shea
AU - Brittany Patafio
AU - David Skvarc
AU - Cindy Zhou
AU - hannah capon
AU - Tracy Garvin
AU - Nina Hunter
AU - Claire Henderson-Wilson
AU - Justin Lawson
AU - Dieter Kotte
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/r2hmj_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/r2hmj_v1/
AB - Innovative and accessible strategies are needed to address mental health burden among university students. Nature-based interventions (NBIs), which involve therapeutic activities conducted in nature spaces, are emerging to promote student wellbeing on university campuses. This review examined the range of NBIs implemented within universities and their reported benefits using a systematic search and narrative synthesis methodology. Evidence was searched from database inception to August 2026, identifying twelve studies representing eleven trials across five countries. Interventions involved forest therapy (n=5), mindfulness-based programs (n=4) adapted for outdoor campus settings, and therapeutic horticulture interventions (n=3). Evidence suggests that forest therapy is associated with reductions in stress and anxiety and improvements in mood, attention and overall wellbeing. Nature-integrated mindfulness programs were linked to reduced depressive symptoms, rumination, stress and anxiety, alongside enhanced wellbeing, mindfulness and connection to nature. Preliminary evidence suggests on campus therapeutic horticulture interventions may be associated with improvements in anxiety among university students and represent an accessible and affordable way to build nature and social connection. While findings are promising, evidence remains limited and of weak quality, highlighting the need for further robust research on implementation and sustainability within university contexts.
ER -