Within mental healthcare, climate psychology has become a growing area of research. To better understand how to help people suffering with “climate anxiety,” studies have focused on whether connecting with nature yields benefits — and it does. 

At Mindful USC, Robert Lurye, an artist, educator and meditation practitioner, and Martin Vitorino, a lecturer in the Dornsife Department of Physical Education and Mind Body Health, teach two classes focusing on getting students, staff and the community to consider mindfulness in nature. 

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Amid the buzzing and fast-paced world, Lurye said mindfulness provides him with a way to address the rising feelings of anxiety and stress. 

“I found the various types of practices for guiding how to be aware and awake in the world and not living in the imagination that past — shoulding and coulding and future planning and rehearsing — is a really beneficial way to live,” Lurye said. 

Beyond simply engaging in the practice of slowing down and raising awareness, both Lurye and Vitorino believe mindfulness requires a connection with nature. In their respective courses, “Mindfulness in Nature” and “Mindfulness Under the Trees,” they hone in on this importance by interacting with natural elements that sometimes go unnoticed. 

For Vitorino, his class focuses on one tree around campus each meeting. Students not only learn about its history, but also how to connect to its qualities. In this way, the course serves to foster a deep understanding of the self in a way that roots these emotions back to nature. 

“It gets us more in touch with the reality of what we are. We are nature,” Vitorino said. “When we’re in nature, we slow down, we kind of almost catch up to the pace of nature … we settle a bit and then our nervous system begins to relax and … it’s like our heart begins to almost like unfold, unfurl like a flower, it begins to open and then we can see what’s there.”

Mark Gangi, a member of the American Institute of Architects, lecturer of architecture and principal architect of Gangi Architects, said although the urban nature of cityscapes can make it difficult for people to find ways to connect with nature, it is essential for people’s mental health to spend time in green spaces.

“The ability to have spaces that give you this kind of peace of mind, or escape, or some connection back to a natural experience is extremely important,” Gangi said. 

With concerns rising over climate change, efforts to get people to connect with nature in meaningful ways can significantly impact how they experience and cope with the world.

“Nature … like the climate crisis, can be offering us challenges and suffering,” Lurye said. “[But] it’s also there equally, if not more, for healing and growth and nourishment.”