Top 10 Ways for People to Connect with Nature

1. Top 10 Examples of Connecting
People to Nature
Brooks Barron
EDUC302
4/8/15

2. Criteria for Selection
• I chose examples of connecting that:
– Bring me awe + put my human life in perspective
– Take me out of my everyday mindset
– Balance each other (i.e. some can be done at
almost any time or place, others require effort)
– Engage all senses
– Enrich my relationships with people and other
beings
– Make me feel like I’m part of something much
greater than myself

3. #1: Solo time in nature
• When I am by myself in nature for an
extended period of time, with no distractions,
is when I feel most connected to nature
• These times never fail to bring me new
perspectives and creative ideas
• They also help me relax, live in the present,
and feel fully alive

4. #2: Playing outside as a child
• Children have a wonderful innate ability to
play in nature – before they are taught that it
is “wrong” to be dirty, etc.
• Nature is a magical playground with endless
possibilities, a truth which seems especially
clear to young people – so connecting with
nature as a child can lead to a life-long
practice

5. #3: Adventuring with friends
• There are few better ways I know to connect
with other people than being out together in
nature – especially if there is a sense of
exploration, adventure, and a foray into the
unknown
• Nature provides great opportunities for flow –
to get us out of our everyday mindset (i.e.
skiing, mountain biking, trail running)

6. #4: Being barefoot on the grass
• An amazing and unique feeling to sense the
grass and soil beneath you – is it cold? Warm?
Wet? Dry?
• A simple and powerful way to connect with
nature almost anywhere

7. #5: Stories of nature in art
• Books, poems, movies, plays, paintings, and
other forms of art allow us to connect with
nature no matter where we are
• They also broaden our understanding of what
it means to connect with nature by showing
us how someone else experiences it

8. #6: Domesticated animals
• Everyone has had that pet who they love so
deeply and connect with in a way too strong
to describe in words
• To me, this embodies the experience of
connecting with nature in an open and
trusting way
• Dogs, cats, horses, birds, etc.

9. #7: Pieces of nature indoors
• A small plant, rock, pinecone, or other artifact
from nature can bring a differentiated energy
to an indoor place – especially if one makes an
effort to notice and experience that energy

10. #8: Sleeping under the stars
• A star-filled sky makes me feel so small, and
makes me put my life (and the human world)
in perspective
• It also fills me with awe and reminds me that I
am a part of something incredible at a scale I
can barely imagine

11. #9: Wildlife encounters
• Your heart races, you catch your breath, you
look the animal in the eye – are they a threat?
Will they run? What do they think of me?
• These encounters remind us how it feels to be
wildlife ourselves

12. #10: A mountaintop view
• Seeing the world from above provides new
perspective and reminds us how gorgeous our
planet is
• Wind in the face, short of breath, and views in
every direction – I can never get enough of
this.