Long before humankind’s relationship with electronic devices, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson described the necessity of bonding with nature. More than a century later, EOH Lecturer Florence Williams backs up their thoughts with impressive data.
Williams’s TedxNavesink talk, Making Spaces of Awe and Restoration, and her book, The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative, provide fascinating details and examples of the profound and measurable effects nature has upon humans. Williams has spent years investigating the science at the confluence of environment, mood, health, and creativity. At a time when half of the world’s population live in cities, with the expectation of that figure reaching 70% by 2050, Williams provokes thoughts about the consequences and potential solutions. She provides examples of actions and options already in place to help us get the exposure to nature that she has come to believe is essential for human health, from gardens interspersed among Singapore’s high rises to Seattle’s low tide walks to the Finnish recommendation of spending five hours a month in nature to ward off depression. Williams makes a compelling case for recognizing the human need for nature.
Williams is intimately familiar with nature deprivation. After moving from Boulder, Colorado, to Washington, DC, Williams was surprised at how swiftly her sense of wellbeing plummeted. A reporting assignment on the Japanese tradition of “forest bathing” revealed that time spent immersing oneself in nature had the power to reduce one’s heart rate, blood pressure, and level of the stress hormone cortisol. This and additional investigative work provided Williams with bountiful evidence and beautiful details to write The Nature Fix.
The publishing trade magazine Kirkus awarded The Nature Fix a coveted starred review, saying “In this upbeat, brightly conversational account, Outside contributing editor Williams travels widely to track down the best science behind 'our deep, cranial connection to natural landscapes …' A thoughtful, refreshing book with a simple but powerful message: 'Go outside, often, sometimes in wild places. Bring friends or not. Breathe.’”
The George Washington community is invited to learn more as Williams discusses her work as part of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health’s 2017 Research Seminar Series: Nature and the Power of Awe on Monday, January 30, 2017, from 12:30pm-1:30pm, in the ground floor auditorium of 950 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC. Refreshments and a WebEx Connection will be available. Access by phone: +1-415-655-0003, Access Code: 739 370 571. RSVP to [email protected] or 202.994.1734. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.