Therapeutic Use of the Outdoors
It's February: Therapeutic Recreation Awareness Month!
Sometimes Nature is all you need
Did you know that February is Therapeutic Recreation Awareness Month? There are so many resources which advocate for the importance as well as the different types of Recreation Therapy. This newsletter will provide you with information on how to get involved in the outdoors and the therapeutic benefits of spending time in nature. For example, did you know that spending time in the forest can reduce stress levels? Learn more below!
What is a Labyrinth?
(The Labyrinth Society, 2015)
Mood Walks: What is it?
Why Take a Walk?
What is Forest Bathing?
Adventure Therapy: What is it?
What is Cycling Without Age Canada?
Cycling Without Age (CWA) is a global initiative that is represented in 52 countries, including Canada. Cycling Without Age Canada (CWACA) is a national organization bike program that aimed to promote mental and physical health and increase social interactions for all Canadians, especially older adults, using specially designed electric pedal-assisted trishaws (Cycling Without Age Canada, n.d.). Research has shown that CWA has short-term positive changes in the mood and well-being of the passengers who participated in the program (Gray & Gow, 2020; CWACA, n.d.). It provides the ‘passengers’ with the opportunities to go outdoors and enjoy the cycling experience with trained volunteers, ‘pilots’ (CWACA, n.d.). Learn more https://cyclingwithoutage.ca/benefits/
(New Hope Community Bikes, n.d.)
What is Therapeutic Horticulture/Horticultural Therapy?
It is a type of recreation therapy that utilizes plants and plant-related activities to enhance the healing and rehabilitation process (The Riverwood Conservancy, n.d.). Participating in horticulture therapy helps to promote the participants’ cognitive, social, emotional, physical, and physiological well-being (UF Center for Land Use Efficiency, 2021; The Riverwood Conservancy, n.d.).
References
Baştemur, Ş. (2019). Adventure Therapy. [Macera Terapisi] Psikiyatride Guncel Yaklasimlar, 11(2), 178-190. https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.434071
Canadian Mental Health Association. (2018). Mood Walks.
Carrier Clinic. (2015, February 18). Horticultural Therapy: Natural Therapy From the Garden [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuJqw0hTRS8&ab_channel=CarrierClinic
Center for Addiction and Mental Health. (2014, September 18). Mood Walks – Hiking for health. https://kmb.camh.ca/eenet/resources/mood-walks---hiking-health
Cycling Without Age Canada. (n.d.). Benefits. https://cyclingwithoutage.ca/benefits/
DeAngelis, Tori. (2022, November 1). Want to boost your mental health? Take a walk. American Psychological Association. (53)8. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/11/defeating-depression-naturally
Fong, Becky. (2015, March 31). Mood Walks [Video]. Youtube. https://moodwalks.ca/about-mood-walks/mood-walks-video-by-becky-fong/
Explore. (2019, March 28). Hamilton Halton Brant. https://theheartofontario.com/things-to-do/activities/outdoor/explore/
Gray, R., & Gow, A. J. (2020). Cycling without age: Assessing the impact of a cycling-based initiative on mood and wellbeing. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, 6, 233372142094663. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333721420946638
Healing Forest. (2020, January 13). Forest Bathing-What, How, Why? Introduction to Japanese Shinrin-yoku [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSvvhLvFrVE&t=4s
Healthy Parks Healthy People. (2023). Ontario Parks. https://www.ontarioparks.com/hphp
Horticultural therapy. (n.d.). The Word Search. https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/4950691/horticultural-therapy/
Kane, A. E. (2019). How forest bathing helps you feel better. Better Nutrition, 81(10), 22-23. https://ezproxy.mohawkcollege.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/how-forest-bathing-helps-you-feel-better/docview/2354296031/se-2
Nature and the outdoors. (n.d.). The Word Search.
https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/316/nature-and-the-outdoors/
New Hope Community Bikes. (n.d.). Cycling without age [Image]. https://www.newhopecommunitybikes.com/cwa
Peel, Jeanne M. (2016). The Labyrinth: An innovative therapeutic tool for problem solving or achieving mental focus. 12(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807042643
Program Overview (n.d.). Project Canoe. https://canoe.org/programoverview
Project SPOTLIGHT. (2022, September 22). Project Spotlight X Cycling Without Age-Hamilton & Burlington: The Beneficiaries [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVbblW4hWjg&ab_channel=ProjectSPOTLIGHT
Renye, Denise. (2022, December 23). Using Labyrinth as An Integration Tool. Good Therapy. https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/Labyrinth-as-Integration-Tool
Royal Botanical Gardens. (n.d.). Royal Botanical Garden Centre. https://www.rbg.ca/gardens-trails/by-attraction/rbg-centre/
The Labyrinth Society. (2015, April 5). Labyrinth History and Walking [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7u80ZLEh3M&list=PL_b0_A0j7uuSz3zMtUZaUk8-L1RB0V0Pm
The Riverwood Conservancy. (n.d.). The enabling garden: Therapeutic horticulture programs. https://theriverwoodconservancy.org/enablinggarden/
UF Center for Land Use Efficiency. (2021, April 23). Horticultural Therapy. UF Center for Land Use Efficiency [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exkUHk88VM&ab_channel=UFCenterforLandUseEfficiency
Watson, J. (2020, August 17). The Life-changing Power of Adventure Therapy. Aspiro. https://aspiroadventure.com/blog/adventure-therapy/
Weiland-Crosby, A. (2019). Nature Quotes for the Wandering Soul [Image]. Mom Soul Soothers.
https://www.momsoulsoothers.com/nature-quotes-for-the-wandering-soul/
What is Forest Therapy? (2021). Association of Nature & Forest Therapy Guides & Programs. https://www.natureandforesttherapy.earth/about/the-practice-of-forest-therapy
Ye, W., Yan, Q., Pan, Y., Gu, X., & Liu, Y. (2019). Medical empirical research on forest bathing (0RW1S34RfeSDcfkexd09rT2Shinrin-yoku1RW1S34RfeSDcfkexd09rT2): a systematic review. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 24, 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12199-019-0822-8