Isabelle McEwen is a fourth year Environment and Sustainability Studies honours student with Dr. John Colton. She is studying the impacts of nature therapy on health using the Acadia Woodland Trails.

Isabelle is actively seeking adult volunteer research participants. Volunteers will take part in a 30 minute nature activity on the Woodland Trails independently, at a time of their choosing. All participants will be entered in a draw to win a $20 Just Us Coffee House giftcard. There will be a station with research materials at the Westwood Trailhead, from which participants will undertake a sensory based exploration of the trails. 

If you are interested in participating please fill out this intake form: https://forms.gle/1DsN3UoYAKMRJrQ77

Isabelle says, “My interest in the impact of time in nature on health and wellbeing came about because of many years working as a Nature Educator, and spending much of my own time in nature. As an Educator, I saw how much people of all ages seemed to benefit on many levels from time spent outdoors, and found these changes mirrored in my own experiences. After discovering the literature supporting the connection between Nature-Based Therapies and aspects of health and wellbeing, I wondered why modern healthcare fields don’t more often incorporate this complementary treatment into practices. This led me to research the potential Nature-Based Therapies have to offer as a Complementary Alternative Medicine (a treatment which is incorporated into a pre-existing clinical structure) for fields of Rehabilitation Therapy”. 

Isabelle is also interested in exploring the connections between participation in Nature-Based Therapies and changes in perspective regarding the natural world, such as increases in environmentalist values and sustainability efforts.

The volunteer participant phase of this project will run from June 1^st to July 29^th. Participants will take part in the single in-person nature activity, and have the choice to participate in a virtual follow-up interview.