Blue Sky Funders Forum is proud to collaborate with the Climate Mental Health Network and OneGreenThing to bring you the first chapter of our ongoing Nature = series, where we’ll explore how human health and well-being are impacted by access to and time spent in the outdoors. Join us on March 27 from 1 – 2:30 pm ET.

We’ll highlight the latest research connecting time outside and tangible health benefits like easing anxiety, lowering blood pressure, and disease prevention. Then we’ll be joined by inspiring activists, nonprofit leaders, and community members working to ensure that access to the outdoors and these benefits are seen as a basic human right, and not as a “nice to have” for the most privileged.

Meet The Speakers

Dr. Courtney Schultz (Facilitator), Health & Technology Partners, LCC
Dr. Jylana L. Sheats, Tulane University School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine and Aspen Institute Science & Society Program
Sage Palmedo, Gen Z Advisor for the Climate Mental Health Network
Akiima Price, Friends of Anacostia Park
Heather White, OneGreenThing

This webinar is open to anyone and will be recorded. Registration is required.

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Missed the session? Resources below!

Websites & Organizations to Explore

• Rethink Outside™ & Blue Sky Funders Forum
• OneGreenThing: Explore Your Unique Role in Climate Action Assessment 
• Climate Mental Health Network
• Gen:Thrive
• 150+ Partner organizations of Rethink Outside™ who are committed to narrative change 
• Black to the Land

Book Recommendations 

• Climate mental health books collected by the Climate Mental Health Network 
• Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer) 
• Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life (Richard Louv)

Articles & Videos

• Funders must help youth respond to climate change (Alliance Magazine)
• Nature Helps Children Recover from Adverse Childhood Experiences (Children & Nature Network) 
• Nature Imagery in Prisons Project (Sustainability in Prisons Project)
• REI Co-op: Outside in 5 with Akiima Price at Anacostia Park video
• A Brief But Spectacular Take on the Power of Nature video (PBS NewsHour with Akiima Price) 
• Wood Hood documentary 
• An Open-Air Approach to Mental Health Treatment (New York Times)

Reports, Guides, & More Resources 

• Climate Change and Youth Mental Health: Psychological Impacts, Resilience Resources & Future Directions, 2021 Report (Dr. Sheats)
• Climate Emotions Wheel (Climate Mental Health Network)
• Resource Hub from the Children & Nature Network 
• What’s Good in My Hood? A Service-Learning Workbook for Investigating Urban Communities (New York Restoration Project, Akiima Price) 
• OneGreenThing’s intergenerational guides to talk about nature, climate action, and movement-building
• Nature Can Improve Health and Wellbeing factsheet (Children & Nature Network)
• 4 Ways to Practice Self-Care in Nature guide (Children & Nature Network)