Why Nature Is So Good for You: Mentally, Physically, & Spiritually
Courtney Crim, Ed.D., is an associate professor at Trinity University and has taught there since 2010. Her expertise includes diverse student populations and differentiated curriculum development. She has also done work designing programs that integrate environmental education via a variety of local, state and international initiatives. It is this work that contributed to her becoming a certified forest therapy guide trained through the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy. With her colleague, Dr. Laura Allen, they developed and now lead an interdisciplinary research team studying the benefits of the natural environment on well-being. This team has published their work nationally and given multiple invited presentations, most recently at SA2020, EnVibe podcast, and the Texas Children in Nature Network. In collaboration with Dr. Allen, Dr. Crim co-designed and now co-teaches the course The Natural Environment and Well-Being. This course is structured in a way that students spend, at minimum, 50% of class time outside in natural settings, conduct their own research, and experience forest therapy walks in a variety of outdoor contexts.
Drs. Crim and Allen have expanded their work integrating the environment and well-being beyond the college campus and into the broader community by establishing Nature Connections and Forest Bathing of San Antonio (natureconnectionsofsa.com), where they offer a range of customizable workshops and forest therapy walks for individuals, organizations, and educators.
