The Learning Network

Meet The Learning Network

Portrait of Amy Wagenfeld — Amy Wagenfeld

Co-Director of The Learning Network; Committee Co-Chair - Education

Affiliate Associate Professor, University of WashingtonProfile URL

Portrait of Wes Tate — Wes Tate

Co-Director of The Learning Network; Committee Co-Chair - Education

Medical Director, The Trauma FoundationProfile URL

Portrait of Amelia Dupuis — Amelia Dupuis

Program Director

Kids Garden Community Manager & Administrative Director, KidsGardening.orgProfile URL

You can contact us at tln@naturehealthalliance.org

How Are We Defining Places and Programs?

The Learning Network highlights case studies that demonstrate the important connection between access to high quality nature and human health and flourishing. These case studies are divided into two broad categories: places and programs.

The Sensory Arts Garden is an innovative therapeutic environment that supports individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Places include site-specific projects that are intentionally designed to promote health and well-being by bringing people into contact with nature. Some places are built as parks and gardens for general purpose use by the public. Other places are designed with specific uses in mind that promote nature connection for certain groups of people, such as communities of color, individuals with different physical abilities, and populations with health-related conditions. These types of places may be connected with a hospital, clinic, school, or neighborhood. What all these different types of places have in common is a shared responsibility to increase equitable access to nature. They wouldn’t be possible without the collaborative efforts of design professionals, health care professionals, built-environment contractors, nature experts, and researchers. By highlighting case studies about these kinds of places, The Learning Network recognizes the work of these amazing professionals and the organizations and institutions they represent.

Two people riding horseback on a grassy plain under an open blue sky. They ride towards the horizon where low hills can be seen in the distance.

Programs include activities, classes, and therapeutic interventions that have been created to promote human health and flourishing through contact with nature. Many programs are associated with schools, hospitals, clinics, and other community-based organizations. They may include recreational opportunities and activities that are available to the general public. But they can also include therapeutic interventions that are targeted toward specific groups of people, such as individuals with health-related conditions, different age groups, and historically disadvantaged communities. These programs are often the result of purposeful collaboration between health care professionals, academics, researchers, designers, and community-based organizations. Sometimes the organizations that sponsor these types of programs are very large, such as national nonprofits or government agencies, but often they are quite local, like a school, hospital, or local philanthropy. By highlighting these types of programs, The Learning Network hopes that more people discover activities that can improve their quality of life by sustaining a strong connection with nature.

Featured Case Study

Program

DREAM Adaptive Recreation

DREAM Adaptive Recreation’s mission is to enhance the quality of life of individuals with disabilities by providing year-round outdoor adaptive recreational opportunities.

Learn More

Case Studies

A child in a blue shirt and a child in a red shirt are playing the game Twister outdoors, on a surface of dried grass and leaves.

Program

Integrative OT

The Integrative OT program model provides nature-based occupational therapy services for children in the Birmingham, Alabama area. Integrative OT also co-hosts free Heeling Cancer hikes with a local massage therapist for adults undergoing cancer treatment or who are cancer survivors of any kind.

Four sticks are bound together by twine, creating a frame around pink-colored leaves and pink paper hearts that say “I LOVE YOU MOM” in a child’s handwriting.

Program

Bearfoot Occupational Therapy

Bearfoot Occupational Therapy provides nature-based pediatric occupational therapy that combines expert guidance with transformational sessions to unlock the best version of a child's most authentic self.

A large group of participants line up for a photo at the edge of a hill. They are all dressed in biking gear and have their arms thrown up in the air as a sign of triumph; some also have bikes by their sides. The background is a beautiful shot of a vast canyon, with rolling green hills that disappear far into the horizon. The clear sky overhead is lit up by a bright sun.

Program

The Cycle Effect - Building Belonging on Bikes

The Cycle Effect uses mountain biking as a catalyst to mentor riders and foster belonging, physical wellbeing, mental health, community engagement, leadership skills, and fun outside. The Cycle Effect provides bikes, gear, transportation, bilingual coaching, and low-cost programming to eliminate barriers to entry for an otherwise exclusive sport.

Have a Case Study to Share?

The Learning Network features case studies about innovative and original design projects and programs that demonstrate successful strategies to increase access to high quality nature and improve health.

Share Your Case Study

Stay Connected!

Sign up to receive updates from The Learning Network and connect with educators, researchers, students, design and planning professionals, and healthcare providers within this practitioner network.

Join The Learning Network

The Learning Network