Natural Connections utilizes a combination of ecotherapy principles, adventure-based activities, and experiential processing to foster personal growth and resilience, while also building relationship and communication skills, self-esteem, and emotion regulation skills. Natural Connections includes a combination of self-paced activities, ecotherapy services, and adventure and recreation activities designed to aid the therapeutic healing process.
Nature in Action
Nature in Action will provide a safe space for students to learn new skills, make friends, build confidence, and improve overall well-being. Each Nature in Action session will introduce students to a new recreational activity. Following the completion of the activity, a UCC clinician will engage students in experiential processing to foster personal growth and resilience, while also building relationship and communication skills, self-esteem, and emotion regulation skills. Students will register for Nature in Action through the Campus Recreation Member Portal. Nature in Action will include the following adventure-based activities:
- Ride and Reflect
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College is a dynamic environment; it’s both exciting and challenging. Branching out and trying new things can be intimidating at times. Come for a supportive and safe space where you can show up as you are and learn about riding in Oakland and the surrounding areas. Enjoy a leisurely 3-5-mile bike ride with individuals from the Campus Recreation Bike Cave staff and counselors from the University Counseling Center. Learn how cycling can be a great way to get exercise, get around, and practice mindfulness along the way. No bicycle, no helmet? No problem, one can be provided for you. Please email rec@pitt.edu to secure a bike and helmet!
- Mind and Body Harmony – Yoga on the Lawn
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Join us for an opportunity to relax both the body and the mind. Meet us on the Lawn for an outdoor yoga experience welcoming of individuals of all identities and backgrounds to experience connection with mind, body, and our environment. Yoga on the Lawn is more than just yoga, it is an opportunity to learn and connect with others and the world around you. From the experienced yogi to the person wanting to just wanting to try it out, all are welcome. You’ll enjoy your time on the lush green grass of the lawn while an experienced and skilled yoga instructor guides you through mindfully moving your body. Afterwards counselors from the University Counseling Center will debrief and provide opportunity to share about your experience with your peers. Bring your mat, and, if you do not have one, we can provide on for you.
- Exploring Biodiversity for Wellbeing
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Come along for a guided nature stroll in partnership with the Office of Sustainability to explore the diverse plant species and gain insight into the balance of the ecosystems in parks surrounding Pitt. Students from all intersections of life are welcome to join us to immerse in nature and stroll through Schenley Park to gain more understanding of the connection between nature, sustainability, and how both can foster wellbeing. Members of the Office of Sustainability and the University Counseling Center will provide some insight about how our own mental health and environmental stewardship are connected. Wear a comfortable clothing for a casual stroll outside, water, and a curious mind as we explore and connect with other students in fostering wellbeing. Afterwards University Counseling Center staff will debrief while you share your experiences and thoughts with your peers.
- Discover and Engage
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Enjoy a casual hike through the tree-covered trails in Pittsburgh’s historic Schenley Park. While discovering new trails counselors from the University Counseling Center will help guide mindfulness practices that engage all the senses; teaching skills that can be applied any time and any place you need a moment of peace and reflection. Discover Pittsburgh’s natural spaces and make new friends in a supportive safe environment. All abilities, interests, and identities are welcome. Afterwards we will spend some time debriefing and sharing about our experiences and thoughts.
- Waves of Wellness
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Join us for an introduction to stand up paddle boarding in the tranquil waters of Trees Pool. This event is designed to help you overcome fears and feeling uncomfortable and how activities like paddle boarding can help foster balance and wellbeing in your life. Our skilled and experienced instructor will guide you through the basics of stand-up paddle boarding. This event is designed for all skill levels, and we welcome all students holding diverse abilities, interests, and identities. In addition to learning and practicing stand-up paddle boarding you will learn how mindfulness and other strategies can help with paddle boarding and be transferred into other areas of life. After paddle boarding, University Counseling Center staff will help debrief while you share your experiences and thoughts.
- Climb and Connect
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This activity welcomes all Pitt students, just as you are, to meet others, share experiences, and have fun learning the basics of rock climbing. No prior experience is needed. Individuals from the Campus Recreation climbing wall staff will introduce you to the basics of rock climbing and provide shoes and gear. Afterward, counselors from the University Counseling Center will be there to help you mindfully reflect on the experience and connect with your peers. All abilities, interests, and identities are welcome.
- Yoga
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This class is intended to promote health, alleviate stress, improve skeletal alignment, and increase muscular strength and flexibility. Learn the fundamentals of yoga through various poses & sequences, relaxation techniques, proper breathing, meditation, and concentration. Expect to gain confidence, strength, and flexibility. This class is for yogis of all levels. Afterwards counselors from the University Counseling Center will debrief and provide opportunity to share about your experience with your peers.
- Urban Hike
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Come along for a guided urban hike to explore the diverse plant species and gain insight into the balance of the ecosystems in parks surrounding Pitt. Students from all intersections of life are welcome to join us to immerse in nature and stroll through Oakland to gain more understanding of the connection between nature, sustainability, and how both can foster wellbeing. Afterward, counselors from the University Counseling Center will debrief and provide opportunity to share about your experience with your peers.
- Cycle and Flow
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Come for a supportive and safe space where you can show up as you are and learn about riding in Oakland and the surrounding areas. Enjoy a leisurely 3–5-mile bike ride followed up with yoga on the Cathedral Lawn. Learn how cycling and yoga can be a great way to get exercise, get around, and practice mindfulness along the way. Afterward, counselors from the University Counseling Center will debrief and provide opportunity to share about your experience with your peers. No bicycle, no helmet? No problem, one can be provided for you. Please email rec@pitt.edu to secure a bike and helmet!
- Grounding Meditation
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Join The Stress Free Zone for an opportunity to relax both the body and the mind. This outdoor experience welcomes individuals of all identities and backgrounds to experience connection with mind, body, and our environment. Mediation is an opportunity to learn and connect with others and the world around you. From an experienced person to just wanting to try it out, all are welcome. Afterward, counselors from the University Counseling Center will debrief and provide opportunity to share about your experience with your peers.
Nature as Self-Care
Nature as Self Care consists of self-guided resources and established programming from the UCC, Campus Recreation, and the Stress-Free Zone. Nature as Self Care provides scaffolding opportunities for students interested in fostering personal growth and resilience and will help them connect with both their natural environment and established campus resources. Nature as Self-Care will include the following activities:
Self-Paced Activities
- Panther Walking Route
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The Panther Walking Route is designed to boost your well-being and physical activity, and to learn more about the Pittsburgh campus. The Panther Walking Route includes 10 stops throughout the Pittsburgh campus. Each stop includes a sign with a QR code to scan to learn more about the stop, why you're there, and some fun facts about sustainability initiatives and opportunities to improve your wellness here at Pitt! Each stop provides opportunities to engage in mindfulness activities and one-minute fitness routines.
- Tree Trek Thoughts
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The Campus Tree Trek is a route that has 17 trees equipped with educational signage to help you learn more about the trees on campus, as well as engage in self-reflection that promotes personal wellness and growth. The Campus Tree Trek highlights the beauty of trees on the University of Pittsburgh’s Pittsburgh campus. The Campus Tree Trek is an approximately one-mile route that showcases various tree species around campus and provides reflection questions that help you engage in Tree Trek Thoughts. You can start the trek at any tree along the route, just look for the educational signs and scan the QR code to get your thoughts flowing.
Nature Workshops
- Mindfulness and Shinrin-Yoku
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We would love for you to join us for a workshop highlighting the restorative and evidence-based benefits of mindfulness and reconnecting with nature and the forest known as Shinrin-Yoku. This workshop is designed to help participants reconnect and experience the mental and physical benefits of combining mindfulness with Shinrin-Yoku. Whether you are seeking to reduce stress, improve your mood, or simply reconnect with the natural world around you, this workshop offers practical evidence-based skills and strategies to increase awareness of your senses and environment. All are welcome, simply register, come as you are, and share in the experience.
- Awe and Appreciation of Beauty
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Please join us for an educational and experiential workshop focused on evidence-based positive psychology concepts of Awe and Appreciation of Beauty. Discover how moments of awe and appreciation of beauty are supportive of well-being, increased connectedness, and increased resilience. Whether it is the complexity and expansiveness of the natural world or personally meaningful art, this workshop hopes to equip you with the knowledge and skills to support your emotional well-being and psychological resilience. All are welcome, simply register, come as you are, and share in the experience.
- Benefits of Playfulness
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We would love for you to join us for a fun and interactive workshop highlighting several benefits of playfulness. Discover how engaging in playful activities can boost creativity, improve mood and cognition, reduce stress, and strengthen social connections. Through hands-on activities you can experience how adding a bit of playfulness to your daily routine can lead to a healthier, happier, and more fulfilling life. All are welcome, simply register, come as you are, and share in the experience.
- Mindful Photography
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Discover how mindful photography can increase happiness, enhance savoring, and contribute to overall well-being. With this workshop we will explore how mindful photography leads to increased positive mood, reduced stress, and deeper connections with your surroundings. Learn how mindfully capturing moments can bring you joy and help you savor the present moment. Experience the benefits as you practice taking thoughtful and intentional photographs throughout the workshop. All are welcome as this is an ideal workshop for anyone interested in personal growth, well-being, practicing mindfulness through this practical and engaging activity.
- Hammock Village
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Join The Stress Free Zone for an opportunity to relax both the body and the mind. Meet us for an outdoor experience welcoming of individuals of all identities and backgrounds to experience connection with mind, body, and our environment. Hammock Meditation is an opportunity to learn and connect with others and the world around you. From the experienced person to just wanting to try it out, all are welcome.
- Intentional Meditation
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Join the Stress Free Zone inside beautiful Heinz Memorial Chapel for an evening of intention setting and meditation. Whether you have never meditated or are a seasoned practitioner, you are welcome. Once we conclude inside, all students are invited to stay intentional for their commute home (or to their cars) as the brisk air in Pittsburgh can sometimes be a beautiful awakening. We’ll find ways within our intentional meditation to stay present and use the coming darker skies and brisker air to keep us grounded.
- Move. Breathe. Paint. Create. Reflect.
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.: The Stress Free Zone and the Center for Creativity are partnering together with Natural Connections to bring you a stress relief event in The Understory. Students will be led through 30 minutes of yoga, followed by mindful breathing exercises joined together with paint to create art. No experience is needed for yoga, or painting. Comfortable clothes to move and paint in is all you’ll need. Registration Required as spots are limited.
Nature Rx (Ecotherapy)
Nature Rx will consist of clinical programming and services offered by the UCC. These services will focus on ecotherapy principles which involve experiencing nature to remediate mental health symptoms by utilizing intentional therapeutic interventions and activities in nature. The focus of Nature Rx will be on engaging in outdoor activities so clients can increase their awareness of themselves, others, and their surroundings. Clients engaging in Nature Rx services will be active therapy clients at the UCC. The following Nature Rx services will be offered:
Group Therapy
- Moving Forward Group
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This group will combine talk therapy with movement to develop a deeper connection with nature and the surrounding campus environment. This is not an exercise or a running program, but an ecotherapy program that utilizes the benefits of physical exercise. This group will replace the traditional group setting of an office with the outdoors. The clients set the pace whether it’s running, walking or combination of both. The group will help foster a positive mood, help one gain insight into their thoughts and feelings as well as practice mindfulness. This group can help manage physical symptoms related to mental health concerns; emotional symptoms; and interpersonal challenges. Participants in this group will be taught mindfulness skills in addition to body awareness, guided breathing exercises, and developing helpful and effective connections with fellow participants, nature, and their inner experiences.
- DBT Outdoors Group
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This group would incorporate the four modules of DBT including mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. This group will rely on the intentional use of nature and outdoor environments to foster skill mastery. This group will incorporate the use of a modified diary card to include engagement with nature while practicing the use of the skills (e.g., mindfulness in a greenspace). The focus of this group would be to highlight how nature and our environments coupled with DBT skills can both impact our physical, and mental health and alleviate symptoms and experiences consistent with depression and anxiety, emotional dysregulation, self-image/esteem, and other related concerns.
Individual Therapy
The UCC offers individual counseling sessions outdoors that integrate natural settings such as parks, greenspaces, etc. into the therapeutic environment. Therapy in green spaces help to facilitate connection with nature and to identify how connection to green spaces can help alleviate symptoms consistent with presenting concerns such as depression, anxiety, anxiety, trauma, etc.