Abstract
Guided by literature on wellbeing benefits of nature interactions, this dissertation presents a quasi-experimental study examining the effects of four barrier-lifting lessons to prepare participants for a nature engagement intervention versus control in natural versus urban environments. Previous research has not addressed the way people engage with natural environments for optimizing health and wellness. Measures of perceived stress, connectedness to nature, and mindfulness in nature were collected at three time points to examine the effect of type of engagement with nature and` natural versus urban environments. Results from repeated measures analysis of variance indicate all groups increased connection to nature (F(1, 86) = 74.22, p < .001) and mindfulness in nature (F (1, 86) = 50.88, p < .001) over time, but no significant differences were observed between groups pairwise on either variable. However, raw survey scores indicated the intervention groups had a non-significant greater increase in mindfulness in nature in both environments compared to controls. All groups had a reduction in stress (F (1, 86) = 144.92, p < .001), and the intervention group in the natural setting observed the greatest non-significant reduction in stress (p = .063) compared to control in the same environment. Correlations supported previous research where psychological stress was inversely correlated with connection to nature (r(88) = -.372, p = .01) and mindfulness in nature (r(88) = -.500, p < .01). Mindfulness in nature and connection to nature were positively correlated (r(88) = .524, p < .01). A discussion is presented about what factors likely contributed to the findings, and suggestions for future research are outlined. Implications follow about how and why optimal forms of nature engagement in urban settings should be considered and implemented the for health and wellbeing practices of individuals and specific groups.