UW News

Carly Gray

April 21, 2025

Q&A: UW researchers examine mental impact of Girl Scouts’ interactions with nature

A person photographed from the lower leg down. The person is wearing black leggings and brown boots and is standing on a rock in the woods.

New research from the University of Washington, recently published in the Journal of Environmental Education, examined whether children’s interactions with nature that are embodied, rather than just visual, are associated with feeling connected to something beyond the self. Exploratory analyses found that participants who had embodied interactions reported a greater sense of presence in nature than those who reported only visual interactions.