In this extra post, Dr Hannah McNeilly and Dr Imogen Bevan share their findings from piloting a six-week course, which took ten postgraduate students on guided mindful nature walks at the University of Edinburgh. These walks aimed to help the students slow down, increase wellbeing, and engage with nature as a group. Hannah is a medical anthropologist and lecturer at the Edinburgh Medical School, in Biomedical Sciences, and Imogen is a social anthropologist and postdoctoral researcher at School of GeoSciences.
“Today, in Blackford, the instructor guided us to turn off our phones and use our five senses to experience nature. When I lifted my head and locked my gaze on the flowing white clouds in the blue sky, I realized for the very first time that under the sunlight, the clouds indeed had golden edges. When I closed my eyes and sat on a wooden bench listening intently to the birds chirping in the forest, I felt like I heard for the very first time the most wonderful music in the world. When I squatted down to touch the soil with my hands, it seemed like for the very first time I truly felt the temperature and texture of the earth.” ( – Postgraduate student’s journal entry, 6th June 2024)
Rediscovering nature through the senses – to ground oneself and improve wellbeing – was a novel experience for many of the postgraduate students who took part in a pilot series of guided mindful nature walks at the University of Edinburgh, funded through the Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme. In the journal entry above, one student reflected on how she had learnt to ‘experience’ nature through sight, touch and sound, as opposed to simply passing through it.
For a duration of six weeks, we met a group of students every Thursday morning to go for a slow walk and engage with nature in the areas of Blackford Pond, Blackford Hill, and Hermitage of Braid. At the end of the course, students took part in in-depth interviews to share their experiences, and some students spontaneously shared additional written entries. It was breath-taking to see how simple activities like watching the movement of clouds, listening to birdsong, and exploring soil, leaves and tree roots (Figure 1) could help students to switch off from their fast-paced lives and experience the relaxing effects of nature.
The walks incorporated different kinds of landscapes – sheltered woodland groves, riversides, and wide hilltop views. “It’s not just about being in nature, but being with nature”, Hannah explained, while guiding the walks, and gave prompts to help students focus on their surroundings and connect with nature. Imogen accompanied the students and took notes about what happened.
The six-week course was formed of two parts: three weeks focused on slowing down, and three on noticing beauty and being creative in/with nature. The students were a mixed group of ten international and UK students working on their master’s and PhD projects in different parts of the University. A series of interviews at the end of the project gave us an insight into what they gained from the walks, as well as the stress many of them endured during their studies.
“Everything is so fast,” one of the PhD students stated. “[…] So, that tool of just being conscious of how slow I’m walking, and I’m feeling how I’m walking, I think that was one of the best things for me to realise what am I doing.” Indeed, several students highlighted that walking slowly and not trying to achieve anything specific had a profound effect on them.
As an MSc student who enjoyed hiking told us, “I didn’t [use to] allow myself to slow down when I’m outside. I needed to walk, walk, walk, more quickly. Get there faster. A little bit of sweat. So, it’s a different purpose. I didn’t really notice. Slow down for the nature.” Reflecting on the benefits of being slow, another student found that they now had learnt to notice smaller things and appreciate beauty more. “It definitely makes the quality of the day that bit much better,” they said.
The students enjoyed engaging with nature as a group – connecting with the ‘web of life’ around them and with other students. One PhD student explained that “students do struggle so much with work-life balance and loneliness” and appreciated being given the permission to take a break from trying to be busy and productive.
“When I go into the university here, I don’t really have a chance to enjoy life without any stress, to be honest”, one international student told us. She explained, “I worry about my work, but everybody as a student, everybody worries about their work.” This normalisation of individualised work stress meant that several students reported spending most of their time either at home or in the library and desired an outside force to encourage them to go out.
Of course, nature connection activities alone cannot remove the realities of upcoming exams, looming deadlines, or the financial struggles that affect students at the University of Edinburgh. What it can offer is the opportunity to subvert students’ fast paced routines, relieve anxiety, remind them of their interconnectedness with other living beings, and help putting things into perspective.
There was a keen interest expressed by the pilot group for the course to be extended into a longer programme, with some students requesting to take the entire course again. While they had gained valuable tools from the course, many felt they would find it difficult to do these walks alone without a mindfulness guide. We are now working towards establishing University-wide Green Wellbeing opportunities for students to find calm, rest and inspiration in nature.
Dr Hannah McNeilly is a medical anthropologist and lecturer at the Edinburgh Medical School, in Biomedical Sciences. She has conducted qualitative and mixed-methods research in Brazil, Scotland, and Uganda on diverse topics, such as collective care practices, neglected tropical diseases, and stigma. As a trained medical doctor and forest bathing guide (FTHub), she is interested in exploring nature connection to improve physical, mental, and social wellbeing.
Dr Imogen Bevan is a social anthropologist and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Edinburgh with experience designing and carrying out qualitative research in the UK and France on sugar consumption, mental health and wellbeing, tobacco and e-cigarette use, diagnostics and COVID-19. Her research interests include medical anthropology, kinship and parenting, and policymaking.