Around two dozen participants gathered in the Coach House on the afternoon of Tuesday, the 16th of September. Participants chatted and stood around in groups, but made no effort to choose a seat. The reason for this became apparent when Tahia Devisscher, assistant professor of Forest Resources Management, stood and made the announcement.
Today, we would be going outside.
So began "Relating to Land Through Play," the inaugural session of the Green College Leading Scholars Seasons of Play series, which aims to analyze play through the ages, and how play can influence other aspects of our daily lives. This first session concerned forest therapy, forest bathing, and sound walking in urban forests around the city of Vancouver.
Once participants made it to the green space outside the Cecil Green Park House, the event began with a literal and spiritual land acknowledgment. Dr Devisscher began by speaking about how the land may have looked prior to colonization, envisioning tall trees and natural biodiversity. Then Jac Nobiss, an assistant professor of social work, spoke on the sovereignty and stewardship of the land by the Musqueam people.
After this, the event began in earnest. Participants were encouraged to pick a comfortable spot and remove their shoes, then to reach out with all five senses to the world around them. In doing so, the sound of the birds, feeling of the sun, and smell of the trees became more apparent, and a sense of surrendering to the natural world could be felt. Following this, Anabel Mahler, assistant professor of music, took some time to lead the group in making music through the use of the things around us. Crunching leaves, rustling grass, and snapping twigs contributed to a beautiful outdoor symphony. Finally, Dr Nobiss took some time to explain Indigenous stewardship of the land, as well as traditional medicines like sweetgrass, tobacco, and cedar.
At the end of the outdoor portion, participants were encouraged to form a circle and speak about what they noticed throughout the experience. Everything from the sounds of the seagulls to the profound feeling of community was brought up, and participants sat or stood lazily in the afternoon sun.
After a short break, and seeming noticeably calmer, the group slowly made their way back to the Coach House for the formal portion of the presentation. After an introduction from Dr Devisscher, Tara Tiger Brown, founder and research director of Forest Spaces, stood to begin her presentation. Dr Brown received her PhD in forestry from the University of British Columbia through her studies of forest bathing in Vancouver forests, and is also a certified forest therapist.
Forest bathing, she explains, comes from the Japanese practice of Shinrin-Yoku, or the act of immersing yourself in natural environments to promote physical and mental health. Forest bathing began to be studied in these areas in the 1980s, when it was then found to have multiple benefits. Forest bathing was determined to aid in reducing stress and cortisol levels, promote cognitive healing, and to aid in reducing stress caused by living in urban environments. Dr Brown spoke of the effects of “technostress,” or the innate stress caused by living around and interacting with technology on a daily basis.
While research on forest bathing in Canada is limited, Dr Brown set about to evaluate the impacts it could have on individuals living in and around Vancouver. She offered a variety of walks in different parks (including Stanley Park and Pacific Spirit Park), at different times of year, both guided and unguided. A heart rate, blood pressure, and mood test before and after helped determine the effects of the different types of forest bathing. The study continued through all four seasons as well, to determine if the results changed based on outside weather and other factors.
Through the research, Dr Brown noticed a reduction in both heart rate and blood pressure across the board, as well as an increase in connection with nature post-forest bathing. A variety of things influenced these changes, however. Forest bathing in cold weather, in noisy environments, or with guides could negatively impact an individual’s results. The physical activity could also increase heart rate or blood pressure, even if participants reported feeling calm.
Dr Brown also explained that people felt incredibly strongly about which form of forest bathing they preferred. Those who enjoyed a guided trail struggled while going it alone, and those who preferred to explore solo had a hard time going with a group. In addition, people struggled a lot with outside distractions on the trail, stating in mood tests afterwards that these distractions completely took them out of the experience, and that they’d prefer to forest bathe on a quieter trail further from downtown Vancouver. Finally, the weather did seem to have an impact. Dr Brown noticed that when the weather was inclement, rainy, or cold, some participants did seem to have a worse time. Several complained about the weather in these situations, saying they would rather participate in the experience on a nicer day.
In addition to this work, Dr Brown has also created Silent Trails, a project that developed trails that prioritize the sounds of nature. This project has been featured in Pacific Spirit Regional Park and Campbell Valley Regional Park, where portions of some trails have been designated as “Silent Trails” between August and December 2024. She also developed Forest^r, an augmented reality forest bathing experience.
Following her presentation, Drs Brown and Devisscher opened the floor to questions from the audience. Fielding questions from participants in the research and other individuals who expressed interest in keeping the project going, the audience was clearly engaged in Dr Brown’s work and was eager to see where it would go next.
After about a half dozen questions, the event organizers shared an overview of the remainder of the events in the Seasons of Play series. Then, the audience left to mingle and head home, perhaps with a brief detour, first, into one of the many restorative sites of Vancouver’s urban forests.
Post by: Claire Donnan, Green College content writer and resident member.