Nature heals, veterans learn Story and photos by Glenda C. Booth Additional photos by Veterans in the Wild
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d Acevedo says that working with horses “makes him feel good.” For Sage Raintree, a walk in the woods boosts his spirits.
“Spending time in and around nature is the single most important first step to improving both human and planetary health,” Park Rx America’s website — an organization that promotes what some call “nature therapy” — reads. Increasingly, medical providers are “prescribing nature,” encouraging people of all ages to spend more time outdoors to improve their mental and physical health. Back in the early 1980s, the Forest Agency of Japan advised people to take walks in the woods, a practice called “forest bathing” or shinrin-yoku. Studies link nature to human health benefits like less heart disease, hypertension, depression, anxiety and attention disorders; boosts to the immune system; increased energy; and improved sleep. Most Americans spend 87 percent of their time indoors, inside buildings, and six percent of their time in an enclosed vehicle, on average, according to the National Human Activity Pattern Survey. That means they spend very little time in nature. “Nature is not only nice to have, but it’s a have-to-have for physical health and cognitive function,” argued Jim Robbins in a Yale Environment 360 article. “Being in nature while working through trauma can help veterans handle challenging life situations and improve their sense of well-being. . . Studies show that getting outside can help retired service members feel better,” wrote Sarah Hubbart for the National Environmental Education Foundation.
Army veteran Chris Davies is learning how to lead a horse. 24
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Chris Davies feeding Missy, a quarterhorse at Maryland’s Greenwell State Park
NEEF, in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, is funding 10 projects, titled “Veterans and Nature: Enhancing Well-being through Outdoor Experiences.” The grants’ goal is to help veterans access the physical and mental health benefits of nature through outdoor activities on public lands. The projects, funded at up to $10,000 each, seek to engage Black and Indigenous veterans, veterans of color, as well as gender diverse and veterans with disabilities.
Greenwell Foundation
At Hollywood, Maryland’s 596-acre Greenwell State Park on the Patuxent River, veterans are finding healing in kayaking, fishing, guided hikes and equine activities. Acevedo, a Navy veteran, and Chris Davies, an Army veteran, are learning to work with horses in what some call “equestrian therapy,” to care for, groom, lead and ride horses. At the park’s farm, visitors can warm up to eight horses, two goats and one potbelly pig, said Maria McDonald, who is the executive director of the Greenwell Foundation which manages the park’s programs. “Being around horses puts a smile on my face,” Acevedo, who started in 2023, said. Once or twice a week, he feeds the horses, goats and the pig and is now learning to ride horses. “I always wanted to get close to horses,” Acevedo said as he rubbed a warmblood horse named Carmen. “It relaxes me. When I’m around animals, everything else goes away. Here I can pet a beautiful animal.”