Description
The Ecotherapy Program provides nature-based wellness services to Chico State students, staff, and community members impacted by wildfires in Butte County. We want to nurture the well-being of both people and the land through therapeutic, educational, and restorative activities in nature. We aspire to:
Catalyze healing and resilience
Nurture connections to place, nature, and community
Inspire environmental advocacy and stewardship
The Chico State Ecotherapy Program was created as a community-driven response to recover from the 2018 Camp Fire. In 2019, the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve (BCCER) received funding for the "Forest Therapy for Community Recovery" pilot project to certify 15 community members to become forest therapy guides. The pilot project created a scalable program that could provide forest therapy to individuals impacted by the Camp Fire. Since its inception, the program has expanded to address the aftermath of subsequent fires and the isolation and mental health crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating out of CSU, our program serves a diverse student body. We collaborate with campus organizations that serve low-income, underserved, and first-generation students who face socioeconomic barriers and limited access to nature and wellness services. Our partnership with Chico State Basic Needs allows us to connect with and serve our campus community’s most vulnerable.
Learn more about our program and services on our website.
How will donations be used?
- $5 - Sponsor an Invitation. Provide a moment of connection and relaxation for a group of 15 students.
- $35 - Provide a guided Forest Therapy experience for one student
- $150 - Sponsor a 1-hour Forest Therapy experience for a group of 15 students.
- $350 - Sponsor a 3-hour Forest Therapy Experience for a group of 15 students.
- $1,000 - Sponsor an Ecotherapy Cohort: Ecotherapy Cohorts, comprised of up to 15 Chico State students each, complete a sequence of educational, transformational, and nature-based experiences. Utilizing the contemplative practice of Nature and Forest Therapy, we will guide participants in four Forest Therapy experiences and two empowering educational workshops that will foster resilience and build mental health skills.
Support the Ecotherapy Program!
The Ecotherapy Program provides Chico State students with the following services:
Professionally guided Nature and Forest Therapy:. Forest Therapy, aka Shinrin-Yoku or Forest Bathing, supports healing and wellness through immersion in forests and other natural environments. The invitational practice involves slowing down, mindful walking, sensory explorations, deep listening, and sharing circles. Forest Therapy offers an opportunity to deepen our relationship with the More-Than-Human or natural world and to reposition that relationship as reciprocal rather than extractive. By slowing down and observing with all our senses, we can cultivate healthier relationships with the self, each other, and nature.
Ecotherapy Cohorts: Our Ecotherapy Cohort model brings small groups of up to 15 individuals to complete a sequence of restorative, educational, and outdoor experiences. The Ecotherapy Cohort model combines repeated Nature and Forest Therapy sessions with mental health education, resiliency skill-building, place-based education, and environmental stewardship.
Educational and Skill-building Workshops: Our research-based workshops equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to mitigate and recover from stress and trauma. Our workshops will:
Provide psycho-education on the brain and nervous system and the impact of stress and trauma,
Cultivate an understanding of the mind-body connection and how to recognize the signs of activation and dysregulation,
Build resiliency skills, including breathwork, mindfulness, meditation, grounding techniques, and healthy lifestyle practices.
Place-based education and stewardship: We provide students with opportunities to learn about their local environment and engage in stewardship and restoration activities. Not only will these initiatives help our landscapes recover after disasters, but they will also contribute to better psychological health outcomes, enhance students’ sense of place and belonging, and build healthy social relationships.
Why are donations necessary?
Boston University researchers found that half of college students surveyed are suffering from depression or anxiety, with 83% of students saying that their mental health has negatively impacted their academics. Butte County is a designated Mental Health Shortage area, and without enough services to address these needs.
The Chico State Ecotherapy Program is an innovative solution that provides nature-based therapy and holistic wellness support to our students and community members. But we cannot do it without donor support. Your donation ensures that we can continue to provide our services to students and community members at no cost, removing financial and insurance barriers to preventative, holistic care.
Our campaign is intended to benefit Chico State students, staff, and faculty, and wildfire survivors. Your donation will sponsor experiences that are restorative, nutritive, and healing. We hope that these experiences will also help spark a love of nature that will translate into sustainable protective action so that our community and environment will be healthy and thriving for generations to come.