🌱 Rebuilding Your Nature Diet: A Call to Reconnect

Wendy Figone
Sep 18
3 min read

“What amounts of nature, different nature experiences, and exposure to different sorts of nature, together constitute a healthy existence?” – Tim Beatley

I grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, exploring the redwoods on my pony. As a child, I felt completely at home in the forest — the quiet of the understory, the smell of the duff after rain, the sense that I was part of something much bigger than myself. Like many of us, adulthood brought layers of stress, technology, and disconnection.

Years later, seeking to find my way back, I trained for six months with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT) to become a certified forest therapy guide. This training deepened my own reconnection with the more-than-human world and inspired me to help others do the same. I went on to certify one of the first ANFT-certified Forest Therapy Trails in Northern California — at Chaminade Resort & Spa in Santa Cruz — intentionally creating spaces where people can slow down, reconnect, and feel restored.

The Nature Pyramid: Your Blueprint for Well-being

Tim Beatley’s Nature Pyramid is a simple yet profound framework, reminding us that nature is not an occasional escape — it is nourishment. It calls for:

Daily “micro-doses” of nature
Weekly time in nearby green spaces
Monthly immersive experiences
Annual trips into wilder places

Unfortunately, we are experiencing a dramatic decline in nature time. Children spend hours indoors and on screens, adults rush from one task to another, and many of us are losing our felt sense of belonging to the living world. This isn’t just a lifestyle issue — it impacts mental health, physical well-being, and even our creativity.

Walking Through vs. Walking With Nature

One of the gifts of ANFT training is learning to walk with nature, not just through it. Forest therapy guides invite people to enter into a heart-centered relationship with the land — noticing, listening, and allowing space for reciprocity. This shift transforms a simple walk into a conversation with the living world.

You can experience this whether on a guided walk or by using tools like the Nature Dose app, which helps you track your time outdoors and set goals for building your “nature diet.”

Reconnection as Medicine for People and Planet

Your personal reconnection with nature is not only good for your own health — lowering stress, balancing your nervous system, and boosting immunity — but it also changes how you relate to the world around you. When we fall in love with the more-than-human world, we naturally want to protect it.

This is where stewardship comes in. Picking up trash on a favorite trail, joining a local conservation group, or simply tending a small patch of earth can become part of your wellness practice. Service to the planet is not an add-on — it is a foundation for human and planetary health.

My Month of Tracking Nature

Recently, I spent a month tracking two things: how much time I was on my phone and how much time I was outdoors — not just outdoors, but present and mindful in my favorite natural spaces. Here is a link to track your outdoor time. The results were profound:

Less screen time + more mindful time outside = greater emotional equilibrium.
I was calmer, less reactive, slept better, felt more efficient in my work, and was noticeably kinder to others.

When we feel good inside, we have more good to share. This is why I believe rebuilding our “nature diet” is one of the most important wellness practices of our time.