Getting Involved with Nature at UConn

UConn is a campus full of diverse opportunities to get involved with nature and wellness. We encourage you to explore this website to learn about all the ways that may speak to you. NatureRx hosts semi-regular events that will be posted here and on the homepage! We hope to see you at some of these events. Otherwise, navigate below to other groups that align with our mission of being outside and feeling good. Be outside, have fun, make new friends, and get involved.

If you want to get involved with NatureRx, please email Dr. Cynthia Jones.

Past NatureRx Events

Nature Journaling Workshop

Bring your enthusiasm for the natural world and leave with a personal journal, inspired by the plants of the UConn Botanical Conservatory. This workshop is an opportunity to beat the winter blues and engage with nature in an active and dynamic way. You will express your inquisitiveness and wonder through sketching, calligraphy, writing, and other forms of artmaking. Tap into your curiosity and let yourself be surprised by the diversity of forms on display in the greenhouses.

The emphasis of this workshop is on the creative process and having fun. All levels are welcome: neither botanical knowledge nor previous drawing experience are required. Please bring any art supplies you have and enjoy working with (e.g. watercolors, pen and ink, markers, pencils). Paper plus additional art supplies and tools will be provided.

This activity is led by botanist and nature art enthusiast Kristel Schoonderwoerd, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary. We enjoyed this event on Saturday, February 24th from 1-4pm.

I Thrive Naturally

This fall semester, I Thrive Naturally unfolded as a two-week initiative organized by NatureRx at UConn to boost scientific understanding of the benefits of spending time outside and to promote the many ways to engage with nature on the UConn Campus at Storrs. Whatever your comfort level or prior interest in the outdoors, I Thrive Naturally offered events, opportunities and inspiration designed to open your eyes to the ways that engaging with Nature will help you be healthier, happier and more attentive you. Learn more by clicking on the photo to the right.

Homer Babbidge Workshop

On Thursday, May 4th 2023, Cindi hosted a workshop with the UConn Library to educate students, faculty, and staff about NatureRx and the benefits of spending time outside, especially during high times of stress like finals week. After covering a brief history of NatureRx at UConn, Cindi guided the group to the UConn Botanical Conservatory for a tour of the greenhouses. Cindi is also the Director of the Conservatory at UConn!

Forest Bathing with Reagan Stacey

On April 29th, 2022, NatureRx joined the Office of Sustainability on a forest bathing meditation walk in the Hillside Environmental Education Park (HEEP). Forest bathing is the practice of immersing yourself in nature in a mindful way, using your senses to derive a whole range of benefits for your physical, mental, emotional, and social health. It is also known as Shinrin-yoku in Japan. ‘Shinrin’ means forest and ‘Yoku’ stands for bathing.

Room to Grow - A House Plant Workshop (March 21, 2022)

Do you feel like your energy has been fading as the semester goes on? In need of a little nature boost? Spring has just begun, and what better way to restore your focus and creativity than to get your hands dirty with a house plant workshop in the UConn Botanical Conservatory! If you are a beginner who has never had a houseplant before, or consider yourself an expert grower, we welcome all to attend. Together with our Botanical Conservatory staff members, we will go over all the basics of repotting, soils, watering, and care to learn what it takes to make your new plant thrive at home. We will provide the plants, pots, and necessary tools, all you need to do is sign up and show up!

Students holding plants

Get Involved with NatureRx Related Groups

There are a variety of other groups, organizations, and communities around the university centered around making the environment a better place. Check out the following to see if any are the right fit for you whether you are a student, staff, or faculty. Click on the respective logo to learn more!

UConn Office of Sustainability

UConn Botanical Conservatory

EcoHouse Learning Community

UConn Outing Club

UConn EcoHusky

Spring Valley Student Farm

 

 

Center for Clean Energy Engineering

 

UConn Beekeeping Club

 

 

UConn Arboretum Committee

 

Soil & Water Conservation Society

UConn Fungi Club

Mindfulness, Spirituality & Planetary Health

UConn Horticulture Club

CT Trail Finder