Art Therapy Projects: Using Nature to Create Calm and Connection
Bright Spot Network has been lucky to welcome Edgewood College student, Brenna Koppenhaver, to the team as an Art Therapy intern. This semester Brenna has been focusing on bringing art and nature to the Bright Spot community!
Check out Brenna’s note to the Bright Spot community and click the link to see the art projects that she put together. These are easy ways to connect with your kids when you have the energy for a project but not to run to the store! Check them out and let us know what you think!
It has been such an enjoyable and meaningful experience to be volunteering with Bright Spot Network. A big area of focus this semester has been reading the book The Nature Fix by Florence Williams which discusses the many physical and mental health benefits of interacting with and spending time in nature. Researchers found that people who spend a minimum of five hours a month in nature will experience improvement in creativity, enhanced mood, decreased stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and even a boost in their immune system. Any time spent outdoors is beneficial, but being in greener areas is shown to have the greatest impact. Patients whose hospital rooms have a window with a green view lead to better clinical outcomes, including a decrease in stress and even quicker healing and recovery. Any interaction involving seeing, hearing, or smelling nature can make us happier and healthier.
A goal of mine in my work with Bright Spot Network is to share this information and encourage everyone to spend more time in nature. I have written up some art activities for families or children to do that involve gathering some items from nature to use for a craft to combine the therapeutic effects of nature and the creative process. The idea is they should be fairly simple to do with your children without having to purchase any supplies.