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Mindful nature engagement and mental wellbeing:
Our two-week randomized controlled pilot study on the effects of Dr. Huemer’s Mindfulness with Nature program on mental wellbeing and perceived stress was conducted during the spring and summer of 2025. Preliminary results show that participants in the experimental group, who conducted 15-min. daily guided mindfulness with nature reported a significant increase in mental wellbeing and nature connectedness pre/post intervention and as compared to the control group who went for 15-min. outdoor walks for two weeks. Our findings will be used to expand the Mindfulness with Nature library, community health workshops, corporate wellness, and the Mindfulness in Nature app which is currently under development in collaboration with OSU Computer Science and Engineering capstone students.
Climate change anxiety/eco-anxiety among Oregon State University students:
This 2024/25 survey research study was conducted with two URSA students, Amrita Menon (Psychology/Biology major) and Isabelle Hall (Biochemistry major). We examined the predictors of eco-anxiety, specifically the roles of personal experience, college major, and social media use among a sample of 547 OSU students and found that personal experience and social media use reliably predict levels of eco-anxiety while college major does not show any significant impact.