Nature & Health Collaborative

Exploring, supporting, and sharing how nature and the health of the natural world enhances and sustains the health and wellbeing of humans and society.

The Nature & Health Collaborative was formed in 2025 to amplify the expanding collection of research, instruction, and engagement the NC State community brings to the connection between human health and the outdoors. We envision this Collaborative as a supportive network that fosters learning and wellbeing across the diversity of North Carolina’s natural and built outdoor environments.

The Nature & Health Collaborative is supported by the NC State Global One Health Academy. The Nature and Health Alliance, a nationwide research/practice group focused on advancing and communicating the health benefits of engaging with nature, provided founding support for the Collaborative.

Research

The Nature & Health Collaborative brings together researchers at NC State conducting a variety of projects and experiments at the intersection of nature, biodiversity and health. Our team draws on expertise ranging from the natural sciences to social sciences to architecture and design, fostering interdisciplinary exchanges that drive novel research.

Education and Student Engagement

Through programming, nature prescriptions, and as a resource hub, Campus Nature Rx connects students with nature to improve their health and wellbeing. NC State also offers numerous nature and health-focused courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

Enhancing Campus Greenspaces

There are over 55 unique greenspaces available to students, staff, faculty, and the broader community at NC State. The Nature & Health Collaborative works to highlight our current greenspaces and create new biodiverse campus destinations.

Extension and Community Engagement

Through Cooperative Extension and multiple engagement opportunities across campus, NC State learns from and with North Carolinians and our wonderful environments. The Nature and Health Collaborative aims to pilot new approaches that can be modeled by communities throughout the state.

Three women stand with NC State shirts on campus

Campus Health Now Offering Nature Prescriptions

Starting this semester, NC State Campus Health now has a new tool to support students facing challenges to their wellbeing! Nature prescriptions offer Campus Health providers the opportunity to formally prescribe time in nature to students in need. This effort was initiated between Campus Nature Rx and Campus Health.