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Connecting Ecotherapy and Well-Being

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Good Health and Well-Being

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

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Synonyms

Green care and green exercise

Definition

Ecotherapy utilizes a broad spectrum of systematic interactive nature-based treatments and activities designed to facilitate healthy outcomes in interdependent dimensions of the human experience that benefits one’s well-being.

Nature includes both wildlands and wilderness, managed nature (e.g., cultivate gardens, arboretums), and, to a lesser extent, specific flora and fauna features.

Multifaceted Approach to Health and Well-Being

Increased human population, urbanization, and extractive enterprises around the world result in fewer people having access and exposure to natural places. However, research conducted in developed nations has identified nature interactions that have proved beneficial for multidimensional aspects of health (Hartig et al. 2014). With predominantly indoor living and increased technological media, contemporary societies are significantly detached from the therapeutic benefits of nature. This disconnect is...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, USA

    Kathleen G. Scholl & Gowri Betrabet Gulwadi

Authors
  1. Kathleen G. Scholl
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  2. Gowri Betrabet Gulwadi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kathleen G. Scholl .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences FTZ-ALS, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

  3. Ctr Neurosci & Cell Biology, 1 Floor, Univ Coimbra, Edf Fac Medicina, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  4. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  5. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökcin Özuyar

Section Editor information

  1. HRCS/COE and RRTTC/CHAS, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA

    Catherine Zeman

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Scholl, K.G., Gulwadi, G.B. (2019). Connecting Ecotherapy and Well-Being. In: Leal Filho, W., Wall, T., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P. (eds) Good Health and Well-Being. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69627-0_74-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69627-0_74-1

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