Wild and Well: Podcasts

A selection of podcast series and episodes that explore the connections between nature and mental health. Let us know if you have any others we should include.

Brain on Nature 

In 2015 Sarah Allely was left unable to read, write or watch TV after a bicycle accident. This podcast series follows her journey of recovery through nature. Listen now

Diverse Minds

Episode 89: Connecting with Nature and Mental Health
Leyla Okhai talks about how connecting with nature supports our mental health. Listen now

She Explores

Episode 23: Mental Health & the Outdoors
Hear from Florence Williams, author of “The Nature Fix” and Sonya Pevzner, who blogs about anxiety and depression as it relates to the outdoors. Listen now

Hidden Brain Podcast

Our Better Nature: How The Great Outdoors Can Improve Your Life
Shankar Vedantam talks with Ming Kuo, a psychologist who has studied the effects of nature on humans for 30 years, about the physiological and psychological benefits of spending time in nature. Listen now

BBC Sounds

Isabel Hardman on Nature and Depression
Can growing food can improve our mental health? Hear from John Kennington, a recovering alcoholic, who shares his life story with Isabel at Feed Bristol, a project that reconnects city dwellers with nature. Listen now

Health check: Eco-therapy
Nature writer Richard Mabey talks about "the lost years" of his depressive illness, and admits that a symptom of his clinical depression was that he lost his connection with the natural world, while Lisa, a former mental health nurse, talks about the part making a garden played in her recovery. Dr Rachel Bragg from the Green Care Research Team at the University of Essex describes the evidence behind nature-based therapies and argues they should be part of a "toolkit" of care for patients. Listen now

BBC: The Why Factor

Why does nature calm anxiety?
Jordan Dunbar speaks to researchers and therapists who are learning about and treating the negative symptoms of urban life with a dose of nature. Listen now

Mental Health Foundation Podcast

Connecting with nature to support our mental health
Kas, a 23-year-old from London, Jamie Hamill, a personal trainer from Edinburgh, and Becky, a 47-year-old from Newcastle, speak about their relationships with nature, and how connecting with nature has supported their own mental health. Dr Chiara Lombardo and Jolie Goodman talk about the research behind the positive benefits of nature for our mental health, and how the Mental Health Foundation has been applying them in some of their programmes. Listen now

Being On The Inside

In this collaboration with Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2021, Kate Stevens, Creative Learning Co-ordinator at the Beacons Arts Centre, gives a first hand experience of a creative therapy workshop centred around the theme of nature. Join in two exercises: nature soundscapes and forest bathing, and a writing exercise relating to first experiences in nature. Listen now

Take a Walk on the Mind Side

This creative podcast series encourages you to take a mindfulness walk in your local country or forest park - just pick a destination and listen to a guided walk and soundscape created by artist Andrew McAllister. Listen now