One approach to nature connection, now being used on university campuses around the world
NatureFix Nature Wellness Walks are now being used at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands, and Charles Sturt University in Orange, NSW, building on our original NatureFix Walk at Macquarie University.
Each starts with a simple invitation:
“Step away from the pace of university life and reconnect with the natural beauty on campus. Whether you're between classes, meetings, or study sessions, this walk offers a simple way to pause, reset and recharge.”
Our newest wellness walk at CSU
What makes this particularly exciting for us is not simply seeing NatureFix in different countries. These universities are using the same structured approach to nature connection, based around our 5 Steps to Connect, developed and clinically trialed here in Australia with NSW Health.
Installed as part of our original living lab and Macquarie University
The timing matters. The 2025 Australian University Census on Staff Wellbeing found 44% of respondents working in very high-risk psychosocial environments, while the University of Melbourne’s Uni Student Wellbeing Survey found roughly one in four undergraduates experiencing high psychological distress.
A self-guided Nature Wellness Walk gives students and staff a practical way to step outside and support their wellbeing without creating additional demand on already stretched services. Short guided activities encourage people to slow down, notice, breathe, connect and reflect, using the natural spaces universities already have.
But the walks are also becoming part of teaching and learning.
At each university, we are providing resources that allow nature connection to be incorporated into different disciplines, from planning and medicine to sustainability, education and related fields.
This matters because reconnecting people with the natural world is not only a wellbeing issue. It is also part of building ecological literacy, understanding human-nature interdependence, and preparing graduates to make decisions that better account for the relationship between human and environmental health.
WUR trail integrated with teaching and learning
The walks can therefore support orientation, student and staff wellbeing, teaching, research and everyday campus life.
We are also beginning to learn more about what happens when people use them. At Wageningen University & Research, an independent student evaluation found reduced stress following the guided walk, alongside a shift in how participants described their experience of nature, towards feelings including wonder, awe and peace.
It these stories that keep us going, NatureFix has always been about more than simply getting people outdoors. Our focus is on how people engage with nature, helping people notice, interact with and build a stronger relationship with the natural world around them.
Georges square is a trail within a trail. It’s final station of the Wellbeing Mile
Seeing an approach developed and clinically trialled in Australia now being used across universities in Australia, Scotland and the Netherlands is an encouraging step.
And we’re excited to see where it goes next.
Learn more about NatureFix at University:
www.naturefix.life/at-university