Spending time in nature has been researched and proven to help improve mood, overall happiness, energy, concentration, social connectedness, stress levels and even life span. Rx is the abbreviation commonly used to signify a medical prescription. Nature Rx or Nature Prescription is using nature to help improve our health and well-being. Here at Clarkson we are surrounded by an abundance of beautiful nature with the campus sitting on 640 acres of land total! Nature Rx is a campus-wide initiative made possible with the help of faculty, staff, and students. Our hope for the program is to help the whole Clarkson community and even visitors to know all of your options for how to engage with nature and to make it easier for you to do so. We have featured locations all around campus you can utilize with maps to access them. We have suggestions of how you can use your time in nature to help improve your overall wellbeing and ideas of how to interact with nature in the different seasons!
Clarkson is one of over 90 campuses nationwide a part of the: Campus Nature Rx Network
Here are ways you may interact with our Nature Rx program on campus
- Visit one of the featured nature locations utilizing the maps to help guide you as needed
- Try one of the ways to engage with nature for our overall wellness
- Join clubs that interact with nature: Gardening club, Outing Club, Sustainability Club
- Get involved with one of the social media campaigns to help increase utilization of nature
- Participate in an event designed to connect us with nature such as yoga on Cheel Lawn
- Use one of the ideas for bringing nature indoors or to interact with nature in the different seasons
- Receive a Wellness Prescription from our Student Health and Counseling Center
Acknowledgements:
We want to acknowledge all of the people that helped make this possible:
STAFF: Diamante Maya (Assistant Director of Counseling), Leah Alestra (Admin Assistant SHAC), Karenlee Smith (Area Coordinator Residence Life), Gabbie Consing (Mental Health Counselor), Jessica Carista (Director of Interactive Marketing), Julie Davis (Director of Web Development), Madison Dustin (Web Developer/Designer), Jacob McNamara (Digial Marketing Specialist)
FACULTY: Sue Powers (Director of ISE, Professor in Engineering), Bill Olsen (Prof in Engineering)
STUDENTS: Ella Weldy (BS Environmental Engineering 2025 MS 2027), Evelyn Laferriere (BS Environmental Science and Policy 2023 MS 2025), Abby Miller (BS Environmental Science & Policy 2027), Alexandra Brenton (BS Engineering and Management 2025, Wellness Peer), Johannes Vigener (BS Psychology 2026, Wellness Peer)