Study finds different natural environments shape different human experiences

New research from the University of Michigan challenges the assumption that 'nature' is one broad category associated with relaxation and wellbeing. The study suggests that different types of natural environments produce distinctly different psychological and social experiences, influencing how people feel and interact with the natural world. The findings, based on advanced text analytics of hundreds of thousands of posts, indicate that preserving a variety of natural settings may be as important as preserving nature itself, especially as communities face environmental change and climate adaptation challenges.