Who are you and for what partner organisation do you work?
I am Laura Secco, a forester from the start. I graduated in Forest Sciences from the University of Padova (UNIPD), where I got also a PhD in forest policy, governance and economics. My current position is Associate Professor at Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Land of UNIPD, in Italy.
What is your expertise related to nature-based therapy?
I started to work on this topic about 6-7 years ago, as the coordinator of a course on green care organized within the Erasmus+KA programme with the project Green4C . I got qualified as a forest bathing guide in 2020, with the international training organization Forest Therapy Institute (then evolved into the Forest Therapy Hub). I supervised three MSc theses on this topic, one in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. I am currently also supervising two PhD theses on this topic.
I gave several demonstrations of forest bathing guided sessions and I co-organized the first edition of the festival “CansiglioInVita 2023” in the North of Italy. Finally, I co-authored two publications and collaborated with psychologists on testing forest bathing activities and their effects in secondary schools in Italy.
Can you describe the Work Package you lead in a couple of sentences?
WP7 deals with the social aspects of NbTs, both in terms of social awareness and social acceptance of a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including scientists, governments, civil societies, and businesses. It also looks at the willingness of potential of stakeholders by establishing, testing, and running long-term interactions on NbTs in three different contexts: Padova with its urban green areas, Barcelona with its coastal areas, and Salzburg with its mountain landscapes.
What excites you most about the RESONATE project?
The project’s multi-sectoral interdisciplinarity – contributing to the natural resources management sector working together with the health- and wellbeing sector. The fact that, on the one hand, physicians, psychologists, pedagogists will learn more about the effects of human beings on nature, while on the other natural resources managers, landowners, park managers will learn more about the effects of nature on human health. In the end, I hope that everyone will better recognize the regenerative value of nature and will act to promote the relational values of nature rather than just the instrumental ones.
What is your own favourite way to engage with nature for your health and wellbeing?
Making long walks and time alone spent in wild and quite forests and on mountain peaks.
LinkedIn: LauraSecco