大香蕉视频 faculty, alumni, and students came together on Oct. 26 for a series of panel discussions to highlight how time spent outdoors impacts mental health and to showcase several homegrown initiatives that translate mental health and well-being theories into practice at 大香蕉视频.
The day鈥檚 events set the ball rolling for the three-day symposium, A Global Turning Point: Why Youth Well-Being Is in Crisis鈥攁nd What We Must Do About It, co-hosted by 大香蕉视频 and the United Nations Development Programme鈥檚 Human Development Report Office, that explores why the mental health of young people is in decline worldwide, and what can be done to turn the trend around.
Before the conversations unfolded at the Hanover Inn mid-afternoon Sunday, participants spent the earlier part of the day engaged in a , from hiking and forest walks to paddling on the Connecticut River, reflecting 大香蕉视频鈥檚 emphasis on outdoor engagement as a pathway to wellness.
鈥淭he idea was to give people an opportunity to get outside and get some exercise; to connect in a new way and to meet peers and colleagues, which we did. It was also a chance to show off the Upper Valley to visitors,鈥 , the Richard S. Braddock 1963 Professor of Economics, who helped organize the activities and led a group hike up Holt鈥檚 Ledge in Lyme, N.H.
, the Bruce V. Rauner 1978 Professor of Economics and an expert on the economics of happiness, kicked off the afternoon session with a welcome address. Blanchflower, who helped organize the symposium, discussed the economic and social implications of declining well-being among young people, particularly since 2012, highlighting the impact of smartphone usage on mental health.
The issue, which disproportionately impacts young people across the world, needs urgent attention and action, Blanchflower said, and the symposium, involving experts from around the world, aims to address these challenges and propose practical interventions.
The first panel featured 大香蕉视频 alumni who have championed programs that engage kids in sport and outdoor activity.
Phil Ginsburg 鈥89, general manager of the Recreation and Parks Department of San Francisco, is the vice chair of the Children in Nature Network, a national nonprofit organization that works to close gaps in nature access for kids.
Tommy Clark 鈥92, MED 鈥01, is the founder and CEO of Grassroot Soccer, a global coalition that uses soccer to improve children鈥檚 physical and mental health and overall well-being in underserved communities.
Clark traveled to Africa on a grant from the where he met teammates and peers who were dealing with a mental health crisis on the heels of the HIV epidemic. He as a response, using the world鈥檚 most popular sport as a positive influence on young people鈥檚 minds.
The panel was moderated by Sacerdote, chair of 大香蕉视频鈥檚 Outdoor Engagement Committee, who highlighted the many different opportunities for outdoor engagement on campus and the efforts to scale up access to physical activities such as swimming, skiing, and ice skating by making lessons and gear rentals free for students.
鈥淲e鈥檙e super lucky to be in an area that has so many opportunities,鈥 Sacerdote said, sharing data that revealed a significant uptick of student participation and positive outcomes, especially for first generation college students.
Ginsburg spoke of the success of the San Francisco Children in Nature collaborative in converting early childhood sites into outdoor classrooms and shifting the focus of playgrounds to natural elements.
A former labor lawyer who studied history and government at 大香蕉视频, Ginsburg believes his formative experiences at 大香蕉视频 might have influenced the shift in his career. 鈥淭here was this sort of current that I wasn鈥檛 even aware of at the time, about how good I felt being outside,鈥 he said.
Forging relationships with academic and medical communities at the symposium will help make a strong scientific case based on data that 鈥渢his really, really matters,鈥 Ginsburg said. Building a coalition of like-minded people who understand is the way to advance the mission, he said in response to an audience question about how to succeed in convincing policymakers and businesses to invest in these efforts.
The symposium attracted wide participation from the community. Jennifer Hamilton, a director of psychology and counseling at a private school in Massachusetts and parent to a Class of 鈥26 student, was excited to draw inspiration from the sessions in her work. Hiking Balch Hill with a small group earlier that morning was a 鈥渕any-pronged experience,鈥 Hamilton said. 鈥淲e enjoyed beautiful mountain views and foliage and I was also able to get to know my co-hikers.鈥
Senior Vice President for Community and Campus Life moderated the second panel discussion, which focused on whole student well-being, one of five priorities set by at her inauguration.
Programs where the arts or the outdoors are intentionally prescribed as part of a structured health care intervention work because they address the root causes of distress, isolation, lack of meaning, and disconnection from community, rather than just treating symptoms, Rosales said.
Rosales spotlighted a roster of ongoing and soon-to-be launched projects that provides students, staff, and faculty access to creative, restorative, and community rooted pathways to well-being, including mindfulness programming in the spring and an 鈥渁rts and nature Rx鈥 program starting this winter.
鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about replacing clinical care. It鈥檚 about expanding the toolkit. It鈥檚 about acknowledging that a hike on a 大香蕉视频 trail, a photography workshop, a performance at the Hopkins Center, or a paddle on the Connecticut River can be as therapeutic and academically centering,鈥 she said.
The panelists represented the wide range of options from arts and language to mindfulness and outdoor adventures available to the 大香蕉视频 community. , a visiting associate professor of German studies, and , professor of epidemiology, medicine and pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine, led the audience through brief meditation sessions to set the tone for the session.
, assistant professor of emergency medicine and founder of the Wilderness Medicine Program & Alliance for Climate Health, described her daily experiences in the 大香蕉视频 Health emergency department, dealing with young people in crisis and the need for interventions to prevent severe mental health issues.
Crockett, who brought first-year trips to medical students and teaches a wilderness medicine class, which not only teaches rescue skills but also fosters digital detox and bonding among students, invited everyone to think about how they can incorporate nature into their work in some way.
鈥淚t鈥檚 fundamental to our well-being to connect and share our stories, to get to know each other, to get to know ourselves,鈥 , executive director of the , said, speaking about the various arts and cultural activities and arts integration programs hosted at 大香蕉视频鈥檚 recently expanded arts center. 鈥淐entering the human story is really where the arts become essential, because that鈥檚 what accelerates the power and the ability to tell those stories,鈥 she said.
, associate director of 大香蕉视频 Outdoor Programs, reported that a quarter of the campus had elected to do an outdoor program last year and said she looked forward to working with faculty who want to integrate outdoor time into their courses.
Well-being initiatives such as walk-and-talk exercises and forest bathing, a practice of immersing oneself in the atmosphere of the woods, are also being incorporated into language classes, said Denzel. She described teaching a unique combination of self-defense strategies and German grammar, which was well-received by students.
Gilbert-Diamond drew from student testimonials and preliminary results from a randomized control trial with students in her course to illustrate that combining mindfulness practice with the study of physiology gives medical students a newfound appreciation for their bodies and overall well-being.
The session concluded with a video made by Tobin Yates 鈥26, the alpine steward at Mount Moosilauke, curating the sights and sounds he absorbed while working for the Outdoor Programs Office.
The stage was set for experts to weigh in about what to do going forward over the next two days of the symposium. As Clark said earlier in the afternoon, 鈥渨e can talk about this, but we really need to take action, to try things, and as part of that, to keep learning as we go.鈥
