Nature Therapy Ireland

Welcome to Nature Therapy Ireland 🌱 Hi, I'm Sarah Hourigan, I founded Nature Therapy Ireland in 2020 with the simple aim of helping you to rediscover your connection to nature 🌿 Science is now telling us that by exploring this connection we can improve our physical and mental health and wellbeing in many impactful ways ☀️ I have a B.A (UCC) and M.Sc. (TCD), both in applied psychology, and after a number of years working as a health researcher for the government I decided to pursue a career in the outdoors as I could see a clear evidence based link between our health/ wellbeing and the natural world 🌲 I went on to study courses in Forest Bathing, Wild Therapy, Ecopsychology, Forest Therapy, Mountaineering and Wilderness Safety ⛰️ I now draw on elements from my psychology/ research background; each of these nature therapy practices and my life long passions for hiking, camping, wild swimming and nature connection to tailor Nature Therapy Ireland events specifically for each individual and group I work with 🌍 I host outdoor and online events across Ireland and strive to make nature connection work as accessible and inclusive as possible 🙏 If you think your colleagues could benefit from exploring their connection to nature, get in touch. I would be delighted to send you a bespoke events proposal to meet your needs 🌺 #naturetherapyireland #NTIcommunity #naturetherapy #forestbathing #forestbathingireland #foresttherapy #foresttherapyireland #ecopsychology #ecopshchologyireland #wildtherapy #wildtherapyireland

What a brilliant night we had at the Outsider Awards this week! Nature Therapy Ireland was nominated in the Diversity & Inclusion Category for our projects with Vision Sports Ireland & Vision Ireland, the new name for NCBI that work to guide blind and vision impaired people in discovering their connection to nature both in the forests with us and from the comfort of their own homes. To have Peter O'Toole (VI) & Sean Poland (VSI) both there on the night to support was such a joy! Our category was jam packed with the most amazing people and programmes. The incredible Safe Haven Ireland took home the win this year & huge congratulations to them! & of course thanks to my wonderful parents, Mary & Des Hourigan, and Mel McDermott of GalzGoneWild who all support me and my work endlessly. Taking LOTS of inspiration from the night into NTI for the year ahead! photo from Outsider.ie

So excited to share that our work with Vision Sports Ireland and Vision Ireland, the new name for NCBI has been nominated for an Outsider Award in the Diversity & Inclusion category this year! Check out: https://lnkd.in/eB5gXhf8 for the full list of amazing nominees!

During April - June 2024 we ran a pilot programme with Get Ireland Walking to investigate the impact of weekly nature connection on students aged 7-13 in Autism Spectrum Classes. We would love for you to check out the findings of our evaluation! Check out our infographic below and download the full report at https://lnkd.in/eapwpSPr

NTI's work with Vision Sports Ireland (VSI) and Vision Ireland, the new name for NCBI (VI) over the last 4 years have been some of the most incredibly rewarding projects I have had the honour of facilitating! A core value of NTI is to make this work as accessible and inclusive as possible so these weekly/ monthly events tailored to support blind and vision impaired people in rediscovering their connection to nature are our 'why'. These events take a village to make happen so thank you to everyone who works so hard behind the scenes across both organisations! I would love for you to check out this blog post I wrote about our NTI Access Partners: VSI & VI https://lnkd.in/ey985tsX

After nearly 2 years of partnering with Nature Therapy Ireland on our Nature Connection Project, I was fortunate recently to visit the birthplace of #ShinrinYoku – Japan. Given the population, crowds, hustle, traffic, industry etc., it was astounding to see the emphasis the country places on getting outdoors, connecting with nature and the availability of green spaces, even in the busiest of cities. We’re optimistic we’ll be able to continue our #NatureConnection work into 2025. Just taking a short breather for the winter months. #Wellbeing #Nature #GreenPrescription #MindBodyHealth #TimeOut #MentalHealth #Forests #Nature

Will be sharing more about my recent amazing experience speaking Resonance-loughderg soon!

Another fantastic day of Nature Connection. A huge thanks to our colleagues from Vision Ireland, the new name for NCBI Sharon, Dave, Sinead & Janna for all their help. Sarah from Nature Therapy Ireland facilitated the day fantastically as always. Thanks also to Celia & Derek at Belmont Demesne. It was great to reunite older connections and have some new people along to add to the growing number of people enjoying this approach to wellbeing. #Nature #Connection #GreenTherapy #Outdoors #MentalHealth #ShinrinYoku

A busy week outdoors! Vision Ireland, the new name for NCBI and Nature Therapy Ireland welcomed our Louth Community Hub group to Stephenstown Pond. A new but enjoyable Nature Connection experience for the crew. Thanks to Marian, Annette & team for their support and welcome. Shout out to McCutcheons coaches for the transport. Finally- as always, we couldn’t do anything with this community group without the excellent Caroline & Hamilton👏🏻 #GreenTherapy #NatureConnection #Outdoors #Louth #SightLoss #Community

Some of the most rewarding work we get to do is with Vision Ireland, the new name for NCBI thanks as always to Peter O'Toole and the amazing VI team & community!