On this first of episode of Definitely Not the Ivory Tower, host Natalie Meisner sits down with Mount Royal University researcher Sonya Jakubec and Mount Royal alum Erika Bloedorn to talk about nature-based and narrative-based healing.  

With her guests, Natalie discusses how nature and narrative help people cope with grief and loss. This episode will explore how different groups access nature for healing and the mixture of awe, hope and loss that emerges when reconnecting with nature. It will also explore the power of stories and how recounting the stories of our life can help us heal.  

Sonya Jakubec is a professor and researcher at Mount Royal University who has researched nature interactions with people living with disabilities and people in palliative care. Her research has focused on how these groups access nature and what the effects of being in natural environments are on their mental health.  

Erika Bloedorn is a Mount Royal University alum and writer for No Story Lost. No Story Lost is a life writing service. Through interviews, writers get to know the clients and then help produce a book detailing the story of the clients life. Erika recounts her experiences with No Story Lost and how it has changed her perspective of grief and loss.  

Resources: 

• Excerpt from Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words by David Whyte, read by Sonya Jakubec. https://davidwhyte.com/store/book/consolations/
• Rocky Mountain Adaptive
• Alberta Parks - Everyone Belongs Outside
• Alberta Parks - Push to Open Nature and Alberta Adaptive Nature Challenges 
• Miles Richardson - University of Derby. Nature Connectedness Research Group.
• E.O Wilson - The Biophilia Hypothesis
• The Burgess Shale 
• Dacher Keltner - University of California Berkeley. Pathways to Awe and Wonder
• Al Etmanski and Vicky Cammack - Natural Caring 
• Lori Beattie - Calgary’s Best Walks
• Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society- Good Grief Walking
• Alberta Parks - Grief Walking in Provincial Parks
• Miles Richardson - Reconnection: Fixing our Broken Relationship with Nature 
• Francis Weller - The Wild Edge of Sorrow 
• No Story Lost
• Jonathan Gottschall - The Storytelling Animal

Discussion Segments: 

• 3:46: Interview with Sonya Jakubec starts
• 5:00: Sonya’s background in her field of research
• 9:00: The effects of nature-based healing on patients and their caregivers
• 11:06: Pracademics
• 12:21: Nature-based healing beyond Alberta, eco-therapy and nature connectedness discussion
• 14:30: Continuation of nature connectedness discussion
• 17:48: Awe in nature
• 20:39: Medicalization
• 23:04: Grief
• 26:40: Barriers
• 27:24: Personal experiences with grief
• 31:00: Walkshops and Conferences
• 35:40: Keeping programs sustained
• 37:50: Recommendation for further reading and getting involved
• 41:50: Erika Bloedorn interview starts
• 42:19: Erika explaining her role at No Story Lost
• 43:15: What makes a good interview?
• 44:21: How Erika got into life writing.
• 47:15: No Story Lost experiences
• 48:45: Importance of narrative-based healing
• 50:03: Communities Erika works with
• 50:45: Grief, death and awe
• 53:05: Erika’s views of grieving and death
• 55:53: The future of narrative-based healing, barriers and accessibility
• 57:50: Client reactions
• 58:30: Interviews end - Outro

Sonya Jakubec’s Research: 

'I Can Reinvent Myself Out Here': Experiences of Nature Inclusion and Mental Well-Being 

• Jakubec, S. L., Carruthers Den Hoed, D., & Ray, H. (2014). ‘I Can Reinvent Myself Out Here’: Experiences of Nature Inclusion and Mental Well-Being. In Environmental Contexts and Disability (pp. 213-229). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Mental well-being and quality-of-life benefits of inclusion in nature for adults with disabilities and their caregivers 

• Jakubec, S. L., Carruthers Den Hoed, D., Ray, H., & Krishnamurthy, A. (2016). Mental well-being and quality-of-life benefits of inclusion in nature for adults with disabilities and their caregivers. Landscape Research, 41(6), 616-627.

Understanding Belonging and Community Connection for Seniors Living in the Suburbs

• Jakubec, S. L., Olfert, M., Choi, L. L., Dawe, N., & Sheehan, D. (2019). Understanding belonging and community connection for seniors living in the suburbs. Urban Planning, 4(2), 43-52.

Grieving Nature–Grieving in Nature: The Place of Parks and Natural Places in Palliative and Grief Care 

• Jakubec, S. L., Den Hoed, D. C., Ray, H., & Krishnamurthy, A. (2020). Grieving Nature–Grieving in Nature: The Place of Parks and Natural Places in Palliative and Grief Care. Health in the Anthropocene, 241-250.

Planting seeds of community-engaged pedagogy: Community health nursing practice in an intergenerational campus-community gardening program 

• Jakubec, S. L., Szabo, J., Gleeson, J., Currie, G., & Flessati, S. (2021). Planting seeds of community-engaged pedagogy: Community health nursing practice in an intergenerational campus-community gardening program. Nurse education in practice, 51, 102980.

THE ‘HEALTHY PARKS–HEALTHY PEOPLE’ MOVEMENT IN CANADA: PROGRESS, CHALLENGES, AND AN EMERGING KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION AGENDA 

• Lemieux, C. J., Groulx, M. W., Buxton, R. T., Reining, C. E., Blye, C. J. C., Hassen, N., ... & Krehbiel, R. (2022). The 'Healthy Parks-Healthy People 'Movement in Canada: Progress, Challenges, and an Emerging Knowledge and Action Agenda.