Earthbound Teaching Nature Connected Arts Therapy

Abstract

Nature connected arts therapy (NCAT) is still a relatively new field in education. This article is a first exploration of teaching nature connected arts therapy in a post graduate diploma course in New Zealand. Included are examples of the outdoor teaching sessions at Whitecliffe. This is paired with student voices and art work describing the student’s experiences of interacting with nature and natural art materials during the sessions. The overarching theme of teaching NCAT in this setting is the widening of the concept of communitas to include nature. Furthermore NCAT provides the students with means of self-care which they can access during and outside of the programmeme.