On Sept. 11, ETSU’s Counseling Center held its first Forest Walk of the semester which they will be continuing every Monday at 3:30 p.m. at the gazebo located in parking lot 13, behind the Sherrod Library. The weekly event consists of an hour-long guided walk through the campus forest trail with activities implanted throughout the hike, helping students tune in with nature and practice destressing methods to offer a break from college life.

Photo of the forest walk information flyer. (Contributed/ETSU Counseling Center)

The walk is led by licensed master social worker Rhonda Hubbard who works at East Tennessee State University’s counseling center. On the Sept. 18, Associate Professor in Counseling and Human Services Bethany Novotny also joined in for a breezy stroll. Previously, the event was a silent walk with meditation but after students stopped participating, the two decided to team up and introduce an interactive approach where each walk would be given a different motive with activities that aligned with the intention chosen.

“We worked with the sense last week,” Novotny said. “Just getting students to hone in and pay attention with one sense at a time.”

This week, the motive set was gratitude. To tie with this, the two leaders handed out journals where attendees got to write down their thoughts during a break in the walk, and incorporated nature in more ways than one as attendees were instructed to pick a rock along the trail and give it meaning through a spiritual healing process. Later, they’d hide this rock somewhere only they know.

Hubbard spoke on the importance of outside time while staying focused on school, mentioning that research shows being in nature can help calm the nervous system and overall be beneficial for mental health. The forest walk had existed prior to Hubbard and Novotny’s leadership and now they hope to continue it for many years to come for students to take advantage of.

“When you are busy in school with assignments, friends, social media and phones, it’s really good to unplug,” Hubbard said. “This gives people an opportunity to do just that.”

With a steady pace, a welcoming atmosphere and a fresh fall breeze, there is nothing better than a healing afternoon stroll to start off the week. For more information on how to get involved, visit https://www.etsu.edu/students/counseling/services/groups.php.

Author