10/18/2025
When most people hear “nature therapy,” they think it just means doing a counselling session outside. But ecotherapy is so much more than that.
Nature therapy is about learning from the land itself—taking the wisdom of our environment and weaving it into how we live and care for our mental health. It’s about reciprocity: recognizing that we don’t exist alone, and that we give back as much as we take.
Here in Central Alberta, we live on Blackfoot and Cree land. Indigenous knowledge teaches us about the importance of community, reciprocity, and abundance. A beautiful example comes from The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. She shares the idea of a “gift economy” — one based not on scarcity, but on abundance.
Think of a Saskatoon berry bush: it doesn’t just grow enough berries to spread its seeds. It produces an abundance, feeding birds, animals, and people, while still ensuring its own survival. That generosity strengthens the entire ecosystem.
Ecotherapy invites us to live with the same mindset: abundance, reciprocity, and community. Because when we give back, everyone flourishes.