This presentation shares practical lessons from training park and botanical garden staff serving communities impacted by war. It highlights how nature-based approaches can support trauma recovery, nervous system regulation, collective resilience, and a renewed sense of belonging—especially when safety, access, and resources are limited.

This session is designed to explore:

• How war-related trauma shows up in bodies, relationships, and communities

• Why “ecological belonging” matters when life feels unsafe or fragmented

• Trauma-informed principles for working with nature in high-stress contexts

• The role of parks and gardens as healing, stabilizing community infrastructure

Participants will be introduced to:

• Field-tested practices that do not require therapy offices, special equipment, or long sessions

• Ways to guide attention and restore regulation without pushing “mindfulness” language

• Group-based approaches that strengthen connection, meaning, and mutual support

• Safety, consent, and cultural humility considerations for nature-based work during crisis

This session is ideal for:

• Humanitarian and community-based organizations supporting displaced or war-affected populations

• Mental health professionals, counselors, and social workers working with trauma

• Park, recreation, botanical garden, and nature center leaders/staff

• Educators, chaplains, and community resilience coordinators

• Funders and policymakers interested in scalable, place-based mental health supports

Rooted in Resilience: A Nature-Informed Model to Prevent Burnout

A structured framework for sustainable leadership, regulation, and reciprocity.

Burnout isn’t just “too much work.” It’s often a chronic mismatch between how humans evolved to regulate and connect, and how modern systems demand output, speed, and isolation. This session introduces a structured, research-informed framework integrating evolutionary mismatch theory, nervous system regulation, and reciprocity—so individuals and organizations can prevent burnout before it becomes collapse.

This session is designed to explore:

• The biology of burnout: what happens in the nervous system over time

• Why rest alone doesn’t fix burnout if the system stays unchanged

• How nature contact supports regulation, recovery, and sustainable performance

• Reciprocity as a missing ingredient in modern “self-care” approaches

Participants will be introduced to:

• A practical burnout-prevention framework with clear components and language

• Simple, repeatable nature-based regulation practices for real workdays

• “Micro-restoration” strategies that work indoors, outdoors, and in urban settings

• Ways leaders can build culture that protects capacity (not just productivity)

This session is ideal for:

• Organizational leaders, managers, and executive teams

• HR, DEI, wellness, and employee assistance program stakeholders

• Healthcare, mental health, education, and nonprofit professionals at high risk of burnout

• First responder, public service, and mission-driven teams

• Conference audiences focused on resilience, leadership, and workforce wellbeing