Case Studies

Below are a series of case studies about designed projects and programs that connect people with nature. To search design projects, click on case studies called PLACE. For programs, click on case studies called PROGRAMS. We hope you will look at all the incredible case studies that prioritize nature and health.

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Walkers, bike riders, and segway scooter riders are sharing the non motorized roadway which is seen going under an overpass. To the right of the path are plazas with benches, cement walkways, grasses, and trees.

Place

Dequindre Cut Greenway

Detroit, MI

An Adventure Group participant rides a recumbent trike with his service dog on a sunny day. Behind their path are some trees and scrub, separating them from the main road.

Program

Destination Rehab

Bend, OR

A participant is in a sit ski for a picture, with a DREAM volunteer and a seasonal staff employee posing on either side of her. The scenery behind them is an open ski slope covered with snow that shines bright from the sunlight.

Program

DREAM Adaptive Recreation

Whitefish, Montana

Pedestrians and bicyclists on wide paths surrounded by mown areas and prairie grasses with waterway in background.

Place

Dune Peninsula at Point Defiance Park

Tacoma, WA

Vibrant plants and trees with fall foliage border a playground. The playground colors are muted in shades of green and browns.

Place

Ed Barsis Park at Four Hills Village

Albuquerque, NM

An overhead photo of an Elevate Youth member outdoor rock climbing at Hammond Pond looking toward the top of the route and smiling.

Program

Elevate Youth

Boston, MA

A hillside planted with shrubs and ornamental grasses has a large, modern-style building behind it.

Place

Frontier Project

Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Seed Crew students diligently plow a row of soil in preparation for seed planting at Conundrum Farms. Lined up behind them are other already plowed rows. In the background are tall trees and a farm building; the sky above them is cloudy, which offers plenty of shade.

Program

FunkyTown Food Project

Crowley, TX

A butterfly garden is in full bloom with bright pink, red, and white native plants and wildflowers. The Garden Club has high hopes that this garden becomes a haven for pollinators for many years.

Program

Garden Club at Chicago-Read Mental Health Center

Chicago, IL

GRuB’s famous sign stands tall above thick, bright foliage. Its unique design reflects the shape of a sunflower, with GRuB’s logo placed proudly in the center. Behind the sign are rustling trees; a glimpse of a building’s orange rooftop can be seen between the leaves.

Program

Garden-Raised Bounty (GRuB)

Olympia, WA

A large sculpture of an animal head made from plants, with one side of the head resembling a child’s rocking horse, and the other side a dinosaur.

Place

Glenstone

Potomac, MD

Surrounded by an abundance of green, a participant reaches up to carefully inspect a particular branch of leaves during one of Tremont’s herpetology SANCP classes.

Program

Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont

Townsend, TN

A participant in the National Experiential Learning Program does field work in a grassy plain spotted with flowers at Grand Teton National Park under a blue sky. Behind them in the distance is a vast mountain range.

Program

Groundwork USA's National Experiential Learning Program

Yonkers, NY

Six people stand around the vegetable beds in the garden. In the background, there is a low building as well as a large fully leafed out tree overhanging the plants that provides shade.

Program

Guam Green Growth Hagåtña Community Garden

Hagåtña, GU

Two people with their backs to the camera have blankets draped across their backs and are looking at bombed out buildings while standing on a patch of grass.

Program

Helping Ukraine Heal Through Nature-Based Programs

Bainbridge Island, WA

Outside in the snow, a participant faces the camera and grins as he points to the back of his peer’s jacket, which boasts the Hoods to Woods logo.

Program

Hoods to Woods

Brooklyn, NY

Three people—one of them in a wheelchair—are seated in a garden area that resembles an eddy, where fresh air is gathered; rows of planters border the walkway leading up to the seating area. The trio enjoys the spring bloom and the clear, sunny sky.

Place

Hospice Garden

Seattle, WA

Two people walk up a wide wooden staircase. The staircase takes several turns as it goes between large rock outcrops.

Place

Huludao Xingcheng Coastal Trail

Huludao and Xingcheng, China

A child in a blue shirt and a child in a red shirt are playing the game Twister outdoors, on a surface of dried grass and leaves.

Program

Integrative OT

Birmingham, AL

Two children sit on top of a hexagonally shaped climbing structure while another stands on the other end. Two children are slightly blurred as they run around the structure. The brick school building is in the background.

Place

KIPP Philadelphia Preparatory Academy

Philadelphia, PA

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