An Encounter with One’s Deeper Self and Energy: A Phenomenological Study Among Spiritually Engaged Individuals in the Netherlands

Natural environments are the setting for spiritual experiences for people from all over the world. Interpretative phenomenological explorations of such experiences are scarce, even though the method suits the topic. We conducted field interviews with 18 Dutch visitors of a Dutch spiritual festival on how they (1) describe spiritual experiences in natural environments and (2) see the role of different natural attributes in these experiences. Principle descriptive concepts for spiritual experiences were a deeper self and spiritual energy. Aspects of nature facilitating such experiences were wilder sites, open spaces, sacred sites, sites remembered from childhood, old trees, animals, water, and fire, each adding a quality to the experience that resembled its innate properties. Participants agreed on the positive impact of these experiences on their well-being, mentioning different degrees of long-term benefit. Key Words: Connection to nature—Ecotherapy—Interpretative phenomenology—Spiritual experience—Well-being

"Nature Is Where There Is No Electricity and Wifi": Understanding Children's Connectedness with Nature through Their Images of Nature and Emotional Affinity towards Nature

This study explored nature connectedness among children in a Western context through focus group interviews and open-ended questionnaires with children in four primary schools in The Netherlands. Our study defined nature connectedness as a combination of individuals' images of nature and their emotional affinity towards nature. The results show that most participating children have rather dualistic and human-centered images of nature. Most of the children enjoyed being in nature, but showed limited emotional affection toward the natural world. Moreover, images of humans and nature as enemies and of humans as having lost their oneness with nature ("Paradise lost") emerge from this study. The nature/culture divide and marginal affection found in this study are worrisome for future care for the Eart

The Transformative Potential of Active Citizenship: Understanding Changes in Local Governance Practices

This paper focuses on understanding the transformative potential of active citizenship in green space governance. Through an in-depth case study, we show how citizens promoted the redevelopment of a brownfield into a green space, but eventually also contributed towards a broader co-creative shift in local governance. In this process, we highlight how a shift in citizens’ activities from contestation towards collaboration led to the uptake of citizen-driven discourses and activities in spatial planning. The social connectivity between governance practices is of key importance in this transformation—successful governance practices that involve active citizens can inspire others. Even so, transformation is often a slow and path-dependent process which also depends on an enabling policy environment. Cooperating with authorities provides citizens with power, but also requires alignment with official rules. Creating and maintaining effective partnerships will remain a challenge for citizens and policymakers that strive for societal transformations.<br/

Active citizenship for urban green infrastructure : fostering the diversity and dynamics of citizen contributions through mosaic governance

Active citizens may contribute to the environmental, social, and institutional resilience of cities. This review discusses how citizen initiatives protect biodiversity hotspots, contribute to social cohesion, institutional innovation, and diversity in urban green space management. Challenges related to social inclusiveness, ecological connectivity and continuity suggest government involvement is pertinent, but needs to be refocused. To maximise environmental outcomes of active citizenship, governments may adopt an enabling and stimulating governance style that harnesses the transformative potential of active citizenship. This paper argues for mosaic governance to work with the heterogeneous array of people, institutions, and spatial practices associated with active citizenship. Mosaic governance aims for a context-sensitive way of urban green infrastructure planning, enhancing relationships between the diversity of landscapes and communities across cities.</p