Youth distress: ‘forest therapy’ at school helps to reduce anxiety

‘Forest therapy’ in schools to tackle anxiety among young people. This is the focus of a pilot study by the CNR-IBE, carried out in collaboration with the Liceo Fermi in Cecina and published in Behavioural Sciences.

The study follows the direction set out in the scientific literature which, as the CNR points out, “has documented the effectiveness of guided and structured immersion in woodland environments, known as forest therapy”. This activity “aims to stimulate sensory connection with the environment through listening to sounds, perceiving aromas and mindful observation of the surrounding environment, with a view to reducing stress, alleviating anxiety symptoms and restoring emotional balance, particularly amongst the adult population”.
This work forms part of a programme developed by the Institute since 2019, with campaigns involving thousands of participants and over 50 Italian sites across mountains, hills and urban parks.

The pilot study stems from a school-to-work training project and involves 54 students aged 17–18, divided into two groups: 28 assigned to standard school activities and 26 to the forestry programme, 24 of whom attended at least three sessions. ‘In March 2026, four sessions of around three hours each took place, once a week, in the Tomboli di Cecina Biogenetic Nature Reserve,’ the CNR emphasises. ‘The activities alternated between short, slow walks and sensory stops, concluding with a moment of sharing and a final debrief.’ The sessions were led by Laura Sederini and Francesca Stoppa, two teachers trained in the CNR-IBE protocol.

“This study provides a basis for developing and evaluating nature-based programmes to promote well-being and prevent mental health issues among young people,” explains co-author Federica Zabini, a senior researcher at CNR-IBE. “In addition to the immediate changes in mood before and after each session in the intervention group, as measured using the POMS-A, we assessed and compared, using the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale, the progression of anxiety symptoms in both groups, both before the sessions and at four subsequent assessments extending up to 11 weeks after the conclusion of the activities. ‘The group that took part in the forest therapy programme showed average reductions in symptoms compared with the control group at all assessment points.’

The data highlights the importance of distinguishing between immediate reactions and trends over the subsequent medium term; however, as the comparison involves only two groups, it is not yet possible to attribute the differences to forest therapy. There is potential for more extensive assessments and studies involving a larger number of groups in the future.