Abstract

Campus health has recently become a major area of interest. One of the elements which contributes to a healthy campus is the proximity of the natural environment to said campus. Many campuses incorporate a trail system to allow students to interact with nature without having to leave the area. This paper reviews some of the research relating to natural spaces and mental health. Attention Restoration Theory (ART) as developed by Kaplan (1995) is used to describe the potential benefits of an on-campus trail system. The campus trail system at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus is used as an example of how best practices may be applied to a natural setting and how a trail system can be maintained with minimum resources through an Adopt a Trail program.