SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — A Southampton High School science teacher earned her doctorate after studying a popular Japanese form of relaxation, forest bathing.
Jennifer Keller earned her PhD after presenting her thesis, “Forest bathing increases adolescent mental well-being and connection to nature: A transformative mixed methods study.”
Forest bathing is a Japanese form of relaxation and a way to combat stress, where people spend time breathing deeply in a natural environment.
Dr. Keller, who has taught university science and sustainability and earth science for the past 16 years at Southampton, earned her PhD in environmental studies from Antioch University in New England. She chose her thesis topic because she “wondered whether the practice of forest swimming could be a way to relieve adolescent anxiety and stress while encouraging environmental care and concern.”
For her research, Dr Keller explained that she used Participatory Action Research methods for young people so that she could work with her students to create new knowledge about forest swimming and explore their own experiences.
“Although there has been previous research on the health benefits of forest swimming, most of these studies have been conducted with adults in Japan and South Korea,” said Dr. Keller. “This is one of the first studies of forest swimming with teenagers.”
The work of Dr. Keller will be published over the summer, and the three research papers will eventually be published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Environmental Education Research, a special issue of the International Journal of Public Health Research and Ecopsychology, the Southampton Union Free School District said. .
“It was a meaningful project and I was so grateful to have had the opportunity to train as a fellow at Antioch University for the past four years,” she said. “It was challenging during COVID, but all challenges come with opportunities, and for me, it was the opportunity to see if there was a way to increase the mental well-being of our students by spending time outside in nature swimming in the woods. It's such a simple solution to a real problem. I strongly recommend that students—and everyone—spend time outside, as it has so many benefits for well-being, attention, focus and creativity.”
Dr. Keller also holds a master's degree in environmental science from Antioch University, a Master of Arts in Teaching Earth Science from Stony Brook University, and a bachelor's degree in marine biology from Long Island University, Southampton.
