Contact with nature has an incredibly beneficial impact on our bodies and on our psychological and physical wellbeing — science no longer has any doubts about this. One study, for example, found that men who live in areas characterised by large green spaces have a mortality rate 16 per cent lower than their counterparts living in urban areas, while another showed that in urban areas where trees are present, antidepressant consumption is lower than in areas without them. Not everyone has free access to nature, however, and among those who are excluded are prisoners, particularly those in solitary confinement. An experiment has shown, though, that even these individuals can benefit from nature's soothing effect, simply by watching images and videos depicting natural environments.

The calming effect of nature

The study, entitled Impacts of nature imagery on people in severely nature-deprived environments and published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, was conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Utah on a number of inmates held in solitary confinement in an Oregon prison. The researchers showed the prisoners images and footage of mountains, forests, glaciers and waterfalls, finding that such images can reduce their tension and anger and may therefore make some of the harshest environments in a prison — such as solitary confinement cells — easier to endure.

The results of the experiment

The researchers, led by biologist Nalini Nadkarni, divided the inmates of the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Oregon, into two groups of 24. Those in the first group were given the option of choosing whether to use their allotted time for physical exercise or to watch nature videos. The inmates in the second group were given no such choice and were offered exercise only. The prisoners in the first group proved less prone to violence than the others and, over the course of a year, were involved in 26 per cent fewer violent incidents. The programme also allowed the prison to save thousands of dollars in medical costs and, according to Nadkarni, could be successfully replicated in other settings, such as care homes or military barracks, and even extended to people living in heavily urbanised areas.

The criticism

There are those, however, who criticise the experiment, arguing that it could be used to justify the continued use of solitary confinement. The practice involves truly harsh conditions for inmates, who are confined to a small cell without books and with few opportunities to speak with family members and therapists, and it has a serious impact on prisoners' psychological and physical health.

Nadkarni's mission

Despite everything, the creator of the project is convinced that he has helped the inmates he worked with. "As an ecologist, it is not within my power to change the entire prison system," Nadkarni said, "but one thing I can do is think about how to bring the therapeutic value of nature to incarcerated people."