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Project NatureConnect

Training Options

Project NatureConnect offers 3 level certificates in Applied Ecopsychology.

Project NatureConnect: Getting Started

All interested individuals begin with Eco 500 A: Explore Nature’s Wisdom. This introductory course prepares individuals to learn the basic concepts of Applied Ecopsychology. It will assist you with deciding if the Project NatureConnect training program is a good fit for you.  

Note:  Weekly Eco-Art activities are included in this course for those interested in Eco-Art Therapy.

Level 1

Graduates who have mastered the Natural Systems Thinking Process, the Webstring model, and Natural Attraction Ecology are qualified to teach introductory courses and workshops or incorporate beginning Project NatureConnect (PNC) activities and sensory restoration work into their personal life and professional practice.

Estimate Duration: up to 1 year

Credits: 10

Non-Degree Student Tuition: $1350.00

Curriculum

ECO 500 (A): Explore Nature’s Wisdom (Required: 1 Credit). This introductory course emphasizes community building by doing and sharing Nature activities. Communication takes place as part of our contact with natural areas while creating moments there that let the life of Earth teach.

To validate from experience that we suffer our problems and unhappiness because we are socialized to deny the life of Nature and Earth’s dance. Moment by moment, our fifty-four natural senses attach us to all that has preceded and followed us. Senses that are wounded by abusive relationships remain injured, so we feel and act accordingly until we create space for these senses to happily reattach to their origins in the purity of Nature/Earth’s self-correcting balance and beauty, not substitutes for the wisdom of its dance. Unfortunately, our nature-disconnecting attachments make us produce and suffer our disorders too often.

ECO 500 (B): Organic Psychology of Global Citizenship (Required: 2 Credits). This entry-level sensory-ecology course emphasizes Educating, Counseling, and Healing with Nature (ECHN). Participants will learn to master the following concepts:

  1. Therapeutic Science of Applied Ecopsychology;
  2. Natural Systems Thinking Process (NSTP);
  3. Global Citizenship;
  4. Prejudice Against Nature (PAN)
  5. Nature Negatives [natural attractions]
  6. Webstrings and the Web of Life;
  7. Consensus and engaging in building community and cooperative learning;
  8. Increase personal, social, and environmental well-being by creating moments that let Earth teach; and
  9. Increase and support our Natural bio-language by utilizing 54 senses/sensitivities.

ECO 501: Introduction to Educating and Counseling with Nature (Required: 3 Credits). Learn to promote social and environmental responsibility by adapting unique nature-reconnecting methods and materials for personal or professional use. Tangible sensory reconnection with Nature through 27 activities and 54 natural senses satisfy profound natural wants: when unsatisfied, these disconnections disrupt the global balance and inner peace by fueling runaway disorders.

ECO 508: Natural Attractions, Intelligence, and Sanity (Required: 1 Credit). Discover how to prevent contemporary society’s nature-separated thinking from deteriorating personal growth and responsible relationships. Encounter and consider how to meet the challenges of the socializing process of Industrial Society that reduce our sensitivity and sensibility by excessively separating us from the self-correcting grace, balance, and renewing powers of Nature in and around us. Increase marketability, effectiveness, and global citizenship by educating and counseling with a readily accessible natural system thinking process.

ECO 751 (or equivalent): Field Studies in Educating and Counseling with Nature (Required: 2 Credits)  Wherever possible, the Project NatureConnect program integrates the fundamentals of Natural Attraction Ecology in its philosophy, systems, and procedures. Examples of this are self-organizing classes, sliding scale tuition, personally-tailored advanced coursework, and student involvement in every level of program administration in mutually beneficial interdependent relationships. In this course, students experience, explore and identify the differences between organizational processes in play in traditional industrial society organizations (processes that separate the human from the natural) and the way we follow Nature’s flow in the Project NatureConnect program.

Students learn experientially through participation in mutually supportive relationships in group classes, online community discussions, self-organizing work groups arising out of the attractions of students, faculty, and staff, using consensus building, asking permission, and respecting attractions as valuable guides to personal choices.

Students volunteer to play support roles and offer services that tap their skills, talents, and inclinations. Read more about volunteer support roles. A student may provide any assistance they believe would help the organization by contacting the Executive Director (Dr. Cohen). For example, students help build web pages, manage the online community, edit text, write advanced curricula, offer ideas for research and development, orient and guide less experienced students, and help refine and increase the extent to which the program functions as a natural community.

Students also learn how to connect with others, nurture appreciation and excitement for reconnecting with Nature, and invite others to learn the process through public education and networking engagement. Read more about public education. Students participate in at least 135 hours of activity (45 hours per credit).

ECO 800 (or equivalent): Certification of Requirement Completion for Certificate, Degree, & Student Cooperative Agreements (Required: 1 Credit). Validation of public education, social networking, and cooperative community participation. This course provides credit for demonstrating that the student has met the collective self-organization, growth, and economics requirements of the Project NatureConnect Institute of Global Education program at the Akamai Applied Ecopsychology Institute. These requirements are described in the Student Webstring Cooperative Contract and are part of the ECO 751 course. In addition, the course includes taking a certificate or degree-level comprehensive exam and submitting a short petition that documents the student’s fulfillment of the requirements of academic program challenge exams and Student Cooperative Contract.

Level I graduates have gained a more in-depth understanding of the function of natural attraction in natural systems and interpersonal relations and the dynamics of attraction and consent in the web of life.

Next, they can attain an intermediate level of expertise in guiding sensory restoration and nature-centered personal growth work with students and clients. Finally, they are qualified to develop and facilitate intermediate courses or workshops or conduct individual sessions with individuals integrating the Natural Systems Thinking Process.

Duration: 1 year

Non-Degree Student Tuition: $3000.00

Credits: 20

Prerequisite: Level 1 Certificate

Curriculum

ECO 502 I: Educating & Counseling with Nature I: Student Teaching & Research (Required 5 Credits) In this advanced course, students discover how separating from Nature stresses our sentient inner Nature and creates many problems. They learn to reverse this destructive process by mastering the Natural Systems Thinking Process using thoughtful Nature reconnecting activities that dissolve stress by satisfying our deepest natural loves, wants, and spiritual and soul connection. This course teaches hands-on education, counseling, and mental health skills that tap into the wisdom of Nature’s creation process. In addition, its email and telephone correspondence let Nature nurture warm interpersonal relationships, wellness, and responsibility.

ECO 502 II: Educating & Counseling with Nature II: Student Teaching & Research. (Required: 4 Credits) In this advanced course, students discover how our separation from Nature stresses our sentient inner Nature and creates many problems. They learn to reverse this destructive process by mastering The Natural Systems Thinking Process using thoughtful Nature reconnecting activities that dissolve stress by satisfying our deepest natural loves and supporting our soul-ology and spirit. This course teaches hands-on education, counseling, and mental health skills that tap into the wisdom of Nature’s creation process. Its email and telephone correspondence let Nature nurture warm interpersonal relationships, wellness, and responsibility.

ECO 791: Special Projects in Applied Ecopsychology (Required: 3 Credits) This course explores current or past special projects that make, or would have made, the way nature works become an ally to increase well-being if organic psychology had been included as part of them. The application of Ecopsychology, as practiced in the discipline of natural attraction ecology and organic psychology, helps humanity address the crises that result from our estrangement from Nature as Nature’s flow manifests itself as our living planet, Earth. Students prepare an academic paper or project report as a minimum written assessment in this course.

EXM 880: Comprehensive Examination (Required: 2 Credits) Students complete this comprehensive examination as a required element of their academic program before undertaking the thesis. The examination usually includes written and oral components and is confined to the programs of studies the student completes.

Participants select two of the following course modules. Total Credits: 6

Eco 507 Exploratory Readings in Applied Ecopsychology (3 Credits)

While teaching and researching sensory ecology, students will seek, read, and critique methods and materials from their library research. Students carefully explore the literature and prepare an annotated bibliography. As the principal course assignment, participants will prepare a scholarly paper of at least 15 typewritten, double-spaced pages discussing problems and solutions to critical issues and the practice of Applied Ecopsychology/Integrated Ecology.

ECO 504: Researching Sensory Knowing and Culture (3 Credits)

Prerequisites: ECO 500 and ECO 501.

Students will investigate a library of recent references related to their particular career field or interests that reflect upon the issues relevant to sensory ecology. Students will read and discuss the literature with Dr. Cohen and other professionals. Students will gather a bibliography of literature in their professional field or interest that supports work in Integrated Ecology and prepare an annotated bibliography. Finally, students will prepare a reflective paper of at least 15 double-spaced pages discussing how the literature has informed their understanding of the opportunities for integrating Applied Ecopsychology/Integrated Ecology concepts within their career field.

ECO 509: Global History of the Senses (3 Credits)

Prerequisites: ECO 501 and ECO 502.

By exploring each sense individually, students gain insights into the 54 senses, their natural origins and existence, and their cultural applications. Under the direction of the instructor, students establish and identify a class of four or more students with whom they work online or onsite. Students will keep a reflective journal of their experiences or a database of their online activity postings. Course participants will commit to doing a nature-guided, independent study of at least two senses per week to finish the class within six months. After the course, students will prepare a scholarly summary paper (at least 15 typewritten pages) reflecting on their experiences.

ECO 522: Public Relations and Marketing (3 Credits)

Prerequisite: ECO 501.

Students survey the field of Public Relations and Marketing to determine the most important means to promote, implement and produce support for their involvement in the natural systems thinking process. They identify what makes each technique and strategy worthwhile, select those that make the most sense to them, defend them, and apply them in areas that add to the field of Nature connected psychology and their interests. The student writes a three-page scholarly paper documenting their work and learning in this area, which would assist others who read it.

ECO 530: An Introduction to Eco-Art Therapy (3 Credits)

This is a fun and experiential course designed to introduce the student to how adding an art component to nature-connecting activities can enhance the ability of Nature to teach. Art and Nature are non-verbal ways our subconscious mind can express itself. In this class, the student will learn techniques to use to facilitate that expression through making therapeutic, nature-inspired art. You do not need to be an “artist” or have any so-called “creative talent” to take this class. It is not an art course but uses the creative process of art-making as a tool for healing and self-discovery with Nature. It lets the student explore the innovative merging of traditional Art Therapy with Applied Ecopsychology. The course consists of 12 individual hands-on lessons/activities and typically runs approximately three months.

Visit the Eco-Art Therapy website: https://www.ecoart-therapy.org

ECO 531: Advanced Studies in Eco-Art Therapy (3 Credits)

Prerequisite: ECO 530

This 12-week class teaches advanced hands-on education, counseling, and mental health skills that use art to tap the wisdom of Nature’s ways. Students continue their exploration of a set of creative and therapeutic tools that help reverse the problems caused by our separation from Nature. They learn additional Eco-Art Therapy activities for wellness and natural self-discovery and will design and teach their original eco-art therapy activity. The course does not require any artistic talent.

Visit the Eco-Art Therapy website: https://www.ecoart-therapy.org

ECO 752: Advanced Field Studies in Applied Ecopsychology (3 Credits) This course explores present or past field studies that make, or would have made, the way nature works become an ally to increase well-being if organic psychology had been included as part of them. The application of Ecopsychology, as practiced in the discipline of natural attraction ecology and organic psychology, helps humanity address the crises that result from our estrangement from Nature as Nature’s flow manifests itself as our living planet, Earth. Our nature-disconnected cultural environment conditions us from birth. Our upbringing often socializes and shapes us into good citizens of our excessively indoor and unbalanced way of life in Industrial Society. We are seldom educated to think and act as contributing citizens of the global life community, of its plant, animal, and mineral kingdoms and their self-organized ways to support the flow of Nature’s non-polluting perfection in and around us. Instead, we learn to conquer or exploit Nature’s flow, often for profit. This produces our most challenging problems, for Nature is the essence that nurtures and restores life in purity, balance, and well-being. As part of Nature, we are born with Nature’s renewing abilities. However, our thinking learns to bury them out of our sight and consciousness. This course aims to explore field studies from our past and present life experiences and training and identify how the application of organic psychology and natural attraction ecology may release and strengthen Nature’s self-correcting powers in us so that they can help us address the heart of our troubles. In this way, students demonstrate that they have mastered, designed, or implemented nature connection techniques that will help us reverse many personal, social, and environmental problems. Students prepare an academic paper or project report as a minimum written assessment in this course.

ECO 753: Case Studies in Applied Ecopsychology (3 Credits) is a course that explores present or past case studies that make, or would have made, the way nature works become an ally to increase well-being if organic psychology had been included as part of them. The application of Ecopsychology, as practiced in the discipline of natural attraction ecology and organic psychology, helps humanity address the crises that result from our estrangement from Nature as Nature’s flow manifests itself as our living planet, Earth. Students prepare an academic paper or project report as a minimum written assessment in this course.

ECO 792: Advanced Readings in Applied Ecopsychology (3 Credits) This course explores books, journal articles, and other learning materials that make, or would have made, the way nature works become an ally to increase well-being if organic psychology had been included as part of them. The application of Ecopsychology, as practiced in the discipline of natural attraction ecology and organic psychology, helps humanity address the crises that result from our estrangement from Nature as Nature’s flow manifests itself as our living planet, Earth. Students prepare an academic paper or project report as a minimum written assessment in this course.

Level II Graduates have attained a deep understanding of Natural Attraction Ecology and the Natural Systems Thinking Process. In addition, they have achieved an advanced level of personal sensory restoration. As a result, they are qualified to develop, teach advanced classes and workshops, and guide individuals and groups in reintegration with the natural community through sensory restoration and the practice of Natural Attraction Ecology.

Duration:1 year

Non-Degree Student Tuition: $450.00

Credits: 4

Prerequisites: Level 1 & Level 2 Certificates

Curriculum

ECO 511 and ECO 512. ECHN: Student Teaching (Required: 4 Credits)

Students co-facilitate ECO 502 I & II: Educating and Counseling with Nature under the guidance and supervision of the instructor. Student Co-facilitators use their experience and expertise to help students deepen their mastery of Educating Counseling and Healing With Nature, expanding our sensory restoration practice to an advanced level.