The NatureMinded projects are a result of collaboration with and advice from the following trusted experts, professionals, and communities:
Dr. Henrik Jönsson holds a Ph.D. in applied mathematics and has worked as a researcher in the intersection between mathematics and financial economics.
As a nature enthusiast, Henrik has reoriented himself into environmental psychology, in general, and health-promoting outdoor environments, in particular. He focuses on the practical experiences of embodiment in nature, and people´s emotional relationships with places. Henrik is studying Outdoor Environments for Health and Well-being at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
Ingrid Owens is a Clinical Psychologist (MA) and Psychotherapist in Brussels,
curious about the interplay of Nature and therapeutic practice.
She has a background in education, mental health, and development work and began working as a psychologist/psychotherapist more than 20 years ago. Her
thinking and work are influenced and enriched by psychodynamic and relational theory, humanistic psychology, Mindfulness, Focusing, and more recently, nature-based therapy. From a young age, Ingrid has had a passion for Nature and over the years has become fascinated by the effects natural environments and encounters with wild animals have on the psyche and well-being of humans. While her roots lie in the vast landscapes of southern Africa, she now enjoys discovering new paths and meaning in the forests and wilderness of Europe.
Annelies Geeraerts holds a MSc in Pedagogy (Klinisch Orthopedagoge).
She is specialized in Animal and Nature Assisted Therapy, is a certified HSP professional, and a Forest Mind Guide. She has a passion for people and the journey of life and self-fulfillment; being and working with animals and their natural behavior (with a sweet spot for donkeys), and working in and with nature as the source of energy, meaning, and inspiration. All her professional knowledge and personal experience she is putting into her coaching practice Sterk Sensitief for highly sensitive people.
Dr. Vitalija Povilaityte-Petri is a pharmacist focused on medicinal and food plants.
She studies safe, sustainable, and responsible use of medicinal and edible plants, herbal medicinal products, and botanical food supplements. Vitalija also analyses how green spaces, therapeutic landscapes, and traditional knowledge contribute to human connectedness with nature, to disease prevention, and health promotion. She investigates what role food biodiversity, small-scale farming, city gardening, ethnobotanical knowledge, and community involvement play in addressing societal, environmental, and economic challenges.
And also:
Dr. Rik De Vreese has a background in forestry, but is now working on governance and social aspects of urban forests as social-ecological systems.
Rik is a Senior Expert & Team Leader Urban Forestry at the European Forest Institute (EFI); Visiting Professor in Landscape Ecology (Ghent University) as well as a self-employed expert in Ecosystem Services.
HEALING FOREST aims to discover and promote the healing powers of nature.
Through creative ventures like films, nature walks, articles, and activities we hope to create greater awareness about the link between us and nature. The intention is to create a small community of people who can lead healing forest walks that connect people with nature and create a healthy society and a healthy planet.
Dr. Yannick Joye has a background in philosophy.
In his research, he has dealt with questions such as how nature’s visual aesthetics can be integrated into the architecture to promote user wellbeing and cognitive functioning. Having worked at various international universities (KULeuven, University of Groningen), he is currently a senior researcher at ISM University of Management and Economics. His research focuses on how aesthetic aspects of consumer environments and products can affect consumption. Yannick is currently a senior researcher at ISM University of Management and Economics, Lithuania.
Sugir Selliah, holder of a MSc. in biological science, is a global citizen with a non-linear career path.
Her scientific background is strongly focused on research projects on plants related to their evolutionary history, conservation, and ethnobotany. Her interests cover topics from sustainable urban landscapes to phytochemistry in an interdisciplinary research environment. She strives to understand our society’s relationship with nature, e.g. how can we improve our health and well-being while promoting plant-based health practices available in an urban setting
NatureMinded 