About these resources
The diversity of practice in outdoor health offers opportunities for individuals to connect with nature-based experiences and therapies that work for them. This also validates and values practitioners who bring perspectives that can uniquely meet the needs of specific populations, for example Indigenous healing practices.
While our practices may be diverse, the outdoor health sector has a responsibility to those it aims to serve. To be effective, practices must be evidence-informed, safe and ethical (do no harm to participants). This is essential in order for nature-based practices to be supported and funded for broader public health and as a therapeutic option.
Our goal is to help guide the outdoor health field towards offering consistent, high quality services via a quality framework and resources to guide practice, whilst recognising the current limits of our capacity as a volunteer-run organisation.
Your feedback on these resources is welcome! Please email [email protected].
Diversity in Outdoor Health practices
Outdoor health practitioners span the intersections and spaces between outdoor education or recreation, health care and social support, welcoming a diverse range of evidence-informed approaches.
In our work to date, over 30 modalities of outdoor health practice have been described. Within this document, we have grouped them into the following categories:
- Aboriginal/Indigenous healing practices
- Outdoor adventure and/or experiential practices and therapies
- Outdoor/eco/nature-based allied health practices (occupational therapy, speech pathology, etc)
- Outdoor/eco/nature-based counselling & psychotherapy practices
- Outdoor/eco/nature-based psychology
- Outdoor/eco/nature-based social work
- Other outdoor/eco/nature-based therapies
- Animal assisted and/or facilitated therapies
- Therapeutic horticulture and/or farm practices
We strive to ensure each category has the breadth within it to ensure the diversity of practice can be represented.
Organisation Accreditation Pathways
Currently, organisations that do work related to outdoor health may be accredited by one or more bodies.
- Health organisations are accredited against the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards by an accrediting agency, for example the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS).
- Organisations working with people with disabilities may have NDIS accreditation.
- Organisations delivering training related to mental health may be accredited by a peak body such as the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA).
- Camps may be accredited under the Quality Tourism Framework or the Association for Experiential Education (AEE).
- The Australian Adventure Activity Standard offers voluntary standards for led outdoor activity providers to guide their practices.
Outdoor Health Australia has drafted ethical principles and practice standards to help guide organisations towards safe and ethical practice. These are currently available via our members portal.
Outdoor Health Australia is also supporting the Green Care review, a partnership to help provide accreditation pathways for organisations that wish to be involved with nature prescribing.
To learn more or get involved, email [email protected].
