In a recent Grist advice column, climate therapist Leslie Davenport responds to a reader's question about why working with animals and tending plants helps process grief, anxiety, and depression. She illustrates her answer with the story of a client, Emma, who felt persistently low despite working in climate, practicing self-care, and having a strong community. Only during a mountain wedding did Emma experience a sudden, tearful release—a feeling she described as "drinking clear, cool water when you didn't know you were thirsty."
Davenport explains that Emma's daily life, like most people's, kept her separate from the natural world: office work, city runs with podcasts, and gym treadmills. The fix, she says, is not necessarily a wilderness retreat but small, consistent acts of connection. She recommends a daily sensory pause, tending a plant or garden, and occasionally leaving earbuds at home to notice wind, birdsong, and one's own breathing.
The column also points to scientific support: tree compounds can boost immune-cell activity, and stroking an animal lowers stress hormones and raises oxytocin. But Davenport argues the deeper reason is simpler—we feel better because we directly sense that life is an interwoven system we belong to, and caring for it is a form of reciprocity that also sustains our capacity for larger climate work. Since this is the only source provided, no other perspectives are included here. The piece is practical and personal rather than policy-focused, aimed at helping readers integrate nature connection into everyday routines. As Davenport puts it, "We don't need to go to the mountains to touch the living world within and around us."