Background:  Despite a wealth of literacy demonstrating the salubrious effects of connecting with nature, few specific nature-based Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs) have been developed. Two such PPIs, however, are the Noticing Nature Intervention (NNI; Passmore & Holder, 2017; Passmore et al., 2022: “Notice how the nature you encounter in your everyday routine makes you feel.”) and the Three Good Things in Nature Intervention (3GTiN; McEwan et al., 2019; Richardson & Sheffield, 2017: “Note three good things about the nature you encounter.”).

Aims:  We tested the efficacy of these nature-based PPIs to boost wellbeing compared to the standard (or slightly modified) common PPI, Three Good Things (3GT).

Method:  In Study 1, participants from Canada, China, and the United States (N = 784) were randomly assigned to engage daily, for two weeks, in either the NNI, a placebo-activity, or the standard Three Good Things PPI. In Study 2, participants from Canada and the United Kingdom (N = 330) were randomly assigned to engage daily, for one week, in either the 3GTiN or a modified version of 3GT (“Note three good things about your day”) intervention. Pre- and post measures of elevation, transcendent connectedness, and affect balance were administered.

Results:  Participants who engaged in a nature-based PPI reported significantly higher levels of elevation (ds=0.54, 0.40) and transcendent connectedness (ds = 0.37, 0.29) compared to those who engaged in the 3GT intervention. Equivalence analyses revealed that the nature-based PPIs were equivalent to 3GT at boosting affect balance [d_{upper-lower boundaries} = 0.25).

Conclusion:  Results suggest that not only are nature-based PPIs effective at boosting wellbeing, they may be unique in their ability to boost aspects of wellbeing relating to experiencing a sense of elevation (which includes feeling spiritually uplifted, morally elevated, deeply appreciative, and profoundly touched) and a grand, transcendent sense of connectedness to all of life.