Moments of glory: A phenomenological study of white men farmers negotiating natural spaces

Even before there was scientific research to support it, humans have encouraged each other to spend time outside in nature as doing so promotes good health. As researchers have sought to better understand how contact with nature leads to better health outcomes for humans, they have generally thought about humans as a species, without attention to the ways in which individuals are different from one another. This study explores the impact of identity on human experiences of nature. In order to do that, investigators considered the lived experiences of a group of people that likely spend significant time in nature due to their work: a sample of white men farmers from the Unites States Midwest. In this study, participants who shared this combination of racial, gender, and vocational identities where invited to tell stories of significant experiences with nature on their farms. They described entering natural spaces on their farms to complete focused activities, but paused in their solitary work to take in fleeting moments embedded in the natural landscape around them. These moments were often brief, rich and vivid, and the participants reported feelings of awe and connection to place and their personal history. Participants also described moments of disconnection, noting ways in which being white, men, and farmers contributed to feeling stressed or isolated in nature. These results suggest that individual differences such as identity may change the way nature is experienced by different kinds of people.