Climate change has prolonged and distinctive impacts on human and health and wellbeing. As such, it is increasingly acknowledged that climate mitigation strategies need to produce co-benefits for both human and ecological health. However, this approach implies that the needs of humans are distinguishable from that of the environment, reinforcing the notion that humans are separate from nature. This presentation proposes that for climate mitigation to be enact transformational change, wellbeing needs to be redefined to recognise the interdependence between environmental and human health. By shifting our understanding of wellbeing to include the environment, we can strive towards achieving synergistic benefits – those that produce mutually reinforcing outcomes which enact ecological, psychological, and social healing simultaneously.

This presentation explores how regenerative agriculture can serve as form of holistic ecotherapy that supports psychological resilience while simultaneously restoring ecological health, offering a strategy to produce synergistic benefits within farming communities. At its core, regenerative agriculture embodies an ethos of ecological reciprocity and care that establishes meaningful human-nature connections. Drawing on ecopsychological theory, this presentation illustrates how these relational dynamics foster a sense of purpose, connection, and identity that are critical for protecting farmers’ mental wellbeing amid the climate crisis.

By highlighting the connection between regenerative agriculture and mental health, this presentation positions regenerative farming as a culturally relevant and locally embedded form of nature-based therapy. As farming populations are at an increased risk of experiencing psychological distress due to the effects of climate change, regenerative agriculture offers a pathway toward ecological and emotional resilience.