Aims:In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the ways that human health
intersects with exposure to nature. This article reports the findings of a research
study investigating the experiences of people in South and West Wales who were engaged
in a specific type of nature and health intervention: ecotherapy.Methods:Ethnographic methods were used to develop a qualitative account of the experiences of
participants in four specific ecotherapy projects. Data collected during fieldwork
included notes from participant observations, interviews with both individuals and small
groups, and documents produced by the projects.Results:Findings were reported using two themes: ‘smooth and striated bureaucracy’ and ‘escape
and getting away’. The first theme focused on how participants negotiated tasks and
systems related to gatekeeping, registration, record keeping, rule compliance, and
evaluation. It was argued that this was experienced differently along a spectrum between
striated, in which it was disruptive to time and space, and smooth, in which it was much
more discrete. The second theme reported on an axiomatic perception that natural spaces
represented an escape or refuge; in terms of both reconnecting with something beneficial
in nature, and also disconnecting from pathological aspects of everyday life. In
bringing the two themes into dialogue, it could be seen that bureaucratic practices
often undermined the therapeutic sense of escape; and that this was more acutely
experienced by participants from marginalised social groups.Conclusions:This article concludes by reasserting that the role of nature in human health is
contested and arguing for a greater emphasis on inequities in access to good quality
green and blue space. Specific interventions like ecotherapy need funding models that
avoid striated bureaucratic processes, and the stress associated with these. Inclusive
models of ecotherapy practice could contribute to public health goals related to
population engagement with healthy environments.