Healing Through Nature

Healing Through Nature

From Down the Rabbit Hole by TCFV

November 19, 2025 · 53 min · Season 6 · Episode 2

About this episode

The episode explores how nature and community can support survivors of domestic violence through a conversation with Krista Varney.

Trigger warning: This episode includes discussion of domestic violence, trauma, and healing from abuse. Please listen with care and step away if you need a break. What does healing look like beyond the therapy room? In this episode of Down the Rabbit Hole, William and Samantha sit down with their colleague and public policy coordinator, Krista Varney, to explore how nature, community, and non-traditional practices can support survivors of domestic violence. Krista shares her journey into the movement, her current work in policy, and how becoming a Texas Master Naturalist and her interest in native plants, trees, and wildlife reshaped her own healing and her approach to advocacy. They unpack why nature can be such a powerful complement to traditional counseling, how simple experiences can calm the nervous system, and why access to green space is deeply tied to equity, history, and environmental justice. They also discuss integrating food access and mutual aid into programming, honoring Indigenous knowledge of land and ecosystems, and creating communities that function like healthy forests. Join us to learn new ways to weave nature into advocacy, prevention, and healing journeys…

People in this episode

Hosts: William, Samantha

Guest: Krista Varney

Topics covered

  • healing
  • domestic violence
  • nature
  • community support
  • advocacy
  • environmental justice

Keywords

  • healing
  • domestic violence
  • nature therapy
  • community
  • advocacy
  • environmental justice
  • mutual aid

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Texas Master Naturalist

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