Arts-based interventions as catalysts for strengthening human-nature connectedness: A case study on the Biellese landscape and its local food practices

Society’s increasing disconnection from nature, both on individual and collective levels, is often defined as a root cause of current environmental crises and biodiversity loss. This disconnection also affects food consumption practices and understanding of food supply chains and systems. For this reason, human-nature connectedness (HNC) is widely recognized in global sustainability agendas as a way to fight unsustainable practices and behaviors. However, there is still limited knowledge on how strengthening this relationship can create opportunities for a systemic change in food consumption and production. Moreover, recent studies and approaches to nurture HNC fall short on encompassing multisensory experiences and embodied knowledge. In this paper, we apply arts-based interventions (ABI) to study HNC in relation to place-based food practices in Biella, Italy. Specifically, we draw on the five types of connections to nature (material, experiential, cognitive, emotional, and philosophical) to explore the HNC of individuals. The results show that engaging in artistic practices and awakening one’s senses can deepen one’s understanding of and connection to a local landscape and its biodiversity, leading to more environmentally friendly food practices. This approach is thus valuable for nurturing deep leverage points in sustainability transitions on a scale of local food practices. This development provides a comprehensive understanding of how individuals can reconnect to place-based landscapes while mobilizing agency towards more responsible and environmentally conscious food production and consumption (SDG 12).