Resources
FIRETREE IS GROUNDED IN RESEARCH. HERE'S WHAT I'M READING, SHARING & RETURNING TO.
The practices at the heart of our work in forest therapy, grief support, mindfulness, and leadership development aren't just intuitive. They're backed by decades of peer-reviewed research across neuroscience, organizational psychology, and environmental health.
What you'll find here is a curated collection of studies, articles, and books that inform everything from the Forest Therapy Walks to leadership coaching and grief circles. Some are scientific — the kind that measure cortisol levels and immune cell activity after time in nature. Some are more personal, like the books that have shaped how this work understands grief as something communal rather than private.
This isn't an exhaustive library. It's a living collection of the research and reading worth returning to.
Mindfulness in the Workplace
Mindfulness-Based Programs in the Workplace: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Vonderlin, Biermann, Bohus & Lyssenko — Mindfulness (Springer, 2020)
Takeaway: The largest and most rigorous synthesis available — 56 randomized controlled trials, over 5,000 participants. Workplace mindfulness programs reliably reduce stress, burnout, and mental distress while improving wellbeing, job satisfaction, and compassion, with effects still holding three months later.
Effects of Standardized Mindfulness Programs on Burnout: A Systematic Review and Original Analysis
Frontiers in Public Health
Takeaway: Reinforces the above across multiple occupational groups (including physicians and medical students), consistently finding reduced burnout and stress from structured mindfulness training.
A Salutogenic Approach to Green Programs for the Rehabilitation of Young Employees With Burnout
NCBI / PMC (study protocol)
Takeaway: Notes that burnout complaints among young employees rose from 14.4% to 17.3% in a few years, and that pilot studies of “green programs” (nature-based rehabilitation) show promise for reducing burnout symptoms and supporting return-to-work.
Return on Investment of Workplace Wellness: Evidence From a Long-Term Care Company
Unsal, Weaver, Bray, Bibeau & Saake — Workplace Health & Safety (2021)
Takeaway: A real-world case study of a small long-term care employer found the wellness program's costs were largely offset by organizational savings within two years, suggesting modest programs can pay for themselves even in small organizations
The Effects of Self-Leadership and Mindfulness Training on Leadership Development: A Systematic Review
Management Review Quarterly (Springer, 2024)
Takeaway: This systematic review found mindfulness-based leadership training improves stress resilience, job performance, and leaders' ability to organize and motivate others
Mindful Leader Development: How Leaders Experience the Effects of Mindfulness Training on Leader Capabilities
Frontiers in Psychology (2019)
Takeaway: Interviews with senior leaders 6–12 months after completing a 10-week workplace mindfulness training found lasting shifts in how they process information, communicate, and adapt to organizational change — evidence the effects outlast the training itself.
Forest Therapy
Effects of forest environment on health promotion and disease prevention — “Forest Medicine”
National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)
Takeaway: A foundational review tying forest bathing to measurably higher natural killer (immune) cell activity, lower blood pressure and heart rate, reduced stress hormones, better sleep, and improved mood-state scores (less anxiety, depression, anger, fatigue).
Spending at Least 120 Minutes a Week in Nature Is Associated With Good Health and Wellbeing
White et al., Scientific Reports (2019) — Nature.com / PubMed
Takeaway: A large-scale study of nearly 20,000 people found that reaching roughly two hours a week in nature — however it's accumulated, one long visit or several short ones — is linked to significantly better self-reported health and wellbeing, with benefits peaking around 200–300 minutes/week.
Big Smile, Small Self: Awe Walks Promote Prosocial Positive Emotions in Older Adults
Sturm et al. — Emotion journal (UCSF / UC Berkeley, 2020)
Takeaway: An 8-week study found that brief, weekly guided nature walks aimed at noticing awe increased participants' day-to-day compassion, gratitude, and connection to others, and reduced daily distress