Green Care Lab UC Davis

Green Care Lab UC Davis Welcome to the Green Care Lab, where science meets compassion and innovation blends with nature.

03/22/2026

Same place.
Different focus.
What you notice shapes what you experience.
We’re about to submit a paper on how perspective shapes emotional outcomes in human–animal interactions.

More soon.





03/21/2026

New visitors.
The roof of the GCL goat shelter is now occupied by a nesting pair of visiting Canada geese. Dad has assumed perimeter security in the nearby horse pasture. Mom is overseeing operations from the roof.
No further correspondence has been received.

03/20/2026

Meet Lu.

8 months old.
Newly rescued.
Firmly against productivity.

We’ll allow it.

ScienceInAction ConnectionMatters UCDavis LabLife HealingWithAnimals

We haven’t posted in a while. The reason is heartbreaking.Last September, we lost our beloved social media intern, Alyss...
03/16/2025

We haven’t posted in a while. The reason is heartbreaking.

Last September, we lost our beloved social media intern, Alyssa Contreras. Alyssa wasn’t just a member of our team—she was a force. A brilliant, charismatic soul who spent her life making science, knowledge, and experiences more accessible to all. She battled a seizure disorder with unwavering resilience, but ultimately, it took her from us too soon.

Her passing left a void we still don’t know how to fill. Her sharp wit, boundless humor, and relentless optimism lifted us daily. It’s been hard to find the words, hard to hit “post” without her here. But if there’s one thing Alyssa taught us, it’s that sharing knowledge, making connections, and lifting others up is always worth it.

So today, we post in her honor. Alyssa, you will always be part of the Green Care Lab family. We love you, we miss you, and we will carry your light forward.

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) refer to actions that protect, sustainably manage and restore natural and modified ecosyste...
07/29/2024

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) refer to actions that protect, sustainably manage and restore natural and modified ecosystems to address societal challenges, such as climate change, disaster risk reduction, and food and water security.

Green Care, on the other hand, is a specific approach that utilizes methods in nature-based solutions to promote human well-being and biodiversity benefits.

NbS can help us understand how to implement projects in the analysis of Green Care and the different factors we must consider to ensure its benefits.

04/11/2024

Green Care science means understanding all the aspects of care involved in managing the resources at our lab. 🪴

Recently, our Mariposa desértica garden was met with some unexpected stress and flooding in the main planter boxes.

These unexpected situations can often be distressing for lab members and potentially even harmful to our plants. However, they provide an opportunity to engage in problem-solving and meaningful impact, which, in this case, involved lab member Joel coming to the rescue.

Responding to the needs of the greenspaces and acting on the desire to upkeep and repair is one way we can leverage understanding Green Care and its physiological benefits.

Though, in this particular instance, it may have been an immediate stress response that triggered action in the environment, there is more than meets the eye in understanding the active interaction with the natural environment and how responding to these situations simulates a similar behavioral response to those experienced in the therapeutic studies of Green Care, with potential to allow an individual to feel relief and achievement through problem-solving and the building of skills.

Animal spotlight: Meet Mary! 🐴Mary is a mother, friend, and lovely companion that the Green Care Lab rescued in the Fall...
04/03/2024

Animal spotlight: Meet Mary! 🐴

Mary is a mother, friend, and lovely companion that the Green Care Lab rescued in the Fall of 2023. Our mini donkey Mary came to us after being saved from unfit living conditions in an animal boarding situation.

She has since made the Green Care Lab her home, along with her son Memphis. Addressing welfare necessitates confronting important issues in science, health, politics, and ethics.

Animal hoarding is a complex issue that severely affects animal welfare and shelter overcrowding. It's crucial that we work together to destigmatize this issue and promote understanding and possible interventions.


03/13/2024

The Green Care Lab is studying how human behavior, neurobiology, and physiology change in response to human-animal interactions. Thus, it’s important for us to control for any confounding issues scared, surprised, or seemingly naughtily-behaving critters might create during our scientific investigations.

That’s why our training with them is so important—not only for their comfort and well-being but also for cleaner, robust data collection!

With our goats, Cal and Lily, we are currently working on harness and leash training.

Yes! Goats can be leash-trained, just like dogs!

Disclaimer: THIS IS NOT A TRAINING VIDEO

Cal and Lily have been practicing their walks with us in halter training sessions, a great opportunity for our students and the goats to enjoy the weather and time with each other!

In these first few sessions, we are letting them get used to the feel of the harness on their bodies and how it will move as they walk and trot.

They then get rewarded with both verbal praise and goat-friendly treats!

This method is used to get Cal and Lily more comfortable with routine care and observe how they spend time outside their pen! 🐐


02/28/2024

FINAL COUNTDOWN~

We need your help! Hear from students @ GCL tell you more about why they need your support for the sheepmowers project!

We're in our final 36 hours of the crowdfunding, and we have an anonymous donor who has offered to DOUBLE the value of any donation up to a total of $1000 given between now and the end of the campaign (2/29). PLEASE take advantage of this generous offer and double your impact!!

https://crowdfund.ucdavis.edu/project/40838/updates/1
Donate today!

02/27/2024

We have an anonymous donor who has offered to DOUBLE the value of any donation up to a total of $1000 given between now and the end of the campaign (2/29). PLEASE, take advantage of this generous offer and double your impact!!

Please donate today!

https://crowdfund.ucdavis.edu/project/40838

We're fundraising to construct a pastoral sheep pen for the Sheepmowers at the Green Care Lab to support hands-on learning in mental health and environmental care. Shepherding Wellness with Therapeutic Pastures combines eco-friendly sheep grazing with nature's healing effects to foster healthier landscapes and minds and pioneer research-backed nature therapy and green management strategies.

Your support will help us establish a living classroom and therapy site conducive to experiential learning, innovative research, and community engagement for researchers, faculty, and students, as well as the local public. Partnering with the Green Care Lab will provide the Sheepmowers with a more permanent (and long term) location to research and apply grazing landscape management practices to manage weeds and pests, reduce labor costs, permit operating access to inaccessible terrain, and provide a cost-saving alternative to mowing. Research within the new pasture spanning animal behavior, stress physiology, and behavioral neuroendocrinology will delve into the intersection of human well-being and nature's restorative powers to examine the sheep's potential to improve public health.

Gifts to our crowdfund project will support the Sheep Mowing Project fund, including our current priority of a pastoral sheep pen.

This partnership will also allow the Sheepmowers Project to go mobile and take its message of sheep-sourced sustainability, community engagement, and health & well-being on the road to public schools, elder care facilities, and community events statewide.

Help Support this project and bring to life a living classroom like no other!Swipe for more info & Share with friends! ...
02/18/2024

Help Support this project and bring to life a living classroom like no other!

Swipe for more info & Share with friends!


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