GORP is back for another semester. The Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program is a startup business incubator at the UofA focused on outdoor recreation companies. Jack Travis caught up with a participant in this semester's GORP cohort at the Lower Ramble in Fayetteville. Dana Klisanin is the founder of Rewilding Lab. She tells Jack that she aims to expand her offerings, which draw from her background in psychology.
"Early in my career, I was really interested in media and technology and how we could use those to promote planetary consciousness or love for our environment. And then as time went on, I started to realize that media and technology are great for promoting this type of relationship with nature. But ultimately, around 2019, right before COVID, I had an experience on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, and it led me to change my research focus into human-nature relationships. And so for the last six years now, I've been really taking a deep dive on what it would mean for people to really reconnect with the natural world and how that supports our well-being. There's a lot of science behind that.”
Klisanin channeled that science and lived experience into a business called ReWilding Lab. The concept of rewilding is ecological. According to the Rewilding Institute, the practice is a comprehensive, often large-scale conservation effort focused on restoring biodiversity and ecosystems by protecting and connecting wilderness areas and rehabbing or reintroducing apex predators and keystone species. In a TED Talk, Klisanin uses the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park as an example.
"When wolves were returned after 70 years of absence, they didn't just restore balance — they reshaped the land. Elk changed their grazing patterns. Trees grew back. Birds returned. River banks stabilized. One keystone species set off a cascade of renewal. And I wondered, could we rewild our minds and flourish again?"
People dealing with issues like burnout or screen addiction often approach Klisanin seeking a solution. She helps them find answers by blending meditation, bodywork, art and time spent with nature.
"I find that when you weave those things together into experiences for people, they just cover a lot of ground. And we provide experiences that enable people to restore their relationship with the natural world, to support well-being."
Restoring that connection requires a trip outside. She takes her clients on guided hikes to spots like the one where this conversation took place — Fayetteville's Lower Ramble.
"Have a seat and have a conversation. That usually also involves journaling, because with my background in psychology, I'm really interested in how the inside world and the outside world mirror each other. So oftentimes the more out of touch we get with the natural world, with what's outside of us, we might find some parallels within us. And when we dive into those things, we can surface information that might help us solve whatever challenge that we're facing. I do not practice as a clinical psychologist. I work more as a coach."
Travis: What do you hear from people that go through these experiences with you.
"We find this approach refreshing, find it a different approach than anything they've done in the past, and it seems like they continue to want to do more of it and dig deeper and spend more time on their interior while spending time in the external world."
There are abundant chances to access nature in Northwest Arkansas. The region is often marketed as an outdoor recreationalist's dream, with all the biking, climbing and paddling that you can do just minutes away from metro areas. Klisanin says she takes a different approach and tries to create a more personal experience with wild spaces for her clients by just slowing down.
"People get outside and maybe they're riding their bike, but they're moving really fast. They're really in the adrenaline of the moment of riding, let's say a bike…. But it could even be walking. A lot of times people will go for a walk and put on some audio to listen to. I understand that there's limited time and people maybe want to hear a book, and there's nothing wrong with that. But you see what's happened — they've sort of shut out the bird sounds. They've shut out the sound of the stream. Even if you're walking and you're just lost in your own personal thought or you're listening to audio, then what you're not attending to is what's around you. So you're not hearing these birds that we have in the background or paying attention to the stream or just simply resting, letting your body rest. And so the same thing back to the bike — if you're zooming along, you're just passing through nature, you're not actually creating a relationship with it."
She says allowing the natural world into your mind is a practice that takes, well, practice. She suggests taking the time to learn the names of surrounding flora and fauna on your next hike.
"Although it sounds simple, it does take some practice for people who have become so alienated from nature. It is as simple as doing that, if that's simple for people — but for a lot of people it's boring. … A lot of people just see trees, but they haven't been taught the difference between a cedar, a pine or an oak. Basic trees. Or they see flowering trees, but they don't know a dogwood when they see one. That holds over to the plants around us — whether something is a blackberry bush or some other flowering plant. When people learn to look for those things, they have a different experience in nature."
For many Arkansans, it may be as simple as unplugging on your next walk and paying attention to what is around you. But nature isn't so accessible for people in other places. Klisanin has rewilding tactics for even the most urban creatures.
"Even people who do not want to get out, how can they bring in? The first thing is obviously plants. Plants are an excellent way to start rewilding from within your own home — bringing in houseplants, bringing in natural materials as well, instead of plastic. Ceramics, for example. Spending less time online is certainly a way to begin to rewild. Take up some type of craft that you do with your hands that connects you back with the natural world — that could be knitting, even. That's wool, or if you use a natural yarn, which I would suggest. Any type of activity that just slows you down, brings you back to the present moment and brings you back in touch with nature through natural materials is something anyone can do inside their home or apartment."
She says she is participating in the UofA's Greenhouse Outdoor Recreation Program to expand her work and help more people. The startup incubator supports outdoor businesses with workshop training, mentorship, university interns and dedicated product development to help them scale globally. Founders also receive up to $15,000 in non-dilutive seed funding — funding that doesn't require the owner to give up equity in the company — which they can use for any business needs, including marketing, legal fees, branding support and equipment.
"A lot of what I am offering to individuals could be put together in ways that it could reach more people in our community, because there are so many people out there that are struggling with these same burnout and all of these issues."
You'll be able to meet Klisanin in person and explore the other companies in this semester's GORP cohort at the program's Demo Day next month. More information will be available at the UofA's Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation website. You can also find ReWilding Lab online to learn more about Klisanin's practice.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
