For novelist Ilka Tampke, a daily ritual of walking in the eucalypt forests near her home in central Victoria has become more than just a pleasant routine—it has fundamentally changed how she writes. Tampke, who initially began forest walks to solve narrative problems, found that ideas came more quickly, thoughts roamed freely, and she felt a profound shift in perspective.
“I learn that I am not the main form of life on the planet but just one note in a vibrant choir of living beings,” Tampke explains. Her walks, often accompanied by her labrador, involve observing fallen trees, blooming flowers, animal activity, and incoming weather. This ecological ‘daily news’ has reshaped her creative process.
Research supports Tampke’s experience. Studies show that time in forests lowers blood pressure, improves metabolic function, enhances immunity, and reduces anxiety. More specifically, a study measuring associative performance—a key indicator of creativity—found significant increases after forest therapy. Qualitative research also suggests natural environments boost curiosity and flexible thinking.
Tampke believes the cognitive rest provided by soothing forest environments plays a role, but she argues for a deeper explanation. “Plants are highly perceptive and responsive creatures that converse continuously with their environment,” she notes, drawing on insights from Indigenous cultures and contemporary science. Trees express themselves through colour, scent, and growth, embodying a form of intelligence without brains.
The novel Tampke wrote during her year of daily walks was unlike anything she had written before—fragmented, connected by rhizomatic logic, and “forest-like.” She concludes, “The forest is, in every sense, a place of creativity.”
