Connecting with Nature: An Ethnographic Case Study of Human-Nature Relationships at an Environmental NGO in Luxembourg

The contemporary world is experiencing unprecedented environmental changes driven by human activities. In this context, the relationship between humans and nature has emerged as an urgent topic, attracting growing scholarly attention. Recent studies have revealed an increasing disconnection between modern societies and the natural world. To mitigate the serious consequences of this disconnection for both human and ecological well-being, the imperative of reconnecting people with nature has become a major concern in both policy and academic discourse. While prevailing discourses often frame (re)connection with nature within the contexts of sustainability policies and environmental activism, little attention has been paid to how human-nature relationships unfold in people’s everyday environmental engagement. How do ordinary individuals – those without policy-level influence or direct experiences of environmental disasters – value their connections with nature in daily life? This question remains understudied. This research addresses this gap by examining connecting with nature as a mundane, everyday engagement undertaken by ordinary people. Using ethnographic methods of participant observation, video-recorded fieldwork and ethnographic interviews, this study explores the perspectives and experiences of a group of environmental volunteers in Luxembourg. The ethnographic data were analysed using constructivist Grounded Theory Methods (GTM) to answer two research questions: (1) Which perspectives do participants consider important for initiating and deepening connections with nature? (2) What views of nature and human-nature relationships are embedded in participants’ engagement with nature from these perspectives? Findings reveal that participants value three key dimensions in developing meaningful connections with nature: embodied experiences, intellectual engagement and emotional resonance. Through these approaches of connection, participants express an awareness of nature’s agency and embrace a notion of human-inclusive naturalness. These findings challenge the instrumental view of nature and foreground a relational perspective, thereby contributing empirical depth and nuance to the evolving conceptual framework of relational values and offering practical insights for re-establishing the humannature connection in everyday life.