Creation Care: Doctoral Candidate’s Research Intersects Mental Health, Nature

Maybe she’s a lot … or maybe she’s just enough.  

Doctoral student Kim Rahebi recognizes her world may be too chaotic for some, but that’s OK. She’s got it. Between writing a dissertation, growing Garden Frogs, forwarding the mission of RxPLORE, developing a career network, and being a Stephen Minister, artist, vegetable gardener, musician and Harris Ambassador, Rahebi is (almost) equally dedicated to it all. 

And at the center of the “pieces” of her life is her heart.

Rahebi came to TCU in 2022, having received her bachelor’s at the University of Texas at Dallas and a master’s in public health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. She also garnered professional experience in public health practice as a health agent of Texas AgriLife Extension. 

As fulfilling as her career was, she wanted to finish her education, specifically in health and wellness research, which would strengthen and connect her areas of expertise. Once she landed at Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences, she was matched with nursing professor Gina Alexander, who also has a public health background and co-leads the nature-based health promotion lab known as RxPLORE. 

From there, Rahebi became the coordinator of the Harris-supported Fort Worth Climate Safe Neighborhood Coalition with a goal to increase access to safe and sustainable green space in communities that have experienced environmental challenges.  

“Kim has been able to make a lasting impact on our partners because of true servant leadership, compassion and commitment to community-engaged, participatory research methods,” said Alexander of Rahebi’s coalition role. 

One of the coalition’s area of focus is on Glenwood Park, located in a disenfranchised Fort Worth neighborhood. Volunteers clean up the park two times a year. During the first one, in fall 2022, 9 tons of trash and debris were collected with the help of students participating in TCU’s Day of Service. The following spring, the second cleanup also coincided with another TCU Day of Service, and nearby University Christian Church’s Creation Care Ministry team showed up to help. 

The “life pieces” started connecting for Rahebi. 

“Creation care as a theological concept was new to me,” she recalled. “I wanted to understand how it intersected with mental health and nature.” 

Creation care is a faith-based manifestation of environmental stewardship and sustainability. It intersects well with planetary health, which recognizes the interconnectedness of human health and environmental health. 

“I also found that there was little research about Christians and the intersection of their faith, mental health, nature and environment, and the barriers between,” she said of her early research. “It wasn’t just a research gap but a chasm.” 

Rahebi needed to validate that she was onto something. 

“I started my scoping review to explore the intersection of mental health, nature, environmentalism and Christianity – why caring for the earth is important and how it’s good for your well-being,” she said. 

A dissertation and committee bloomed. 

“Kim’s research centers on faith-based partnerships in public health practice, which holds benefits at multiple levels, from the individual (micro) level to the systems (macro) level,” Alexander explained. “This involves interprofessional partnerships with urban planners and pastors, as well as neighborhoods and individual community members and volunteers. Kim will use findings from qualitative inquiry to contribute to the growing evidence base on creation care and to advance the field.” 

Furthering environmental stewardship with a love-thy-neighbor philosophy, Rahebi founded Garden Frogs. Volunteers get hands-on experience, planting pollinators, trees and tulip bulbs. Erik Trevino, TCU’s director of landscape and grounds, works closely with her. 

“Kim is so friendly and contributes loads of energy and enthusiasm to everything she does,” he said. “Garden Frogs helped shine a spotlight on the work that the TCU Grounds team does to keep this campus beautiful, and she tirelessly promoted its projects to include a diverse group of participants, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and even the president.” 

Naturally, Rahebi has already lined up Earth Week activities and selected Earth Day, April 22, to defend her dissertation. 

“If I’m remembered, I hope it’s not just as ‘the Garden Frogs girl’ or ‘Creation Care Kim,’ but rather as a student who played a role in building community at TCU,” she said, “who loved campus and community as her neighbor – who loved TCU.” 

 Visit the TCU calendar for a list of events celebrating Earth Week 2025.