Does Participating in Physical
Activity in Outdoor Natural Environments Have a Greater
Effect on Physical and Mental Wellbeing than Physical
Activity Indoors? A Systematic Review
- This paper was
published in the Environmental Science and Technology
journal on February 4th 2011. The systematic review analyses
studies comparing indoor and outdoor physical activity
and concludes that
exercising
in natural environments is associated with greater
feelings of revitalization and positive engagement,
decreases in tension, confusion, anger, and depression,
and increased energy.
'A Dose of Nature'
- For the first time
we have been able to show dose-response relationships for the positive
effects of nature on human mental health.
To date the paper has had over 600 press articles written about it in over
50
countries....
New book now published
- Nature and
Culture: Rebuilding Lost Connections, Edited by Sarah Pilgrim and Jules
Pretty. July 2010. Earthscan, London. 'The book tells important stories about how indigenous
cultures are closely tied to the ecosystems they inhabit. As their
societies are harassed by encroaching and usually hostile forces, those
close links are being stretched and broken. Quite apart from their right
to continue to live as they choose, there is much we can learn from them
about how to live in harmony with nature. Indeed, our very existence may
depend upon our recognising this'.
Woodland Craft day
- Read an article about the success of the Urchfont Wood Craft Fair
organised by volunteers who attend the Wiltshire Wellbeing Project...
Nothing Ventured
-
read this latest article by Tim Gill about balancing risks and benefits
in the outdoors
BBC Film Clip
- Watch a film clip of a 'Let Nature Feed Your Senses' farm visit to
see how people benefit from spending time in nature.
Generations Growing Together (GGT) Toolkit
-
Residents of Essex can now access information and advice about the GGT
project developed by Essex County Council. The
tool kit provides you
with the tools to locate your local growing areas and other useful and
interesting information.
Richard Louv visits the UK
- Read more about his work on 'children's nature deficit disorder'
in the
Guardian article and visit his
webpage...
Healthy
Parks Healthy People International Congress 2010
- Read more about the Melbourne event that looked at the contribution of
nature and parks to health and wellbeing.
A Conceptual Framework for Green
Care - A conceptual model and
theoretical framework for 'green care' has been developed by the working
group on the health benefits of green care within
COST Action 866 (Green care
in Agriculture).
The book will be out shortly and associated papers are also available.
The Development of Green Care in Western
European Countries
-
What is green care, and what are its basic goals? What are the most
commonly known types of green care interventions, and how are they
connected to each other? There are different sectors of green care
intervention that vary from each other regarding their structure,
specific goals, and purpose. These traits are investigated in this
review.
'Nature, Childhood, Health and Life Pathways'
-
We
have written an occasional paper which looks at the relationship between
nature, children, health and life pathways. We propose a funnel of
pathways within which all our lives are shaped. At the top, people live
longer with a better quality of life; at the bottom they die earlier and
often live years with a lower quality of life. The paper discusses the
many factors that influence our life pathways. Many of the social and
environmental conditions of childhood predict or track adult health
status and early socially-stimulating environments are crucial. There is
a need to establish good behaviours early and engagement with wild
nature can secure positive adult outcomes.
Outdoor activity has a positive effect on long-term memory and cognitive
development is influenced by free play and exploration. The need for
engaging children with nature at an early age is clear.
