Links to more material on wellness and nature

[Note: The California Institute of Public Affairs (CIPA) became InterEnvironment Institute in February 2010. CIPA continues as a program of InterEnvironment Institute. See the home page for details.]

InterEnvironment Institute is convening a series of workshops to explore ways of connecting wellness and nature in California.

Wellness and nature conservation are both receiving increased attention in California, but little is being done to connect them. A highly successful Australian program called Healthy Parks Healthy People is demonstrating the benefits of doing so. We believe California has much to learn from the Australian model.  

The first InterEnvironment workshop was held in April 2007 in Sacramento. The second workshop was held in May 2009, also in Sacramento.

The main speaker at the 2007 event was also the main speaker at the May 2009 workshop. He is Gerard O'Neill, Deputy Chief Executive of Parks Victoria, the agency responsible for national and state parks in the Australian state of Victoria. In 2000, Parks Victoria launched Healthy Parks  Healthy People, which is described in an article posted on this Web site (see links).

Australia’s urban residents, like those in the United States, tend to be more and more sedentary and have less and less contact with nature. Parks Victoria commissioned a survey of scientific literature (see links) which found clear evidence that access to nature can reduce stress, boost immunity, enhance mental health, speed recovery from illness, promote community cohesion, enhance productivity, and even reduce crime. (Some of the same ideas are set out by San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Richard Louv in his book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder.)

Based on these scientific findings, Parks Victoria:

      • Has formed partnerships with the state’s medical societies and health associations, as well as the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), an independent state government agency. Through these partnerships, posters and brochures are distributed to general practitioners’ offices statewide, and doctors give information to new mothers about the reasons for introducing young children to the natural environment and ways of doing so.

      • Works to build social capital, for example, by engaging more closely with local communities, involving more volunteers in park programs, and holding public events.

     • Held an International Healthy Parks Healthy People Congress in Melbourne on 11-16 April 2010.

Healthy Parks, Healthy People is being adopted by other Australian states, at the national level in Australia, and in Canada.  

Participants in the April 2007 and May 2009 workshops and related meetings included California state officials and leaders of health and conservation organizations. 

This project is chaired InterEnvironment Institute President Ted Trzyna and Senior Fellow Elisabeth Kersten. .

Funding and in-kind support for the first stage of the project was provided by the California State Government and InterEnvironment,  

This project builds on work InterEnvironment Institute has done in IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, for which it provides the secretariat of an international  Cities and Protected Areas Specialist Group.  

More details will provided on this page as the project develops.

Links to more material on wellness and nature

Updated 2/2011