This CHAD seminar on the Natural Environment and Health took place on Wednesday May 17th at Staffordshire University, Leek Road Campus, Stoke-on-Trent.
More than 30 delegates attended, including those from academia, voluntary organisations, local authority and NHS.
Dr Christopher Gidlow and Dr Gemma Hurst provided an introduction to the association between exposure to natural environment and human health. The presenters used examples from the literature and underlying theories to explain current thinking around the health benefits of living and engaging in greener areas. Published and ongoing work from the European-funded PHENOTYPE study (www.phenotype.eu) was also presented.
This €3.5 million project involved 8 partners across 6 counties, with Staffordshire University as the UK partner and lead for experimental research within the consortium. The data presented showed some of the psychological benefits of walking in natural environments (compared with pleasant urban environments) and finally highlighted the lack of engagement in nature by many residents in Stoke-on-Trent, despite high levels of natural environment in the city.
You can view/download the presentation slides here.
Please check our calendar of events for future seminars.
