Dr Ambra Burl - To see the full video of the presentation please go to http://www.GreenSocialEngineering.org/members. Healthy Parks, Healthy People - Presentation at The Sustainable Green Infrastructure Conference 2014 Dr Ambra Burl - Vice Chair UK UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) Urban Forum Member of The International Union for Conservation of Nature Ecohealth/Green Health and Eco-coaching practitioner; Ecotherapist Chair of the National Parks and Wellbeing Forum Member of IUCN Healthy Parks Healthy People Taskforce Chair of the Human Health Group for the UK Wildlife Gardening Forum Supporting the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare/Outer Space/NHS Forest “Ambra is a genuine pioneer whose work to promote the therapeutic use of green space could change all our lives". She is tenacious, determined and a real fount of knowledge. With over 30 years of hard, practical experience in the NHS, Ambra is uniquely qualified to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and delivery in the real world”. Pete Frost – Senior Urban Advisor at Natural Resources Wales

1. Healthy Parks Healthy People
Dr Ambra Burls

2. A THINK TANK involved with the
environment and nature conservation in
urban areas
Aims: to improve the design, management
and use of urban systems and
parkland

3. Actions that seek to harness processes and systems
to bring people and nature/wildlife closer together
working with the grain of nature to produce
healthier communities,
grow a sense of place and foster
pro-environmental behaviour change
(ecohealth, ecotherapy, eco-coaching
all forms of green social engineering)
Parkland, National Parks, NHS land and
community green spaces can all be spaces which
improve health and meet government targets on
wellbeing and sustainability

4. ‘green health
literacy’
Health literacy:
the degree to which
individuals have the capacity
to obtain, process, and
understand basic health
information and services
needed to make appropriate
health decisions
(Ratzan and Parker, 2000)

5. ‘green prescriptions’
prescribing a range of activities in outdoor
settings
with strong natural environment components
(e.g. urban greenspaces, parks, nature
reserves and countryside)
as a referral mechanism from health care
practitioners
RECIPROCITY: people improving their health
whilst tending nature

6. http://www.npwf.org.uk/
The UK National Parks and Wellbeing
Forum
a network of practitioners, managers, planners and
researchers working to:
improve the understanding of national parks’
systems and push their health enhancing
value up the social and political agenda
integrate the conservation role and
recreation/education programmes of parks
with green prescriptions schemes
encourage integrated thinking, raise
awareness, stimulate research, influence
policy

7. NATIONAL PARKS and WELLBEING
A whole programme of courses and
workshops
and a yearly conference
Next conference 21st-24th April 2015

9. NHS Forest model:
improve the health and
wellbeing of communities
(also staff and patients)
through increasing access to
green space on or near NHS
or other care providers’ land
Coventry University Hospital

10. The NHS Forest
aims:
•encourage greater social cohesion
between sites and the local communities
around them
•spark projects that bring together
professionals and volunteers to use new
and existing woodland / greenspaces for
art, food crops, reflection or exercise and
to encourage biodiversity
•highlight innovative ideas to encourage
the use of green space for therapeutic
purposes

11. Doncaster Mental Health Hospital

17. NHS Forest
within the
National Trust

18. Fundamental connections
Community
engagement
Public health
&
wellbeing
MENTAL
CAPITAL

19. Five ways to Wellbeing

20. how well an individual is able to contribute
effectively to society and experience
a high personal quality of life
OUTCOMES
People are more flexible and efficient at learning
their cognitive ability increases
and so does
their emotional intelligence, such as social skills
and resilience in the face of stress

21. Why ‘CAPITAL’ value?
The combined set of mental capital capabilities are
categorised as capital because they are
personal and public resources
which can be built on and there is
economic viability and wealth in mental capital,
therefore the concept will enhance
public health, psychological and social capital
National Parks/National Trust/NHS Forest sites
can be vehicles for people’s involvement in
contributing to
natural capital

22. Green prescriptions
WIN-WIN Public Health interventions
Seeing nature/ Planting trees
Access to Parks
Using green spaces (urban or rural)
Community gardens
improved ability to learn, better memory and
attention, higher levels of social connections,
decreased levels of crime
cheap or free and available

23. Green Public Health and ‘capital’
Community
engagement
Public health
&
wellbeing
MENTAL
CAPITALNatural
capital
Social &
psychological
capital

24. The UK National Parks and Wellbeing Forum
ENCOURAGING GOOD
PRACTICE
Thank you