scholarly journals Creating a biophilic Wales: increasing the health and wellbeing of people, biodiversity and the environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 57-68
Author(s):  
Natasha De Vere
Keyword(s):  
Research Programme ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Science And Society ◽  
Botanic Garden ◽  
Conservation Action ◽  
Research Education ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Pollinating Insects ◽  
Core Areas ◽  
National Botanic Garden

The National Botanic Garden of Wales (NBGW) is dedicated to the research and conservation of biodiversity, sustainability, lifelong learning and the enjoyment of our visitors. NBGW’s Conservation and Research programme includes four major themes: ‘Saving Plants and Fungi’, ‘Saving Pollinators’, ‘International Conservation and Research’ and ‘Science and Society’. This article describes some of NBGW’s activities in three of these core areas, focusing on our work within Wales. 1. Conserving and understanding Welsh plants, fungi and habitats. 2. Conserving pollinating insects and understanding pollinator ecosystem services. 3. Understanding and promoting the importance of plants and gardens for the health and wellbeing of people, wildlife and the environment. NBGW takes a multi-disciplinary approach that involves research, education, engagement, advocacy and direct conservation action. We aim to create a Biophilic Wales by increasing our understanding of the natural world and inspiring people to protect it. Wales is used as a study system to develop models that can applied throughout the world.

Future directions.

2021 ◽  
pp. 156-168
Author(s):  
Richard W. Benfield
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Multiple Roles ◽  
Botanic Gardens ◽  
Teaching Program ◽  
Botanic Garden ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Pollinating Insects ◽  
Floral Resource ◽  
National Botanic Garden

Abstract In this chapter the future of garden tourism is examined. Botanic gardens have multiple roles but principally education, environmental, and recreation, and it is under these three roles that garden tourism's future is evaluated. Case studies are presented of (1) the National Botanic Garden of Wales as a floral resource for pollinating insects; and (2) the high school botany teaching program of the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, Florida, USA.

scholarly journals Walking Ecosystems in Microbiome-Inspired Green Infrastructure: An Ecological Perspective on Enhancing Personal and Planetary Health

Challenges ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jake Robinson ◽  
Jacob Mills ◽  
Martin Breed
Keyword(s):  
Human Body ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Microbial Interactions ◽  
Ecological Perspective ◽  
Planetary Health ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Ecological Unit

Principles of ecology apply at myriad scales, including within the human body and the intertwined macro and microscopic ecosystems that we depend upon for survival. The conceptual principles of dysbiosis (‘life in distress’) also apply to different realms of life—our microbiome, the macro environment and the socioeconomic domain. Viewing the human body as a holobiont—a host plus billions of microbial organisms working symbiotically to form a functioning ecological unit—has the potential to enhance personal and planetary health. We discuss this ecological perspective in our paper. We also discuss the proposals to rewild the microbiome, innovative microbiome-inspired green infrastructure (MIGI) and the basis of prescribing ‘doses of nature’. Particular emphasis is given to MIGI—a collective term for the design and management of innovative living urban features that could potentially enhance public health via health-inducing microbial interactions. This concept builds upon the microbiome rewilding hypothesis. Mounting evidence points to the importance of microbial diversity in maintaining favorable health. Moreover, connecting with nature—both physically and psychologically–has been shown to enhance our health and wellbeing. However, we still need to understand the underlying mechanisms, and optimal types and levels of exposure. This paper adds to other recent calls for the inclusion of the environment-microbiome-health axis in nature–human health research. Recognizing that all forms of life—both the seen and the unseen—are in some way connected (ecologically, socially, evolutionarily), paves the way to valuing reciprocity in the nature–human relationship. It is with a holistic and symbiotic perspective that we can begin to integrate strategies and address connected issues of human and environmental health. The prospective strategies discussed in our paper focus on enhancing our connections with the natural world, and ultimately aim to help address the global challenge of halting and reversing dysbiosis in all its manifestations.

Natural landscapes and human health: an introduction and overview.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Alan W. Ewert ◽  
Denise S. Mitten ◽  
Jillisa R. Overholt
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Natural Landscapes ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Natural Settings

Abstract This book chapter approaches the linkage between natural landscapes and human health through the lens of two guiding questions, the first considering the various ways nature benefits human health from both historic and contemporary perspectives, and the second considering the mechanisms through which this relationship occurs. In doing so, we consider the ways societies and cultures have mediated our relationship with the natural world over time, and the ways human health and planetary health are intertwined. It also examines these influences by providing an overview of what is currently known about specific variables, such as physical activity in natural landscapes, as well as discussing some of the past and current theories that seek to explain how these connections actually work. The book provides a bridge between what we do (individually and collectively) in natural settings and how those actions impact our health and our relationships with the natural world. The hope is that the information presented here empowers students and professionals to learn more and to be part of the rich dialogue occurring in many disciplines to help find ways to increase well-being for all people. The aim is for the readers to think critically about research and be able to analyse and evaluate the results. The bottom line, based on the undertaking of this book and the experience of the authors, is that nature has been and continues to be essential and incredibly positive for human life, and that mutualistic and reciprocal connections with nature will positively influence human development, health, and wellbeing.

Towards an informed public

1992 ◽  
Vol 99 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 121-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. S. Ingram
Keyword(s):  
Public Education ◽  
Plant Breeding ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Plant Biotechnology ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Royal Botanic Garden ◽  
Plant Science ◽  
Experimental Plant ◽  
Botanic Garden

SynopsisThe successful utilisation of recent advances in plant biotechnology for the benefit of mankind, with the avoidance of fundamental mistakes that could lead to environmental disaster, requires wise and balanced legislation. In addition, the conservation of the habitats and germplasm so essential to plant breeding requires carefully planned management of resources. These, however, depend upon an informed public with a sensitivity to, and knowledge and understanding of, the issues at stake. It is the people, after all, who influence decision making by governments, through the ballot box or through the pressure of public opinion. Botanic Gardens have a vital role to play in public education, and have the capacity to become the shop windows for the whole of plant science.Four examples of public education in plant biology being developed at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh are considered, as follows:(i) Public information, as exemplified by the provision of information about plants, lectures about plants and the development of ecological plantings and displays relating to agriculture, plant breeding and conservation.(ii) Contact through art, as exemplified by the Andy Goldsworthy retrospective exhibition of 1990 and the 1991 exhibitions of the work of Redouté and Margaret Stones, in which the media of sculpture and painting inspired by the natural world have been used to build bridges between plant science and the wider public.(iii) Education in primary schools, as exemplified by the ‘Living in a Rainforest’ project, in which young people and their teachers spend periods of time in a replica of a Bornean longhouse and through this experience develop an understanding of the importance of the balance between people and the complex ecosystem of the rainforest.(iv) Education in secondary schools, as exemplified by the Science and Plants for Schools project in which rapid cycling Brassica rapa and other materials are used in the development of new and exciting approaches to the teaching of experimental plant science, genetics and breeding.The ways in which projects such as these can be designed to convey important messages concerning plant breeding, genetic engineering, germplasm and habitat conservation and the role of plants in the world economy are discussed, and ideas for other approaches to public education in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh are outlined.

scholarly journals WHIRL Study: Workplace Health Interprofessional Learning in the Construction Industry

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 6815 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly Blake ◽  
Sarah Somerset ◽  
Katharine Whittingham ◽  
Matthew Middleton ◽  
Mehmet Yildirim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Clinical Supervision ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Workplace Health ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Interprofessional Learning ◽  
Research Education

Interprofessional learning (IPL) is essential to prepare healthcare trainees as the future public health workforce. WHIRL (Workplace Health InteRprofessional Learning) was an innovative IPL intervention that engaged volunteer healthcare trainees (n = 20) in multi-professional teams to deliver health checks (n = 464), including tailored advice and signposting, to employees in the UK construction industry (across 21 events, 16 sites, 10 organisations) as part of an ongoing research programme called Test@Work. Volunteers undertook a four-part training and support package of trainer-led education, observations of practice, self-directed learning and clinical supervision, together with peer mentoring. In a one-group post-test only design, IPL outcomes were measured using the Inventory of Reflective Vignette-Interprofessional Learning (IRV-IPL), and the psychometric properties of the IRV-IPL tool were tested. WHIRL demonstrably improved healthcare trainees’ interprofessional skills in all five areas of collaboration, coordination, cooperation, communication, and commendation. The IRV-IPL tool was found to be a valid and reliable measure of interprofessional competencies across three scenarios; before and after health promotion activities, and as a predictor of future health promotion competence. This industry-based workplace IPL programme resulted in the attainment of health check competencies and bridged the gap between research, education and clinical practice.

scholarly journals The Value of Community Engagement in Botanic Gardens with Examples from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

2017 ◽  
pp. 121-128
Author(s):  
Jenny Foulkes
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Royal Botanic Garden ◽  
Botanic Gardens ◽  
Botanic Garden ◽  
Environmental Challenges ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) has community engagement at its core. With health and environmental challenges facing society, its mission “to explore, conserve and explain the world of plants for a better future” is more important and relevant than ever. The established community engagement programme at RBGE includes the Edible Gardening Project and activities at the Botanic Cottage and these are described here. Programmes explore food-growing skills and focus on improving health and wellbeing. Significant impact has occurred at the level of the individual and community, while the wider impact on the health of society and on biodiversity while implied remains to be fully assessed.

scholarly journals The Use of VR for Creating Therapeutic Environments for the Health and Wellbeing of Military Personnel, Their Families and Their Communities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline McIntosh ◽  
Maria Rodgers ◽  
Bruno Marques ◽  
Alysha Gibbard
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Military Personnel ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Social Connection ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Immersive Virtual Environment

© Wichmann Verlag, VDE VERLAG GMBH ·. A military lifestyle can have profound impacts on an individual’s health and wellbeing. In-creasingly, new technologies such as the creation of Virtual Reality (VR) are being explored as bridging mechanisms to provide ‘space’ and to aid with other therapies. The overarching research programme investigates the therapeutic and social qualities of landscape and how these can be translated into an immersive virtual environment. There is a specific focus regarding immersive VR environments and how these could be used as a tool to promote positive health, wellbeing, and social connection within the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF).

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