Healthy in Nature

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Resources

Nature Family Clubs Toolkit

    • Organization: Children & Nature Network http://www.childrenandnature.org/
    • Date Published: January 2, 2014

    This site provides inspiration, information, tips and resources for those who are/or who might be interested in creating a Nature Club for Families.

    http://www.childrenandnature.org/movement/naturalfamilies/clubs/

Nature is there; it’s free: Urban greenspace and the social determinants of health of immigrant families

  • Author(s): Shawn Renee Harduk, Jill Hanley, Eric Richard
  • Organization: Health and Place
  • Date Published: July 2, 2015

In this article, the authors draw on a 2012 Montreal-based study that examined the embodied, every day practices of immigrant children and families in the context of urban greenspaces such as parks, fields, backyards, streetscapes, gardens, forests and rivers. Results suggest that activities in the natural environment serve as a protective factor in the health and well-being of this population, providing emotional and physical nourishment in the face of adversity. Using the Social Determinants of Health model adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO, 1998), they analyze how participants accessed urban nature to minimize the effects of inadequate housing, to strengthen social cohesion and reduce emotional stress. They conclude with a discussion supporting the inclusion of the natural environment in the Social Determinants of Health Model

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829215000507#

Nature Play and Learning Places: Creating and Managing Places Where Children Engage in Nature

  • Author(s): Robin C. Moore and Allen Cooper
  • Organization: National Wildlife Federation and Natural Learning Initiative
  • Date Published: January 1, 2014

Nature Play & Learning Places: Creating and managing places where children engage with nature, offers a set of guidelines for those who create, manage or promote development of nature spaces in the everyday environments of children, youth, and families, especially in urban/suburban communities. The goal is to attract kids and families outdoors to interact directly with nature.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.arpaonline.ca/docs/Children+in+Nature/Nature-Play-Learning-guide.pdf

Nature Play: Rediscovering play in natural spaces

  • Author(s): Alberta Recreation and Parks Association
  • Organization: Alberta Recreation and Parks Association

Interest in rejuvenating Nature Play opportunities for children is increasing, but our plugged-in culture
struggles to support it. We all have a role to play in shifting this culture and creating spaces that foster
Nature Play. Spaces where we can let children be children and learn how to play in nature again. This resource provides suggestions in the form of play cards that practitioners can use to get children outside.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.arpaonline.ca/docs/nature-play_flash-cards_web.pdf

Nature, Childhood, Health and Life Pathways.

  • Author(s): Jules Pretty, et al.
  • Organization: University of Essex, Interdisciplinary Centre for Environment and Society. http://www.essex.ac.uk/esi/
  • Date Published: December 31, 2009

This paper examines the importance between the quality of exposure to open green space and access to nature and the wellbeing of children.

http://www.hphpcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Nature-Childhood-and-Health-iCES-Occ-Paper-2009-2-FINAL.pdf

Nature’s Way – City of Victoria

Neighborhood Environmental Attributes and Adults’ Maintenance of Regular Walking.

  • Author(s): Sugiyama, Takemi; Shibata, Ai; Koohsari, Mohammad J; Tanamas, Stephanie K; Oka, Koichiro; Salmon, Jo; Dunstan, David W; Owen, Neville PhD
  • Organization: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise:
  • Date Published: September 23, 2014

Environmental initiatives to support walking are keys to non-communicable disease prevention, but the relevant evidence comes mainly from cross-sectional studies. This study examined neighborhood environmental attributes associated cross-sectionally with walking and those associated prospectively with walking maintenance.

The study found neighborhood destinations (shops, parks) and pedestrian environments (alternative routes, walking trails, safety from crime) were found to be associated with regular walking, but only pedestrian environment attributes were found to be related to the maintenance of regular walking. Further evidence from prospective studies is required to identify other neighborhood environmental attributes that might support walking maintenance

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/publishahead/Neighborhood_Environmental_Attributes_and_Adults_.97904.aspx

Neighborhood greenspace and health in a large urban center

  • Author(s): Omid Kardan, Peter Gozdyra, Bratislav Misic et call
  • Organization: Scientific Reports
  • Date Published: July 9, 2015

Studies have shown that natural environments can enhance health and here the authors build upon that work by examining the associations between comprehensive greenspace metrics and health. They focused on a large urban population center (Toronto, Canada) and related the two domains by combining high-resolution satellite imagery and individual tree data from Toronto with questionnaire-based self-reports of general health perception, cardio-metabolic conditions and mental illnesses from the Ontario Health Study. Results from multiple regressions and multivariate canonical correlation analyses suggest that people who live in neighborhoods with a higher density of trees on their streets report significantly higher health perception and significantly less cardio-metabolic conditions (controlling for socio-economic and demographic factors).

http://www.nature.com/srep/2015/150709/srep11610/full/srep11610.html