Reconnecting nature & humans for a healthy future
Human health is highly depending on healthy ecosystems. This is acknowledged in the concept of One Health, and WHO urges for approaches across public health, food, veterinary and environmental sectors to promote a healthy future.
However, the disconnection between human and nature seems to grow on both individual and societal level (Beery et al. 2023). This may have consequences for both the health of individuals and, eventually, the environment as disconnection may influence pro-environmental attitudes and behavior (Barragan-Jason et al. 2023).
The network focusses on constraints and pathways for reconnecting material, experiential, cognitive, emotional and philosophical human-nature relations by bridging between disciplines at academia as well as reaching out to social sectors.
This includes research themes like:
- Children’s nature connectedness
- Close loop food chains – urban nature as a food resource
- Health and learning aspects of education outside the classroom and in outdoor kindergardens
- Mental health and nature activities
- Sustainable food production systems
- and initiatives like: Children & Nature – Denmark (Center for Børn og Natur)
Contact network members
Laura Vang Rasmussen
Associate Professor
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science
lr@ign.ku.dk
Sandra Gentin
Teaching Associate Professor
Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Faculty of Science
sgentin@ign.ku.dk