Understanding Links between Waterway Management and Community HealthAnne CLEARY

School of Medicine, Griffith Universityanne.cleary@griffithuni.edu.au

@AnneCleary_

"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." - John Muir (1838-1914)

70% of people living in urban areas by 2050

No. 1 contributorto disease burden will be depression by 2030

50% of Australians will experience mental illness

2/3 of Australians live in cities

Australia Today Global Trends

National Mental Health Commission, 2014: The National Review of Mental Health Programmes and Services

Estimates range up to $40 billion a year:• $28.6 billion a year in direct and

indirect costs.• $12 billion a year in lost productivity

and job turnover.

The cost of mental ill-health

“If the last 2 million years of our species’ history were scaled to a single human lifetime of 70 years, then the first humans would not have begun settling into villages until 8 months after the 69th birthday.” - Frumkin, 2001

Year 70

Year 0

Year 69 and 8 months

• 1 Hour

• 1.5 – 2 Hours

• 8 Hours

How we spend our day:

"One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between Man and Nature shall not be broken." - Leo Tolstoy (1862 – 1910)

Natural Environment• Type• Quality• Quantity

Contact with nature• Type• Quality• Quantity

Adapted from Hartig et al., 2014

Health and Wellbeing

Effect modifiers 1Examples: Distance, accessibility factors, weather, perceived safety, cultural/societal context, outdoor/physical literacy

Effect modifiers 2Examples: Gender, age, socioeconomic status, occupation, societal/cultural context

Stress

Air Quality

Physical Activity

Social Contacts

Nature and Health

Natural Environment• Type• Quality• Quantity

Contact with nature• Type• Quality• Quantity

Adapted from Hartig et al., 2014

Health and Wellbeing

Effect modifiers 1Examples: Distance, accessibility factors, weather, perceived safety, cultural/societal context, outdoor/physical literacy

Effect modifiers 2Examples: Gender, age, socioeconomic status, occupation, societal/cultural context

Stress

Air Quality

Physical Activity

Social Contacts

Nature and Health

Attention Restoration TheoryExtent, Fascination, Being Away, Compatibility (Kaplan, 1995)

Stress Recovery TheoryA trait conserved in

evolution (Ulrich 1993)

Something More?

“Childhood experiences in nature are key for influencing environmental attitudes and behaviour” - Wells and Lekies, 2006

“The future of conservation depends on urban people’s ability to experience nature.” - Dunn et al 2006

• Re-wild our cities

• Type, Quality, Quantity

• What is really going on?

What do we need to do and how do we do it?

anne.cleary@griffithuni.edu.au@AnneCleary_

Thank You