Understanding Links between Waterway Management and Community HealthAnne CLEARY
School of Medicine, Griffith [email protected]
@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?
[email protected]@AnneCleary_
Thank You