With rising sea levels threatening to flood cities, and hurricanes rapidly increasing in frequency and force, the connection between the natural environment and human health has become a greater concern of interest for scientists. Whether in the form of a city park, an old-growth forest, or a sandy coast, nature impacts the well-being of humans in a variety of ways.
Spurred by a shared desire to further explore this relationship and with a seed grant from Brown University’s Division of Research, Diana Grigsby-Touissant, Associate Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Epidemiology, and Kevin Mwenda, Director of Spatial Structures in the Social Sciences (S4) and Associate Professor of Population Studies, organized a “Nature and Health: A Cells to Society Approach” workshop this fall. The steering committee, composed of various faculty and staff members across Brown, provided diverse input with the aim of creating an event that would foster a strong network for knowledge sharing and generative research to better define and understand the impacts of nature on human health. The workshop was co-sponsored by S4 and the School of Public Health, with additional general support from the PSTC.
Over a two-day period in September, more than 70 thought leaders and practitioners from around the world gathered to discuss actionable research approaches to study the human-nature relationship. Scholars from Finland, Sweden, Australia, Belgium, Scotland, and regions across the United States participated in workshop sessions and partner activities. Their discussions were centered around five core interests: how to define nature in research; how nature enters the body and interacts with the cell; how nature can affect the brain and mental health; how to create equitable access and pathways to the health benefits of nature; and how to measure one’s exposure to nature on a geographical and quantitative scope.
The two workshop days were a whirlwind of intellectual activity. Under the direction and expertise of the steering committee, the sessions offered a safe environment for participants to engage in productive conversation and inquiry. During these interactions, Betsy Stubbefield Loucks, Associate Director of Research Strategy and Development in the Division of Research, who helped facilitate the event, observed an eagerness to learn and promote knowledge. “It was really exciting. Everybody was really into the workshop. They had a great time and brought incredible energy. They were very collaborative in their approach. I did not pick up any kind of competition among them. There was a lot of seeking to understand.”
The “Nature and Health: A Cells to Society” workshop is one of several climate research endeavors that have emerged on Brown’s campus over the past few years. Collaborative efforts such as the Initiative for Sustainable Energy and Equitable Climate Futures also aim to advance scholarship and knowledge on the intersectional relationships between climate and human health. Dr. Grigsby-Touissant is now working on a website that will include a map to help climate researchers find possible collaborators, including where they’re located, what their areas of expertise are, and what types of projects they’re currently engaged in.
Through these interdisciplinary initiatives across campus, scholars and practitioners at Brown and beyond seek to better understand our environmental future and create pathways to promote equitable human health amidst unprecedented change.