Biodiversity

Using the natural environment for health and wellbeing


The benefits of nature to health featured strongly in the 2nd annual conference of the Hampshire Health and Wellbeing Partnership Board.  The Board is responsible for improving health and wellbeing across Hampshire.


Dr William Bird gave a keynote speech outlining the evidence that the natural environment benefits mental and physical health.  Dr Bird is the UK’s most eminent advocate of using nature as an effective and low-cost health resource.

A workshop on ‘The Great Outdoors’ helped participants understand how to use the natural environment to deliver health and wellbeing goals.  Outcomes from the workshop demonstrated that:

  • The natural environment has huge untapped potential to improve health and promote wellbeing at low-cost
  • Outdoor facilities and programmes could be delivering more for preventing ill-health and promoting healthy lifestyles
  • Accessing nature throughout life are not adequately understood by key sectors.  
Key issues and recommendations from the workshop are now available.  The Board will be looking at how to use the natural environment to help deliver their three priority areas of promoting healthy living, supporting healthy aging and addressing inequalities.