Bridging the gap between nature and health.
Introducing: Nature and Health Community Fair!
Nature and Human Health Utah is hosting its first-ever Nature and Health Community Health Fair in collaboration with University Neighborhood Partners on 7/23 from 6-8pm at Riverside Park!
The Fair will be an opportunity for community members to connect with outdoor organizations, discover the health benefits of nature, and participate in various activities for all ages such as outdoor yoga, arts and crafts, plant potting, gardening tips, and ways to embrace nature anytime of the year.
The goal of this event is to highlight the many ways to embrace nature, highlight organizations that are improving access to the outdoors, and promote the health benefits of being outside.
Call for partners!
Is your organization interested in partnering at this event? Click the link below to learn more!
Announcements
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Wake the Great Salt Lake - grant applications!
Wake the Great Salt Lake is a temporary public art project that aims to educate and inspire residents and visitors to understand and prevent the further decline of the Great Salt Lake. Bold, innovative, experimental, and unexpected proposals encouraged from individuals or organizations.
Temporary Art includes murals, sculptures, performances, projection mapping, artistic interventions, culinary arts, and more.
Applications open through Thursday, April 18, 2024, 11:00 a.m.
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Clean Air SLC Landscaping Equipment Exchange
Gas-powered lawn equipment creates a lot of air pollution! That’s why Salt Lake City is offering a limited number of vouchers for residents to switch to electric lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and/or string trimmers. Applications for the program will be open in AprilThis hands-on, interactive science exhibition is about the nature and wonder of snow and the impact of climate change on our snowy planet. Guests explore how snow shapes and sustains life on Earth, snow’s vital role in sustaining our water supply and cooling our planet, and the cultural and personal value of snow.
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NHH-UT Pilot Grant Recipients!
Thanks to the support from the REI Cooperative Action Fund and an anonymous donor, we are thrilled to announce the awarding of over $60,000 to eight projects, well exceeding last years’ impact.
Our call for proposals yielded an overwhelming response, with three times the number of submissions compared our first cycle of pilot funding. The projects awarded this year are diverse in project type, targeted audience, and desired goals and outcomes. Amongst our pilot grant recipients, there are projects aimed at working with pediatric rheumatology patients, incarcerated youth, first-generation college students, and black families among others.
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Incorporating more nature into your community and policy initiatives
Members of NHH-UT and our partner organization, the Nature and Health Alliance, have worked together to author "Healthy by Nature: Policy Practices Aimed at Maximizing the Behavioral Health Benefits of Nature Contact." This article is designed to promote greater engagement by community organizations and policymakers in the realm of nature and health practices. To access the article, please click the link below.
Connection to Research
A growing body of research links nature exposure to positive physical, emotional and mental health. However, myriad questions remain about how and why nature yields these benefits. Many of these research questions require interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral perspectives that bridge research and practice and that benefit from collaborations across many ways of knowing. Experts in parks, recreation and tourism, biology, environmental studies, urban planning and sociology, among others, will best position research teams to address the complex questions surrounding nature and human health.
Inspired by innovative research and projects produced by the similar Nature and Health program at the University of Washington, NHH-UT provides an arena in which experts from many societal sectors can collaborate. To learn more about NHH UT’s sister organization, Nature and Health Alliance, a research-collaborative that focuses primarily on advancing knowledge in nature and health, click the link below.
Utah’s Unique Position
With its urban and wilderness parks and monuments, natural resources, and recreational opportunities, Utah is uniquely positioned to foster this research collaborative. The University of Utah, along with partners across the state, has the expertise and resources to answer compelling questions about the nature and human health link, improve access to nature for all populations and increase awareness of the important role nature plays in human health and well-being.
Nature Equity
Not all people and communities are able to experience the health benefits of nature equitably. NHH UT is working to better understand the barriers to nature, and the address the inequities when it comes to accessing nature. To learn more about nature equity and our funding source, please visit the link below.
"Nature itself is the best physician.”
— Hippocrates
