Biophilic Public Health
Health for All
People + Nature
Kia ora
Welcome to Biophilic Public Health - the transformation of Public Health thinking and practice to be about the health of both people and nature - and centred on our innate 'love, awe and respect' of nature.
I am a Public Health Medicine Specialist and for several years have been exploring how the concepts of biophilia, biophilic design and biophilic cities can be extended to Public Health practice - and this has led to the development of the concepts of Biophilic Public Health as a way of Public Health thinking and an emergent model of practice.
Public Health has always been about 'Health for All' and has driven gains in human heath and wellbeing through work such as safe drinking water, immunisation, infectious disease control, and nutrition as well as a wider focus on topics such as healthy housing and education, and so on. However, more than ever at this juncture in history 'Health for All' has to be about not just the health of people but also about the the health of other species and ecosystems - for people to thrive and be healthy we need the natural world around us to be flourishing and healthy.
Biophilic Public Health is about our connection with nature and nurturing nature - and the amazing science of all the ways in which healthy, thriving nature benefits our health and wellbeing.
While traditional Public Health topics like safe drinking water, air quality, nutrition and immunisation remain important, Public Health must now also think and act ecologically. This requires a transformation in thinking and our relationship with nature - and brings to the fore in Public Health practice a whole new raft of topics such as biodiversity, climate, ecosystem restoration, nature-based solutions, bio-mimicry, the circular economy, renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, plant-based nutrition, urban farms, urban nature restoration, ecological corridors, ocean re-wilding, wild backyards, pollinator gardens, water sensitive design, wetland restoration, and sponge cities - but most importantly our human need for connection with healthy, thriving and abundant nature.
Biophilic Public Health recognises that we need a healthy, thriving natural world for us to be healthy, and we need to experience and connect with healthy thriving nature in our daily lives. Arguably, with the size and influence of the human population, nature now also needs a thriving and healthy human population, that has a transformed relationship with it characterised by 'love, awe, respect' and 'nurture and care' - and a whole lot of creativity, ingenuity and innovation in shaping the future.
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Taranaki, Aotearoa New Zealand
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