Natural Environments and Human Health
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all those individuals who strive to protect our natural environments and promote the idea of integrating experiences in natural settings into the lives of our citizens. We believe that good things happen when people and natural environments meet.
Natural Environments and Human Health
Alan W. Ewert, PhD
Indiana University, USA
Denise S. Mitten, PhD
Prescott College, USA
Jillisa R. Overholt, PhD
Warren Wilson College, USA
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ewert, Alan W., 1949- author.
Natural environments and human health / Alan Ewert, Denise Mitten,
Jillisa Overholt.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84593-919-9 (hbk)
I. Mitten, Denise, author. II. Overholt, Jillisa, author. III. C.A.B. International,
issuing body. IV. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Environment. 2. Environmental Health. 3. Environmental
Exposure. 4. Public Policy. WA 30.5]
RA566.27
362.1969′8--dc23
2013025140
ISBN-13: 978 1 84593 919 9
Commissioning editor: Rachel Cutts
Editorial assistant: Emma McCann
Production editor: Shankari Wilford
Typeset by SPi, Pondicherry, India
Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croyden, CR0 4YY
Contents
3 The Historical Connection between Natural Environments and Health
5 Human Development and Nature
6 Adaptations and Applications
8 Sense of Place and the Role of Education
9 Innovative Approaches to Integrating Natural Environments and Health
10 Future Actions and Implications: Policy and Research—Take a Park, Not a Pill
Preface
Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them, and their value will never be known. Improve them, and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The story of humans and their interactions with natural environments is long and varied. A large part of this story has encompassed how, and in what ways, natural environments have influenced human health. From a historical perspective, this influence has involved both individuals responding to natural environments and also using natural environments for health-related reasons, as well as the ways in which societies have served to provide for these interactions. Two questions underlie the provision and use of natural environments for health. First is the question of whether or not natural environments can actually create positive health outcomes such as reduced stress, lower blood pressure, or a heightened sense of well-being. Second is the question of how natural environments effectuate or cultivate these impact factors related to health. Is the impact due to the natural setting simply being somewhat of a novelty for many individuals, and this ‘change of pace’ offering an offset to modern living? Or is there something about natural environments that helps foster a change in health status or the maintenance of that status? From another perspective, visitors to natural environments often come with others, such as family and/or friends. Does the very presence of these other people serve as a facilitating factor in enhancing health?
Natural settings often have different types and levels of environmental characteristics such as levels of pollution, crowding or high visitor use, and proximity to external