Intelligent Health CEO – Dr William Bird – joined several other speakers across the fields of conservation, publishing and broadcasting to talk about how connections to nature can benefit our health and wellbeing at the Charter for Tree’s Talking Trees Event.
On Tuesday 31 May, Dr William Bird joined several notable speakers at the event including broadcaster and President of the Woodland Trust, Clive Anderson; Honorary President of Black Environment Network, Judy Ling Wong; author, Jack Cooke; plus Harry Thacker and Russell Miller who run the Trees for Cities and Tree Musketeers campaigns, respectively.
At the event, Dr William Bird spoke about the importance of why a connection to nature has powerful benefits to an individual’s health and wellbeing. At a time of budget constraints for the NHS and local park departments, spending time being active outdoors is a simple solution to improving public health and increasing social connections.
Speaking about the event, Dr William Bird said: “It was a pleasure to speak at the Woodland Charter’s Talking Trees event alongside other fascinating speakers. There is considerable evidence that daily contact with nature leads to better health. It was a fantastic opportunity to speak about how Intelligent Health has been encouraging people to connect with nature.”
Charter for Trees is a campaign lead by the Woodland Trust. In 2017, the Woodland Trust along with fifty other organisations will launch a Charter for Trees, Woods and People, a lasting legacy for the whole of the UK. The campaign is currently asking people to share their own ‘tree stories’ via their website.
Matt Larsen-Daw, Project Lead for the Woodland Charter, said: “Dr William Bird’s energetic and engaging talk brought home how much evidence there is for the tangible benefits of greener surroundings when it comes to health and wellbeing of people in the UK. It was inspiring to hear about projects that provide fun ways for families to get active, especially when the wider social benefits are explained.
“The Charter for Trees, Woods and People will ensure that the value of trees and woods for health will be recognised, protected and maximised for future generations to benefit from.”
Nature is one of ten main areas Intelligent Health focuses on to create active communities. Intelligent Health encourages people to explore their surroundings and connect with nature through activities – in our campaigns we run events encouraging people to visit their local parks, rivers, canals and green spaces.
