Photo: Jennifer Miller
Nature is good for you.
It can be a walk in the woods that helps to calm your nervous system and spark novel ideas, or a wilderness retreat that helps to reduce symptoms of PTSD or ADHD. But little is actually understood about how nature offers healing effects. What are the mechanisms? How much nature is enough, and to do what? And how enduring are the effects? “Nature” isn’t only limited to places like Yellowstone or Rocky Mountain National Park. Nature abounds in some cities, as well. City parks, tree-lined neighborhoods, your own garden – these are slices of nature that can have huge benefits to your physical and mental health. However, many cities and neighborhoods that lack a healthy tree canopy, and produce a lot of air pollution from vehicle traffic are plagued by high rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, among other illnesses, among residents. At a time when humans around the globe are migrating to cities at rates never seen before, it is critical that cities increasingly become part of the solution, not just a major culprit behind environmental degradation and human disease.
Today’s show is the first in a series we’ll offer on the connections between nature and human health. It’s called “Nature Rx.”
Our three guests today are working in the nexus between environmental conservation and human health, to make cities part of the solution:
- Dr. Ted Smith, director of the Center of Healthy Air, Water and Soil, at the University of Louisville’s Envirome Institute.
- Christopher Hawkins, Urban Conservation Program Manager at The Nature Conservancy.
- Janette Heung, principal and owner of JWG Global, a management consulting and research think tank in Colorado focusing on environmental conservation and public health.
Read more in the Colorado Outdoor Rx report and the UN Environment Programme report on air pollution.
Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Producer and Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
Contributors: Beth Bennett, Shelley Schlender
Listen to the show here:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:20 — 25.9MB)
Healthy Planet+Healthy Humans? (start time: 14:46) 
Regenerative Medicine (start time: 7:30): We begin our series on 
Beth talks with author Ben Goldfarb about his new book, amusingly titled Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. You’ll gain a better understanding of beavers’ myriad skills, and want to restore beaver populations in our local environments. Spoiler alert, we’ll have copies of his book available during the pledge drive show on Oct. 16.
The National Wildlife Federation just released its report, Safeguarding Summer: From Climate Threats to Iconic Summer Experiences. This report chronicles the latest scientific findings on these trends and shows how we can engage on these issues to save our summers now and for future generations. This week Beth interviews the lead author, Frank Szillosi, about the findings and predictions. You can find the entire report at the NWF website, https://www.nwf.org/Home/Latest-News/Press-Releases/2018/08-15-18-Safeguarding-Summer.
This week’s How On Earth offers two features:
Fixing Food Waste (start time: 17:59) We’re all guilty of it: waste. Tossing out peaches, broccoli and other food that has gone bad in the fridge. Or leaving pasta on our plate untouched at an Italian bistro. More than one-third of all food that is produced in the United States is wasted – in the field, at restaurants, in our own kitchens. The conservation organization World Wildlife Fund recently published a report on the huge environmental and health impacts of food waste, and on what can be done to reduce waste, and ultimately preserve grasslands and other natural habitat. Monica McBride, manager of 
