Nature and human health and wellbeing

Human beings possess the agency to enhance biodiversity and create opportunities for nature to thrive in our cities. Cities have the capacity to address the biodiversity crisis by implementing targeted actions for biodiversity conservation. However, we must also welcome nature back into our cities for our own survival and wellbeing.

The benefits of nature for human wellbeing are increasingly being acknowledged. Nature supports the social, emotional and physical development of children and teenagers, increases social connectedness and physical health and is beneficial for restoring mental health.

Healthy, biodiverse ecosystems are also essential to human health for a wide range of other reasons beyond wellbeing, including nutrient-rich and secure food supplies, medicinal resources, protection and purification of water sources, defending against infectious diseases, and preventing catastrophic cascading effects of ecosystem collapses.

Despite these benefits, attitudes that nature does not belong in the city remains prominent. People are fearful of outbreaks of pest species, believe nature is a ‘waste of space’ and hold negative perceptions around nature being wild. These attitudes and perspectives limit the potential for cities to support biodiversity, hindering the subsequent benefits to urban residents.

Tools for changing perspectives

Nature stewardship is a powerful tool for strengthening connections with nature. Stewardship directs people’s sentiment and values towards a particular species or ecosystem, to induce care, protection and restoration. Values that incite action for biodiversity reinforce perspectives that species can and should co-exist in spaces inhabited by people.

When nature is enhanced and cared for, feelings of connectedness are reinforced. Within Indigenous Australian culture, totemic species encourage individuals to identify and empathise with their chosen species, through a mutually beneficial connection. Embedding nature through such a perspective has been shown to increase feelings of connectedness with biodiversity in children, reducing  behavioural issues and improving cognition and physical health.

Thriving cities

Despite such negative and detrimental perceptions of nature, cities are host to a miscellany of wildlife communities and known to harbour more threatened species than their equivalent non-urban areas. Cities have the potential to support species and enhance biodiversity. Such actions not only enhances the availability of food and habitat resources for species but provides opportunities for humans to be exposed to and connect with nature. As is evident, presence of nature is beneficial to people’s wellbeing, however, the enhancement of nature to support biodiversity can further enhance feeling of connectedness and reinforce the benefits that nature provides to people.