VNiC Health: Evaluating the Health and Well-being Benefits of Urban Blue and Green Space

Environmental degradation threatens to reverse the societal benefits created over the past century. The natural capital and ecosystem services that we rely on have been severely impacted by changes to our ecological, biogeochemical and climate systems. This has been driven by our lifestyle choices and, left unchecked, will exacerbate the decline of our critical natural capital resources. While we obtain many benefits from the natural environment, human health and well-being are amongst the most important, yet least understood. Spending time in nature makes people happier, improves their mood and makes them value the natural environment more. At the same time, higher levels of well-being make people more likely to protect their environment, thus well-being and natural capital are intertwined.

VNiC-Health will evaluate the actual and potential health benefits provided by urban natural capital, providing a framework for societal—natural capital engagement. We will generate robust evidence for the inclusion and maintenance of natural capital in planning and development. Working with members of the Ballymun City Farm and Community Gardens in North Dublin, this project will pioneer approaches to evaluate the health and well-being benefits provided by our urban blue and green space, quantifying the value of natural capital to the Irish healthcare system. The key novelty lies both in the approach taken and in the interdisciplinarity required, incorporating expertise on physical natural sciences and natural capital modelling, wellbeing and health, and community engagement.