TORONTO, ON, Feb. 10, 2012 – Today, at the Ontario Forestry Association’s 63rd Annual Conference, Trees Ontario presented a paper entitled A Healthy Dose of Green: A prescription for a healthy population.
A Healthy Dose of Green highlights the direct links between the natural environment – especially trees and forests – and human health. These links include the physical, physiological, and rehabilitation benefits of forest environments, the physical activities they promote, and the many ecosystem services they provide.
Forests and green spaces have been linked to a significant decline in asthma, heart disease, diabetes, stress and certain childhood illnesses, as well as improved rehabilitation and faster hospital recovery rates.
This year, the theme of OFA’s annual conference was Healthy Forests for Healthy People. “It is important that we understand the effects of our natural environment on our personal health. Our aim was to draw attention to these effects so that proactive health promotion strategies could be developed,” said Tracy Smith, Executive Director of the Ontario Forestry Association.
Download the report or click here to view the video.