WELCOME TO ECOHEALTH ONTARIO

Healthy ecosystems are essential for human health and survival. We all depend on clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, healthy food supplies, green spaces for recreation, and contact with wildlife to enrich our lives. There is growing evidence that we gain specific physical and mental health benefits from living in clean, healthy ecosystems and from having access to natural areas and biodiversity.

EcoHealth Ontario (EHO) is a collaborative of professionals in the fields of public health, medicine, education, planning and the environment. We are working together to increase our understanding of the relationships between environment and health with the aim of finding ways to increase the quality and diversity of the urban and rural spaces in which we live.

EcoHealth Ontario gratefully acknowledges the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Forests Ontario, and our steering committee members for their generous support of our work. 

Connecting the Environment and Human Well-Being Through Public Health

Public health practitioners are on the frontlines of helping us to manage our own well-being. They prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life among the population as a whole. Understanding the linkages between our environment and human health can help public health practitioners to advise, communicate and develop policy that continues to ensure a healthy population. The poster below was developed by EcoHealth Ontario for The Ontario Public Health Conference 2016 and explains in more detail how green spaces, in particular, can help improve and protect health and well-being. It also provides tips for public health practitioners to incorporate a more integrated ecohealth approach to their work. Having a shared agenda in collaboration with various sectors can bring innovative and transformative approaches to this complex issue. A full PDF version can be downloaded here.