Natural Environments and Human Health
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all those individuals who strive to protect our natural environments and promote the idea of integrating experiences in natural settings into the lives of our citizens. We believe that good things happen when people and natural environments meet.
Natural Environments and Human Health
Alan W. Ewert, PhD
Indiana University, USA
Denise S. Mitten, PhD
Prescott College, USA
Jillisa R. Overholt, PhD
Warren Wilson College, USA
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ewert, Alan W., 1949- author.
Natural environments and human health / Alan Ewert, Denise Mitten,
Jillisa Overholt.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-84593-919-9 (hbk)
I. Mitten, Denise, author. II. Overholt, Jillisa, author. III. C.A.B. International,
issuing body. IV. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Environment. 2. Environmental Health. 3. Environmental
Exposure. 4. Public Policy. WA 30.5]
RA566.27
362.1969′8--dc23
2013025140
ISBN-13: 978 1 84593 919 9
Commissioning editor: Rachel Cutts
Editorial assistant: Emma McCann
Production editor: Shankari Wilford
Typeset by SPi, Pondicherry, India
Printed and bound in the UK by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croyden, CR0 4YY
Contents
3 The Historical Connection between Natural Environments and Health
5 Human Development and Nature
6 Adaptations and Applications
8 Sense of Place and the Role of Education
9 Innovative Approaches to Integrating Natural Environments and Health
10 Future Actions and Implications: Policy and Research—Take a Park, Not a Pill
Preface
Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them, and their value will never be known. Improve them, and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The story of humans and their interactions with natural environments is long and varied. A large part of this story has encompassed how, and in what ways, natural environments have influenced human health. From a historical perspective, this influence has involved both individuals responding to
