SOCIAL ACTION & INNOVATION CENTER

FOCUS AREA > HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
NATURELAB
NATURELAB – Nature based interventions for improving health and well-being
NATURELAB proposes an innovative approach to contribute to resilient and healthy communities, by enhancing the green and blue areas’ benefits.
Operated by: KMOP

CHALLENGE

Nowadays, over 50% of the human population live in cities and although cities are increasing their blue and green areas, the health care potential of nature areas is not adequately considered. There is a recognized need to develop and establish scientifically validated protocols to support people to connect with nature in ways designed to improve their specific personal needs. Consistent information, education, and scientific evidence, including cost-benefit analysis, are needed to boost a change in the approach, and raise new opportunities to turn the ecological transition into an asset for health and well-being.

The Project

NATURELAB

Project Number

101083857

Project Status

Ongoing

Funded by

HORIZON

Info & contacts

Email iconWebsite iconFacebook iconTwitter/X iconLinkedIn iconYouTube iconInstagram icon

Title that explicitly says that this is a collective work

Document

Characterisation of nature with potential for improving health and well-being

This activity is dedicated to establishing and validating indicators to support the characterization of green spaces (forests and urban parks), and horticulture and gardening contexts that have a high potential to promote health and well-being.
Document

Establishing causal relationships between Nature Based Therapies and health and well-being

This activity aims to define, test and validate the NATURELAB assessment model (e.g., selection criteria for the participants, quantitative and qualitative assessment protocols and experimental designs), produce robust and scientific evidence in the demonstration of the causal relationship and short-, medium- and long-term benefits between nature-based therapeutic programmes and health and well-being.
Document

Design, implementation and validation of nature-based therapies

It aims to design, validate and implement tailored nature-based therapeutic programmes to significantly improve the physical and mental health conditions of the participants in 15 experimental sites in 4 Demonstrator Fellows located in rural, coastal, and urban
areas of five European and Latin American countries (Portugal, Greece, Netherlands, Germany and Peru) that will involve participants with different health conditions.
Document

Governance, social innovation and uptake of Nature Based Therapies

NATURELAB’s approach for societal uptake and behaviour change for Nature-based therapies (NBT) is based on social experimentation through real-life conditions in order to achieve an inclusive and robust spill-over effect in multiple sectors and to a broader audience.

Within this context, this activity seeks to confirm the sustainability of the NATURELAB methodology through its adoption by the public & private healthcare and social system; to engage local communities and stakeholders in co-shaping NBT in their countries, taking into account the values of nature, and biodiversity; and to propose feasible and realistic NTB policies in each country and at an EU level..
Document

Workshops & International Forum

NATURELAB will organise three international workshops, two during the project 2nd and 3rd years, to communicate the results and consult stakeholders on the methodologies and approaches designed, and an International Forum, dedicated to presenting the major findings and guidelines to all stakeholders’ groups, including healthcare professionals and policymakers.

Our Work in Motion
Follow our latest news, insights, and developments.

IN COOPERATION WITH

FUNDED BY

European Commission’s support for the production of this content does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

View related projects

Choose-Life

Implementing a drug-(ab)use prevention program & shaping youth policies with disadvantaged young people for psychosocial well-being promotion
View project details