This event has now finished.
  • Date and time: Monday 7 March 2022, 12.30pm to 3.30pm
  • Location: In-person only
    H/G21, H/G21 Meeting Room (Eynns Room), Heslington Hall, Campus West
  • Audience: Open to staff, students (postgraduate researchers only)
  • Admission: Free admission, booking required

Event details

Join YESI and help us develop our new five year strategy!

YESI is hosting three workshops in February for researchers interested in shaping the direction of its Research Themes: Environment and Health, Sustainable Food and Resilient Ecosystems.

These workshops are a chance for researchers from across the York community to discuss emerging issues and to identify future research priorities, help shape the focus of the YESI themes and to develop networks to support future interdisciplinary collaboration.

These workshops are open to all staff and PhD students currently working in these broad areas at York.

YESI Environment & Health Research Theme Network Meeting

Rescheduled event (original date 18 January)

Climate change, environment and sustainability are increasingly visible in the policy agenda. On many levels, human health is linked inextricably with planetary health. Nature and green spaces can enhance both mental and physical health and wellbeing, so the environment has a role to play in reducing the incidence of conditions such as cardiovascular disease and obesity and prevention of mental ill health. The Covid-19 pandemic has also highlighted the potential role of the environment both as a source, but also a preventive factor, in the emergence of diseases that pose risks to humans.

In recognition of these links, and the importance of this emerging area of research, YESI has launched a new research theme on Environment and Health. In this workshop, the two theme leads, Pete Coventry (Health Sciences) and Piran White (Environment and Geography) will introduce the new theme, and lead discussions around how YESI can enable and link up research activity in this area across the University.

The workshop will include a discussion of how YESI can work best to support research in this area, both at an individual and institutional level, and will include some discussions around novel areas of interdisciplinary research in this area, e.g. nature-based solutions to promote public and population health, linking indoor and outdoor environments in their effects on health, the physiological mechanisms underpinning the impacts of nature and green space on mental health, the impacts of climate change on physical and mental health, the potential for virtual reality to recreate the beneficial impacts of nature for health, and the global health and development context of greenspace research.

Draft Agenda

12:30 - 13:15 Lunch

13:15 - 13:45 Introduction and Plenary session on the Environment & Health research theme

13:45 - 14:20 Group discussions around thematic areas

14:20- 14:30 Break

14:30 - 15:00 Plenary session

15:00 - 15:25 Future plans

15:25 - 15:30 Wrap up and next steps

15:30 Finish

This is an in-person event, including lunch.