Original story posted on the Beat (internal newsletter) by Darryl Quantz, Lead, Planetary Health at Fraser Health.
Sustainability student project aims to improve the natural environment at our sites and benefit our patients and staff.
The United Nations (UN) World Environment Day is the largest global platform for environmental public outreach. According to the UN, up to 40 per cent of the planet’s land is degraded – a situation that has, and wil
l continue to create, significant impacts on health and well-being. This year’s event encourages us to embrace the opportunity to become #generationrestoration.
As a health system, what role can we play in supporting the restoration and protection of land? A significant part of our efforts lies in environmentally sustainable health care practices thus reducing our environmental degradation from the use of resources. However, we also have a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to care for the lands we steward across the region.
As such, Fraser Health recently initiated an exciting project to review our sites to look for opportunities to enhance the natural environment, in partnership with the UBC Sustainability Scholar program. Over the summer, Katie Mcpartlin, a graduate student in landscape architecture, will visit selected acute and long-term care sites to identify opportunities to optimize natural spaces for patient and resident healing, staff well-being, planetary health and Indigenous reconciliation. Of the project, Katie notes:
This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to our health care system and the commitment [it has] made to the natural environment.”
Katie will be working with site leaders and our Planetary Health and Indigenous Health teams, with the recognition that reconciliation with the land is a critical part of the reconciliation process and promotes health and well-being for the communities we serve.
Her first visit to Burnaby Hospital showed a beautiful track of steep forest with active streams adjacent to the site. Overgrown with many invasive species, it is one of those anticipated opportunities for stewardship and restoration. Her next visit to a long-term care home in Abbotsford found that while green spaces are treasured, they are underutilized due to access and safety concerns. Residents could benefit immensely from greater access to sunshine and the emotional and physical benefits outdoor spaces provide, but in many cases most of the grounds remain unusable. With Katie’s help, design solutions are already starting to emerge for spaces like these.
Evidence tells us there are real health benefits to be realized for patients, visitors and staff and medical staff alike – and that stewarding these green spaces is not only good for the ecosystems they support, but it can also help make us more resilient to the increasing frequency of climate-related events. Fraser Health is proud to be supporting this innovative research project to re-imagine our natural spaces, doing our small part to contribute to #generationrestoration.
