The Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub’s Nature Connection team held a 2-day workshop in Tasmania. The goal was to explore how Australians can better connect with nature. The event brought together people from research, government and community groups.
The main topics discussed were:
- how spending time in nature supports health and conservation
- the barriers that stop people from connecting with nature
- the opportunities to build more nature-connected communities
- the role of Indigenous knowledge in caring for Country
- how research and policy can work together to make change.
Dr Emily Flies and Dr Kate Sollis shared results from the project’s national survey and storytelling research. Participants also shared simple ways to connect with nature, such as:
- outdoor learning
- local greening projects
- community programs.
Ideas from the workshop will guide future project work. A report is being co-designed with workshop participants. The project will create tools to help policymakers and communities. These outputs support Goal 1 of Australia’s Strategy for Nature: to connect all Australians with nature.
The workshop forms part of the hub’s Impact Priority 1 (IP1). The project is exploring ways to strengthen sustainable people-environment interactions.
This article originally appeared in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's November edition of NESP News.
