In April 2021 I enrolled in my first CSH course, Greenspace and Health. Although I had been involved with climate outreach and activism for several years I learnt so much from the course materials and had such a great time at the workshop that I signed up for another one the following month, Carbon Footprinting. A few months later I left my clinical role and joined the CSH education team. I’m proud to be part of an organisation with such an important focus and such high educational standards.
The Planetary Health Report Card (PHRC), now in its third year, is a student-driven, metric-based initiative to inspire planetary health and education for sustainable healthcare (ESH) in medical schools. There are metrics in five categories, which students complete with faculty support - curriculum, research, community outreach, student support and sustainability.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has highlighted the importance for nurses to understand the impacts of climate change on health, and pave the way for sustainable clinical practice in their work. Nurses are in an excellent position to engage in sustainable healthcare due to the wide range of roles they can take on and the variety of settings they work in, as they make up the largest proportion of clinical staff in the NHS. But why is this important?
The climate and ecological crisis is degrading our planet’s life-support system and threatens our ability to thrive and survive. A bold, united response is required for both climate change mitigation and adaptation; we must reduce our contribution to the climate crisis whilst also creating resilience to respond to its impacts.
April 7th is World Health Day, a global health awareness event run by the World Health Organization. It also marks the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization in 1948, when the first World Health Assembly was held. Each year, a specific theme is chosen to draw worldwide attention to a global health subject of major importance.
Each year, we use billions of tons of natural resources to meet our needs. Raw materials are extracted, items are manufactured that are barely used, and then discarded as waste. The issue is that the Earth's supply of these resources is finite. With this current linear mindset, we are producing goods to throw them away. How sustainable is that? What if we began by removing the term ‘waste’ from our production and consumption patterns?
When we discard expired yoghurt, bruised apples, or leftover milk, we are not only wasting food, but also the labour, water and energy involved in producing, processing, transporting, preparing, storing, and selling these products. Not only does food waste cost us money, but it also has a negative environmental impact.
World Wildlife Day is held annually on March 3rd, the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973. On this day, the United Nations celebrates and raises awareness about the diverse and beautiful forms of wildlife on which we all depend.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in nursing? There are probably many reasons but for most nurses, at least one factor is a desire to care for people. Practising sustainably can improve the care you give, not just to the patient in front of you, but also to the wider communities we serve (local and global), and the natural world we depend on.
The final themed day of the COP26 presidential programme focused on Cities, Regions, and the Built Environment. This highlighted how cities, regions and communities can be major ac
