Nature and Health Workshop in Barcelona

On 27 and 28 October, ISGlobal is organising the Nature and Health Workshop in Barcelona, an initiative that brings together stakeholders from the health sector, public administration, green and blue space management, organisations and civil society. The conference builds on the work developed within the Barcelona Resilience Hub, promoted by the European RESONATE project, which over the past months has consolidated a space for exchange, co-creation and collaborative work around nature-based solutions and therapies.

The conference aims to build on this process and open the conversation to experiences from other territories. Over two days, we will explore initiatives connecting nature and health through diverse contexts, scales and approaches. We will share what is being done, what has been learned so far, and the challenges and opportunities involved in putting these proposals into practice.

The event aims to provide a space to exchange experiences, foster connections between stakeholders and explore how these lessons can help strengthen the relationship between nature and health in the province of Barcelona. At the same time, the conference seeks to foster new collaborations between the health sector, territorial management and community organisations, building on the collaborative process initiated within the Barcelona Resilience Hub.

Agenda

Tuesday 27 October, Hospital del Mar 

8.30am - Welcome and registration

9.00am - Opening of the conference

• Esteve Fernández Muñoz, Secretary of Public Health of the Government of Catalonia
• Celia Santos Tapia, RESONATE Project, ISGlobal
• Rocío Cebrián, Deputy Director of Hospital del Mar

9.15am - Mindfulness and connection with nature: guided meditation

• Irene Cervera-Buisán, Les trenades
• Maite Tacías, Floreix

9.30am - From utility to relationship: nature-based interventions and an ecosocial perspective on health

• Silvia Gili Olmeda | University of Barcelona

10.15am - How can we implement the Blue Prescription along the Barcelona coastline?

Moderator: Mònica Ubalde-Lopez, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)

Experiences:

• Carme Pigem, CAP Llançà
• Xènia Ros, Som Mar Association

11.15am - Coffee break

11.45am - Benefits of the connection between nature and health

Moderator: Raquel Céspedes, coordinator of the "Environment, Health (One Health) and Prevention" Group of REiCOP (Spanish Network for Research on Long COVID)

Experiences:

• Maite Tacias, clinical psychologist and founder of Floreix. Member of the COPC and FEATF
• Mayte Serrat, Fibrowalk, Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS Unit, Vall d’Hebron Hospital

12.45pm - Lunch break [not included]

2.00pm - From evidence to practice: transforming the approach to life’s distress in primary care, from medicalisation to nature-based social prescribing

Moderator: Laura Illamola Martin, family and community physician and member of the Research and Innovation Committee of Baix Llobregat (ICS)

Experience:

• Ramon Gilbert, Community Emotional Wellbeing Lead, EAP Can Vidalet-CAP Bòbila, and member of the RECETAS project

3.00pm - From theory to reality. Practical experiences of nature-based therapies (in person)

Participants will have the opportunity to choose one practical experience

• Cartography of Silence – Blue therapy, art and nature interventions by the sea | COPC Psychoenvironmental Health Working Group (Les trenades, Sinegrow and Blava)
• Breathing the Sea – Blue therapy, art and nature interventions by the sea | COPC Psychoenvironmental Health Working Group (Les trenades, Sinegrow and Blava)
• Experiential therapeutic Stand Up Paddle session on an urban beach | Carolina Navalón-Martínez and Laura Gil (Blue Soler)
• Som Mar Blue Prescription | Mònica Ubalde (VerdeMare) and Xènia Ros (Som Mar)

5.00pm - End of the day

Wednesday 28 October, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB)

9.00am - Mindfulness Self-Compassion. Guided meditation on compassionate breathing

• Elisabet Asensio, Badalona Serveis Assistencials

9.15am - Childhood, nature and health: sowing wellbeing for the future

Moderator: Irene Cervera-Buisán, Catalonia Health and Nature Roundtable, COPC and Les trenades

Experiences:

• Júlia Moya Garcia, social educator, SEO/BirdLife Catalonia Education Programme, Education Area, Society and Territory Unit
• Meritxell Ponce, paediatrician at Hospital de Barcelona, member of the Environmental Paediatrics Promotion Group of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat
• Elena Codina Sampera, paediatrician at the Paediatric Environmental Health Unit of Sant Joan de Déu Hospital
• Montse Masó-Aguado, environmental scientist and nurse. Coordinator of the Childhood, Adolescence and Youth Section of the Health and Nature Roundtable, Paediatric Environmental Health Unit of Fundació Hospital d’Olot i Comarcal de la Garrotxa

10.15am - Forest bathing with migrant people: an experience from a community and ecosocial perspective

Moderator: Isis Saiz, Espai Ambiental Cooperativa

Experiences:

• Maria Eugenia Encinoza Tosta, participant
• María Julia Sánchez Salame, participant and biodanza facilitator
• Oliver Calzas Bollinger, forest bathing guide
• Silvia Simó Castelló, social worker at CAP Sagrada Família

11.15am - Coffee break

12.00pm - Nature-based therapy experiences in the healthcare sector: Blue, Green and Virtual Reality in Badalona and Terrassa

Moderator: Elisabet Asensio, Badalona Serveis Assistencials

Experiences:

• Elena López Villabona, REBEC CAP Progrés-Raval, and Maria José Ciudad, neuropsychologist, Centre d’Atenció Intermèdia el Carme, Badalona Serveis Assistencials
• Marta Ribó, Health Officer at Badalona City Council
• Emma Bueno, Coordinator of Espai Mar Badalona
• Elena Martínez, social worker at Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa

1.00pm - Lunch break [not included]

2.30pm - Project incubator (in person)

Participants will have the opportunity to take part in a project incubator

• Session 1. How can the Blue Prescription be incorporated along the Barcelona coastline? Facilitators: Mònica Ubalde ISGlobal - VerdeMare), Pilar Vendrell (Directorate-General for Environmental Policies and Natural Heritage – Government of Catalonia); Pat Gonzalez (A Bordo Lab-B)-TBC
• Session 2. Regional Health and Nature Roundtable for Barcelona: which stakeholders are involved and how can it be integrated into the Catalonia Nature and Health Roundtable? Facilitators: Nora Maristany and Sandra Carrera
• Session 3. Making nature an everyday option: spaces, resources and opportunities. Facilitator: Irene Cervera-Buisán | Les trenades
• Session 4. Community action for health and the ecosocial transition. Proposals for taking action in Barcelona. Facilitators: Isis Sainz and Andrés Garcia (Espai Ambiental).

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