Program
V Global Summit of Science, Nature & Health
Three thematic pillars. On Day 1, science and empirical data are presented. Day 2 turns it into practice and policy, and Day 3 integrates and grounds it in Barcelona’s living landscapes.
Click on each day below for the full schedule.
- Every plenary, keynote, and symposium is freely accessible through an online livestream.
- All sessions run in English, Catalan and Spanish, with simultaneous translation available for institutional sessions.
- Times are shown in local time (CET, Central European Time Zone).
- The detailed schedule below is provisional and may be adjusted before the summit.
Pillar I · ScienceDAY 1 · TUESDAY, MARCH 9
8:00 – 9:00 am · Registration, welcome coffee and poster setup
SEA TERRACE + LOBBY
Registration opens, coffee on the terrace, poster presenters set up their boards.
9:00 – 9:30 am · Opening plenary and welcome
SEA HALL
Institutional welcome from the Diputació de Barcelona, with framing remarks from a member of the Organizing Committee.
- Alex Gesse. FTHub Executive Director. Spain.
- Mark Nieuwenhuijsen. Director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative, ISGlobal. Spain.
- The Honorable Ms. Lluïsa Moret Sabidó. President of the Diputació de Barcelona (Barcelona Provincial Council). Spain.
9:30 – 10:00 am · Opening keynote
SEA HALL
Keynote speaker: Josep Maria Antó (ISGlobal)
Thematic content: “Planetary Health and the Decade Ahead: Why Now, Why Barcelona, Why the Mediterranean”, followed by a moderated Q&A. The session closes with live audience polling on the priorities that matter most for the summit, revisited during the closing on Day 3.
10:00 – 10:45 am · Coffee break and poster gallery
SEA TERRACE + FIRST-FLOOR LOBBY
10:45 am – 12:15 pm · Symposium I: “Urban Forestry, Nature-Based Solutions, and the Social Value of Forests for Public Health “
SEA HALL + CLIFF ROOM
Keynote speakers: Mark Nieuwenhuijsen and Liz O’Brien.
Thematic content: A symposium exploring urban forestry as a public health intervention and the social and cultural value of trees and forests for diverse populations, with global perspectives.
- 10:45 – 10:50 am — Chair’s framing: Josep Maria Antó (ISGlobal)
- 10:50 – 11:10 am — Keynote 1: Mark Nieuwenhuijsen (ISGlobal)
- 11:10 – 11:30 am — Keynote 2: Liz O’Brien (Forest Research UK)
- 11:30 am – 12:05 pm — Conversation between the keynote speakers
- 12:05 – 12:15 pm — Q&A with the audience
12:15 – 1:30 pm · Lunch and live poster session
SEA TERRACE + FIRST-FLOOR LOBBY
Authors interact across all six abstract categories.
1:30 – 2:45 pm · Plenary keynote and conversation: “Integrating Environmental Exposures and Mental Health”
SEA HALL + CLIFF ROOM
Keynote speakers: Gregory Bratman and Terry Hartig
Thematic content: Environmental psychology of exposure to nature; restorative environments and mental health; cognitive and emotional effects of nature exposure; theoretical foundations and translation to clinical, urban and community practice.
- 1:30 – 1:35 pm — Chair’s framing: Jill Litt (University of Colorado at Boulder, ISGlobal)
- 1:35 – 1:55 pm — Keynote 1: Gregory Bratman (University of Washington)
- 1:55 – 2:15 pm — Keynote 2: Terry Hartig (Uppsala University)
- 2:15 – 2:30 pm — Conversation between the keynote speakers
- 2:30 – 2:45 pm — Q&A with the audience
2:45 – 4:15 pm · Symposium II: “Urban Green, Environmental Equity, and Vulnerable Populations”
SEA HALL
Thematic content: The Barcelona superblocks (superilles) urban projects, the Barcelona Climate Plan (Pla Clima Barcelona), the Barcelona schoolchildren cohort, and international equity comparators. Chaired by Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, with short talks and a moderated discussion.
- 2:45 – 2:50 pm — Chair’s framing: Mark Nieuwenhuijsen (ISGlobal)
- 2:50 – 3:50 pm — Short talks (4 talks × 10 min)
- 3:50 – 4:15 pm — Panel-style discussion among speakers, moderated by the chair.
4:15 – 4:45 pm · Coffee break and poster gallery
SEA TERRACE + FIRST-FLOOR LOBBY
4:45 – 6:15 pm · Parallel: Lightning talks / Project Clinic
Two tracks, choose one.
Track A: Lightning talks
SEA HALL
Emerging research from the call for abstracts, 12 to 16 five-minute talks in three thematic clusters, closing with live audience voting on the most promising emerging line of work.
- 4:45 – 5:10 pm — Cluster A: Research and pilot studies on nature exposure, biomarkers and mechanisms (4 talks × 5 min + 5 min cluster Q&A)
- 5:10 – 5:35 pm — Cluster B: Nature-based clinical interventions and primary-care pathways (4 talks × 5 min + 5 min)
- 5:35 – 6:00 pm — Cluster C: Community and policy programs (4 talks × 5 min + 5 min)
- 6:00 – 6:15 pm — Audience live-voting on “most promising emerging line of work” with results displayed live
Track B: Project Clinic
CLIFF ROOM + FIRST-FLOOR ROOMS
Consortium-building for internationally funded research. A landscape briefing on open and forthcoming calls, a speed-pitch round, and thematic funding tables.
- 4:45 – 5:00 pm — Landscape briefing (CLIFF ROOM): “What’s open, what’s coming — the Horizon Europe and complementary EU funding landscape for nature-and-health research,” by a senior consortium coordinator (15 min)
- 5:00 – 5:45 pm — Speed-pitch round (CLIFF ROOM): 9 pitchers × 4 min each, presenting a project idea seeking partners (drawn from accepted Call for Abstracts research-project submissions)
- 5:45 – 6:15 pm — Thematic tables in parallel:
- PINE ROOM — HORIZON-CL6 & CL2 + LIFE Program
- SEA BREEZE ROOM — HORIZON-CL1 / EU4Health + Interreg MED
- STREAM ROOM — Erasmus+
Dynamic element: Each table fills a Consortium in Formation template, compiled into the closed post-summit list.
7:30 – 10:30 pm · Mediterranean Dinner I
The first of two themed dinners in small groups across the Born and Poblenou neighborhoods. Participants self-select a theme, from nature prescription policy to standards and research-practice collaboration.
(1) Translating planetary health
(2) Funding strategies for nature-based health initiatives
(3) Nature-based Interventions
The evidence base for nature, ecosystems, and human health
The current state of evidence on how forests, urban green spaces, and ecosystems shape human health, with emphasis on environmental epidemiology, environmental psychology, and equity. Day 1 frames Barcelona’s scientific ecosystem as a hub for southern European research.
PILLAR II · PRACTICEDAY 2 · WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10
8:30 – 9:00 am · Welcome coffee and poster gallery
SEA TERRACE
9:00 – 10:15 am · Plenary keynote conversation: “Nature Prescription From Evidence to Clinical Practice”
SEA HALL + CLIFF ROOM
Keynote speakers: Jill Litt and Melissa Lem
Thematic content: Scaling nature prescription within primary care and across health systems; comparative experience; from research evidence to clinical pathways and reimbursement.
- 9:00 – 9:05 am — Chair’s framing: Liz O’Brien (Forest Research UK)
- 9:05 – 9:25 am — Keynote 1: Jill Litt (University of Colorado at Boulder, ISGlobal)
- 9:25 – 9:45 am — Keynote 2: Melissa Lem (University of British Columbia, PaRx Canada)
- 9:45 – 10:00 am — Conversation between the keynote speakers
- 10:00 – 10:15 am — Q&A with the audience
10:15 – 10:30 am · Coffee break
SEA TERRACE
10:30 am – 12:30 pm · Policy Lab: a briefing-note drafting sprint
SEA HALL + BREAKOUT ROOMS
Thematic content: Named policymakers panel, followed by four small drafting groups working on concrete policy tasks, and a plenary report-out.
- 10:30 – 10:50 am — Keynote & Chair’s framing: Matilda van den Bosch (University of British Columbia)
- 10:50 – 11:30 am — The member panel is designed to convene voices from across the full policy chain, from European institutions to local government, so that the drafting sprint that follows can address concrete questions at each level of decision-making.
11:30 am – 12:15 pm — Breakouts (45 min). Four drafting groups, each producing a 1-page policy briefing note.
- PINE ROOM — Group 1: Nature prescription regulation
- SEA BREEZE ROOM — Group 2: Urban green standards
- STREAM ROOM — Group 3: European-level recognition of nature-based frameworks
- CLIFF ROOM — Group 4: Integration of nature-based solutions in municipal climate-health adaptation plans.
Output: four one-page briefing notes published as an annex to the Barcelona 2027 Manifesto.
12:30 – 1:45 pm · Lunch and live poster session
SEA TERRACE + FIRST-FLOOR LOBBY
1:45 – 3:15 pm · Symposium: “Clinical Implementation of Nature-Based Interventions”
SEA HALL
Thematic content: Hospital integration, therapeutic protocols, patient outcomes, and what makes a clinical nature-based intervention scale across health systems.
- 1:45 – 2:05 pm — Keynote & Chair’s framing: Alex Gesse (FTHub)
- 2:05 – 3:00 pm — Case-based talks, including therapeutic protocols for chronic illness and a facilitated panel.
- 3:00 – 3:15 pm — Facilitated panel + Audience Q&A.
3:15 – 3:45 pm · Coffee break and poster gallery
SEA TERRACE
3:45 – 5:00 pm · Parallel: Practitioner workshops
Two tracks, choose one
Track A: Practitioner workshops
FIRST-FLOOR ROOMS
Streams:
- PINE ROOM — Stream A. Forest Bathing and Forest Therapy Facilitation. FTHub Trainers. 30-min theory + practice + debrief. Content: Specific protocols, safety, group dynamics, contraindications.
- Facilitators: Manuela Renzi (Training and Capacity Building Director, FTHub), Erika DiPasquale (Hub Seedlings Director, FTHub), and Inga Dreimane (Project Manager, FTHub)
- CLIFF ROOM — Stream B. Nature-based Therapies Facilitation. FTHub Trainers. 30-min theory + practice + debrief. Content: Specific protocols, safety, group dynamics, contraindications.
- Facilitators: Alex Gesse (Executive Director, FTHub) and Kirsten McEwan (University of Derby).
- SEA BREEZE ROOM — Stream C. Nature Prescription Pathways in Primary Care. FTHub Trainers and Collaborators with prescription experience. Case-based workshop with primary-care dilemmas. Content: referral systems, documentation, integration, working with non-clinical, patient selection.
- Facilitators: NAT-CARE experts.
- STREAM ROOM — Stream D. Therapeutic Landscapes Design with Universal Access. Landscape architect with health-design and accessibility expertise. Design-thinking workshop with case studies. Content: design principles for healing gardens, universal access, collaboration with health institutions.
- Facilitator: Betty Fang (Capacity Building & Content Manager, FTHub)
Track B: Mediterranean Models Showcase
SEA HALL
Short case studies of community programs from southern Europe, followed by cross-case discussion.
5:00 – 6:30 pm · Lightning talks: “Emerging research from the call for abstracts”
SEA HALL
12 to 16 five-minute talks in three thematic clusters, closing with live audience voting on the most promising emerging line of work.
- 5:00 – 5:25 pm — Cluster A: Research and pilot studies on nature exposure, biomarkers and mechanisms (4 talks × 5 min + 5 min cluster Q&A).
- 5:25 – 5:50 pm — Cluster B: Nature-based clinical interventions and primary-care pathways (4 talks × 5 min + 5 min).
- 5:50 – 6:15 pm — Cluster C: Community and policy programs (4 talks × 5 min + 5 min).
- 6:15 – 6:30 pm — Audience live-voting on “most promising emerging line of work” with results displayed live.
7:30 – 10:30 pm · Mediterranean Dinner II
The second of the two themed dinners in small groups across the Born and Poblenou neighborhoods, with new themes so participants can deepen a different conversation.
(1) Nature prescription
(2) Therapeutic Spaces Certification standards across continents;
(3) Nature-based Interventions
Translating science into clinical, community, and policy action
What works, who delivers it, how it scales, and how quality is assured. Nature prescription from evidence to clinical practice. Day 2 centers practitioners and policymakers, with applied case studies.
PILLAR III · INTEGRATIONDAY 3 · THURSDAY, MARCH 11
Early morning · Field options
Field trips take approx. 3.5 hours and run in parallel, so each participant can choose only one.
- Therapeutic Forest Immersion at Montnegre i el Corredor Natural Park. A guided immersion led by FTHub Certified Practitioners in one of Catalonia’s most biodiverse coastal forest landscapes. It includes a briefing on one of the park’s Certified Therapeutic Trails. An opportunity to experience first-hand how evidence-based forest therapy is delivered on the ground.
- Superblocks urban transformation projects tour. A guided walking tour through Sant Antoni and Poblenou neighborhoods on urban green and traffic-calming as a public-health intervention.
- Blue Health & Well-being Experience at a Barcelona beach. Experience the science of blue spaces first-hand: guided well-being practices on the Mediterranean shore, led by FTHub Certified Practitioners.
- Scientific institution visit to ISGlobal. A behind-the-scenes look at an environmental research program, with a lab tour and seminar, hosted by ISGlobal.
Late morning · Closing plenary and Manifesto Barcelona 2027
All participants reunite at the central venue. Day 1 audience priorities are revisited, the four summit awards are presented, and the Barcelona 2027 Manifesto is signed (approx. 90 min).
Barcelona’s living landscapes and nature-based assets
Science and practice, grounded in lived experience. Parallel field options, then convergence at the central venue for the closing plenary.
Ready to join the V Global Summit?
Register now to secure your place — in person in Barcelona or online via livestream.
