The Diputació de Barcelona (Barcelona Provincial Council) and Forest Therapy Hub celebrate the I Global Summit Science, Nature and Health on March 29-30 2023, which will take place from morning to evening in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.
The I Global Summit will offer talks in 20 Modules distributed in two days with a cast of more than 50 researchers, experts, professionals from different areas of research, well-being practices, green spaces management, environmental protection and Health. During the Summit, experiential workshops will also be offered to all attendees.
An opportunity to learn about case studies and first-person experience development presented by the protagonists and advances in science and research in multidisciplinary fields that demonstrate the scientific basis of nature-based solutions.
The topics to be discussed at the Summit address vital issues for decision making based on Planetary Health, a key concept that inspires the Forest Therapy Hub’s trainings for Forest Bathing Guides and Forest Therapy Practitioners and also the pioneering approach of the Diputació de Barcelona in the management of Natural Parks.
The Green Transition and other 21st Century Challenges; Nature at Work: Nature-based Corporate Well-being; Adventure and Nature-based Therapy; Nature Connection as a link to Biodiversity; Management of Protected Natural Spaces as a key asset for wellness; The global vision of Planetary Health and International Standards for Forest Therapy will be addressed. Key projects on Nature-based Therapies and Nature-based interventions as a health approach will also be presented.
Specific Modules on Forest Therapy for Treatment and Rehabilitation, Integrative Medicine with focus on Nature as a key part of Health; Therapeutic Horticulture and Medicinal Use of Plants; Educational approach, Sustainability and Green Education; Tourism in Native Territories, Case Studies of Forest Bathing and Tourism, and Nature and Mental Health and Social Health will be addressed.
These are just some of the countries present at the I Global Summit: Germany, Taiwan, Italy, Spain, Chile, Poland, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, South Korea and Austria.
Some of the speakers are: Xavier Roget, Advisor to the Barcelona Parks Network; Dr Liz O’Brien, Head of Society and Environment Research Group (Great Britain); Won Sop Shin, Ph.D., Researcher, Professor at Chungbuk National University (South Korea); Carlos A. Faerron Guzman, M.D., M.Sc., Associate Director Planetary Health Alliance and Antonio Saraiva from Saúde Planetária Brasil; Rob Wolters, Director of Nature For Health Foundation (The Netherlands).
Dr. Guangyu Wang, Associate Dean and Professor, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Director, Multidisciplinary Institute for Natural Therapies (MINT), UBC, Director, National Parks Research Centre (Canada); Chia-Pin (Simon) Yu, Ph.D. Associate Professor, School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University.
Eliseth Leão, PhD, Senior Researcher and Full Professor, Graduate Program in Health Sciences, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo (Brazil) and Michelle Loy, MD, FAAP, Integrative Health and Wellness at NYP-Weill Cornell Medicine. Daniela Silva-Rodriguez, Institute of Therapeutic and Social Horticulture of Peru (Peru); Esther Deltor, Health Director of corporate health consulting firm meHRs (Spain); Kirsten McEwan, PhD Derby University, Montse Subirana Malaret, PhD, Universitat de Barcelona, Andy Anderson, Director of Maggie’s Edinburgh and Forest Baths Guide, among other outstanding professionals from different areas.
Puri Canals, President of MedPAN, Mediterranean Network of Marine Protected Areas; Prof. Dr hab. Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Professor of forest biology/ecology at the University of Warsaw and Białowieża Geobotanical Station. Ricardo García Mira, Researcher Research Group Personas-Entornos, University of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain) and María Guadalupe Garibay Chávez, Ph.D., Research Professor, University of Guadalajara (Mexico).
True beacons in Nature Therapy and Adventure Based Therapy Prof Nevin J Harper PhD, RCC (Registered Clinical Counselor), University of Victoria (Canada), Tanya Ginwala, Founder Qualia Outdoortherapy, M.A. Psych, Experiential Educator, Adventure and Nature Therapist (India) and Natalia Ruiz de Cortázar, Promoter of the Experientia Association, Bachelor in Psychology, Master in Mental Health and Therapy, trainer and Adventure and Nature Therapist (Spain).
Another Module will gather Matilda van den Bosch, Senior Researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia, Horizon Europe RESONATE Project (Sweden/Spain); Matthew White, PhD, Environmental psychologist specialized in Ecological Public Health, University of Vienna, Horizon Europe RESONATE Project (UK/Austria).
Ana Estela Barbosa, PhD in Environmental Engineering and Biotechnology, researcher, Portuguese National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, Horizon Europe NATURELAB project coordinator and 
Margarida Rebelo, PhD in Social Psychology, Researcher, Portuguese National Laboratory of Civil Engineering, Horizon Europe NATURELAB project co-coordinator (Portugal).
Margarita Triguero-Mas, environmental scientist, research fellow at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), associated researcher at ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health) and the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental justice and Sustainability (Spain) and Helen Cole, Senior Researcher (Banco Santander-TALENT fellow) at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, researcher at the Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability of GreenMe Project (USA/Spain).
Experiential Sessions include Emotional Management through Nature, Breathing (in) Nature, Expressive Arts in Nature and Connecting with Nature in Blue Spaces with professionals Marta Ayats, Marta Grabowska, Emma Sanchez and Manuela Renzi.
Check out the Program and register on the I Global Summit page. You can meet some of the professionals on FTHub interviews. Check the calendar and time zone and get ready for this global celebration of the convergence of health, well-being and nature through knowledge, research and expertise from around the world.
