At the beginning of July over 120 nature and health enthusiasts from four EU projects (GoGreenRoutes 2024; euPOLIS 2024; Varcities 2024; IN-HABIT 2024) gathered in Brussels to the Nature-Based Solutions and Planetary Health Cluster Horizon Conference. The goal of the H2020 projects is to improve health and well-being in 21 European cities. LAB University of Applied Sciences and City of Lahti are partners of the GoGreenRoutes (Cordis 2024) project funded under Societal Challenges Programme.
After the overview of the expected outcomes of each project, the nature-based solutions, healthy and sustainable urban areas, culture and art, gender, inclusion and diversity, and technological and digital innovations were discussed in panels. The last panel was focused on the lessons learned during the four years. The city of Lahti was widely represented in these discussions by the project manager Taru Suutari. In addition, there was a showroom for the companies who are the partners in the projects.
![[Alt text: three persons standing in smiling in a conference hall.]](https://blogit.lab.fi/labfocus/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/08/669_2024_Returning-nature-to-our-lifestyles-1024x594.jpg)
Nature-based solutions in the City of Lahti
Lahti Health Forest concept was presented in the conference as one of the innovations developed during the GoGreenRoutes project. The Lahti Health Forest is not just a physical place offering us a place to consciously enjoy nature-health nexus and benefits. It is a wider concept aiming to spread knowledge and understanding of planetary health and increase people’s connection to nature and strengthen immunity to the diseases and mental health.
The components necessary to develop innovations were discussed and concluded with a notion that all innovations and health forest development need to be integrated with local and international partners to be implemented successfully. The Lahti Health Forest was opened in September 2023 and the cooperation with local partners to develop health forest activities and concept will continue.
The conference highlighted that innovations are not necessarily something new but can also be something old brought back to change people’s mindset. Human beings are part of nature and have a close connection to nature. Through the Lahti Health Forest concept, this connection is supported, for example, by wellbeing services, schools, and local mental health associations in the City of Lahti.
“No one left behind”
Participation into the EU-project has offered to the City of Lahti many opportunities. Large visibility for the Lahti Health Forest has strengthened the position as a leading environmental city.
The conference highlighted the engaging with the slogan No one left behind. The intersectoral actions were co-created, co-designed, co-executed and co-evaluated with all stakeholders in a multidisciplinary way. In the future, the proactive approaches are required to address the needs of the citizens and considerations for the actual and potential emerging threats. As a conclusion of this cluster projects conference, Terri Morrissey, Member of the Advisory Board, and the Master of Ceremonies, gave us all the important take away message: “If kids are the future, our future needs to be green: our future is nature!”
In Lahti region this legacy is continued in the following Go Green Next (2024) project by the Wellbeing Services County of Päijät-Häme with the University of Helsinki through a planetary health approach together with four other sister projects (Tulip 2024; MOSAIC 2024; Planet 4Health 2024; SPRINGS 2024) funded by the Horizon programme.
The Go Green Next project is in its early phase and supports further development of the nature-based solutions, citizen science, and digital innovations in relation to promoting planetary health approach. The project is connected to the ten years programme Nature Step to Health which promotes planetary diet, more mobility and physical activity, healthy living environment, and increased nature contacts in collaboration with the City of Lahti and Lahti University Campus Health (Päijät-Hämeen hyvinvointialue 2024).
Authors
Ilkka Väänänen (PhD) is Senior Researcher, and Research Manager of the Go Green Routes Horizon 2020 -project at LAB University of Applied Sciences in Lahti.
Taru Suutari is a Project Manager of the Go Green Routes project in the City of Lahti.
Riitta-Maija Hämäläinen (PhD) is Head of Sustainable Development and Project Manager for the GoGreenNext 2024-2027 project at the Wellbeing services county of Päijät-Häme, Lahti, Finland.
References
CORDIS. 2024. EU research result. GO GREEN: Resilient Optimal Urban natural, Technological and Environmental Solutions. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/869764
euPOLIS. 2024. Integrated NBS Urban Planning Methodology for Enhancing the Health and Well-being of Citizens. Website. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://eupolis-project.eu
GoGreenNext. 2024. LinkedIn. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://www.linkedin.com/company/gogreennext/
GoGreenRoutes. 2024. Project website. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://gogreenroutes.eu
IN-HABIT. 2024. Website. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://www.inhabit-h2020.eu
MOSAIC. 2024. Innovative and effective policies for sustainable land use. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://www.mosaic-europe.eu/
Planet 4Health. 2024. Translating Science into Policy. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://planet4health.eu/
Päijät-Hämeen hyvinvointialue. 2023. Nature Step to Health Programme 2022–2023. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://www.paijatha.fi/tietoa-hyvinvointialueesta/kestava-kehitys/nature-step-to-health-programme-2022-2032/
SPRINGS. 2024. Tackling the effects of climate science on diarrheal diseases. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://www.springsproject.eu/
Tulip. 2024. Planetary Health. Project website. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://tulip-project.eu/
Varcities. 2024. Shaping the future of cities. Website. Cited 15 Aug 2024. Available at https://varcities.eu
