A Natural Way to Foster Health and Wellbeing

The H2020 GoGreenRoutes project focuses on co-implementing urban green routes in different European cities, which will be serving as interactive, multi-functional public spaces interconnected with existing public spaces to solve environmental problems with benefits for health, mental health and psychological well-being. The city of Tallinn and Tallinn University’s School of Natural Sciences and Health are a partner in this project.

This year has been active with data collection to understand the impact of green spaces on health and wellbeing. In collaboration between the researchers from Barcelona Institute for Global Health, University of Antwerp, Maynooth University in Ireland and LTI’s “Human-nature interaction in the city” extended research group, we conducted interviews, observations, and ecological monitoring at the local field site in Vormsi Green Area in Lasnamäe, which gave input to the landscape architectural solution for the redevelopment of the area with the help of nature-based solutions.

Moreover, physical activity studies were conducted with the help of LTI lecturers in physiology and health studies. As part of research-based teaching, the data collection was also supported by LTI students as part of courses in Environmental Communication and Environmental Sociology or internships in the Environmental Management study program.

The first results and impressions from this fieldwork were introduced at the GogreenRoutes consortium meeting taking place in September 2023 in Tallinn. While LTI senior researcher Helen Sooväli-Sepping held an introductory speech, senior researcher Bianka Plüschke-Altof and research fellow
Mariia Chebotareva contributed with presentations on the fieldwork results in Tallinn.

Hosted by the city of Tallinn, the consortium guests were moreover given insights into Tallinn’s green capital projects.
Fingers crosses for seeing the created knowledge transforming into action in 2024!