European Centre for Environment & Human Health

Disability-inclusive climate emergency planning in Scotland — Sensing Climate We’re delighted to share this guest piece by Maia Pace, Elaine Paterson and Fin Tams-Gray. It reflects on discussions held during our disability and climate emergency preparedness works...

Keen to hear more about our ongoing work on emergency preparedness, climate resilience & disability in Scotland? Read this guest news piece about our November workshop with Inclusion Scotland & ERCS by Maia Pace, Elaine Paterson & Fin Tams-Gray! sensing-climate.com/news/disabil...

Exeter and National Trust partnership wins Knowledge Exchange award A unique partnership between the University of Exeter and the National Trust has received a prestigious award. The 'Shaping Landscapes for People and Nature to Thrive' partnership was a winner at the Knowledge Exchange UK

A unique partnership between the University of Exeter and the National Trust received a prestigious award. The ‘Shaping Landscapes for People and Nature to Thrive’ partnership was a winner at the Knowledge Exchange UK Awards in the Strategic Partnerships category.

@renewbiodiversity.bsky.social

How do we map ‘exposure’ to natural environments? | ECEHH Dr Jo Garrett explains an exciting new method to assess how neighbourhood nature might impact health.

New Paper Published! 📚

We’ve developed a novel approach for estimating exposure to land cover at the LSOA level, designed to reduce exposure misclassification.

Read more here: www.ecehh.org/news/mapping...

@ecehh.org
@renewbiodiversity.bsky.social

Ghosts of Air Quality: Past, Present & Future
Explore Exeter’s air quality stories on a free literary heritage walk!
📍 Cathedral Close
🕒 3 PM & 5 PM
Reserve your spot:
3 PM 👉 lnkd.in/ey4vQ7jv
5 PM 👉 lnkd.in/eKXghmCQ

Funder: @gw4alliance.bsky.social Air Network
@ecehh.org
#ExeterEvents #AirQuality

Need something to look forward to in the post Xmas grey of January?
Sign up for our sparkling MIxed Methods Systematic Review course in person for 2 days in lovely Exeter! #systematicreview
www.exeter.ac.uk/faculties/hl...

PhD studentship available. Please repost.
www.swbio.ac.uk/agriculture-...

@cornwall.exeter.ac.uk @exetergses.bsky.social @uniexecec.bsky.social @hls.exeter.ac.uk @exetermarine.bsky.social @ecehh.org @willhgaze.bsky.social @elzehesse.bsky.social @thembauk.bsky.social

Webinar report on planning, health inequalities, and nature | ECEHH Over 350 participants recently joined us for a webinar exploring links between nature and health inequalities.

How can natural infrastructure reduce health inequalities?

Prof Ben Wheeler is exploring:

"Geographical health inequalities in the UK are stark...the gap in healthy life expectancy across local authorities in England is around 20 years."

www.ecehh.org/news/nature-health-inequalities-webinar/

Welcome back to day 3 of #WalesClimateWeek🌳

Today we're sharing an @nihr.bsky.social funded project that reveals how green and blue spaces can shape wellbeing.

Led by @swanseauni.bsky.social & partners, the project provides valuable insights for public health & policy making.

🧵Learn more!

Sensing Exeter’s air quality – a bird’s eye view | ECEHH Researchers recently held a creative air quality tour through Exeter – could children spot all the dodos?

Monitoring air quality with the help of dodos?

Dr Jo Garrett and Dr Hanbin Zhang explain all from a "lively and meaningful collaboration between scientists, artists, and the public – bringing together different ways of seeing and sensing the city’s air."

www.ecehh.org/news/sensing...

Supporting conversations around climate and disability | ECEHH A new guidance series aims to support respectful, inclusive conversations about disability and the climate crisis.

To support respectful discussions about disability and the climate crisis, @sensing-climate.bsky.social has launched ‘Crip Up Climate Conversations’.

"Vulnerability is created by our society not by our bodies, and it doesn’t have to be that way."

ecehh.org/news/guidance-climate-disability/

Growing cocktail of medicines in world’s waterways could be fuelling antibiotic resistance Every flush sends traces of our medicines into rivers. When antibiotics mix with common drugs like painkillers or hormones, bacteria can evolve to resist treatment.

Countless drugs & chemicals now coexist in the environment, mixtures "that may be quietly shaping the evolution of antibiotic resistance."

The fantastic Dr April Hayes explains how:

theconversation.com/growing-cocktail-of-medicines-in-worlds-waterways-could-be-fuelling-antibiotic-resistance-266945

“Cocktails” of common pharmaceuticals in our waterways may promote antibiotic resistance New research has shown, for the first time, how mixtures of commonly used medications which end up in our waterways and natural environments might increase the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. When humans or animals

For the first time, how mixtures of commonly used medications, which end up in our waterways and natural environments, might increase the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been shown in new research from @ecehh.org

ex.ac.uk/dW9

@uniofexeteresi.bsky.social @hls.exeter.ac.uk

Climate change and mental health – what about parents? | ECEHH To mark World Mental Health Day, Kat Runnalls explores the impacts of climate change on parents and carers.

🌎 It's World Mental Health Day 🌎

"This year, Britain reached 40˚C, just as children were finishing school for summer holidays. What is the reality of being faced with those temperatures as a parent?"

PhD student Kat Runnalls explores that question...

ecehh.org/news/climate-mental-health-parents

Congratulations to Emily Stevenson for successfully defending her PhD thesis entitled “Microplastics as vectors of antimicrobial resistance in aquatic systems.” Her supervisors: Prof Angus Buckling and Dr Aimee Murray (@exeter.ac.uk) and Prof Penelope Lindeque and Dr Matthew Cole (@pml.ac.uk).

Walking Tour: Sensing Exeter’s Air Quality : A Bird’s View A curated trail of art and science. Get real time insights into pollution while spotting new artworks of birds.

Join myself and others in Exeter, alongside artist Steve McCracken, for a curated trail of art and science. Get real time insights into pollution while spotting new artworks of birds. @ecehh.org
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/walking-to...

Brilliant to see our research featured in this Scientific American article: Microplastics Could Be Turning Bacteria into Drug-Resistant Superbugs
www.scientificamerican.com/article/micr...

@pml.ac.uk @hls.exeter.ac.uk @ecehh.org @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk @exetermarine.bsky.social

A third of children don’t play outdoors after school, study finds New research has found more than a third of children don’t play outdoors after school and one in five don’t at weekends, raising concerns about children’s physical and mental health. The study from th...

A study led by researchers from the University of Exeter, Cornwall has found that more than a third of children don’t play outdoors after school and one in five don’t at weekends, raising concerns about children’s physical and mental health.
@ecehh.org

Humanitarian shelters and the health of displaced populations | ECEHH To mark World Humanitarian Day, Dr Anna Conzatti highlights how emergency shelters can impact health.

For UN World Humanitarian Day, Dr Anna Conzatti explores how shelter in times of crisis is not just about protection from the elements, but "about enabling people to live, recover, and rebuild in conditions that do not harm their health."

ecehh.org/news/humanitarian-shelters-health/

Can nature help tackle anxiety and depression? | ECEHH Dr Katie Gibbs discusses new research on how nature might affect anxiety and depression with BBC Radio Cornwall.

How might spending time in nature affect people with anxiety or depression?

Listen to Dr Katie Gibbs talk through the 'Greengage' project on BBC Radio Cornwall, assessing a 6-week programme of "nature-based activities at fantastic sites across Cornwall."

ecehh.org/news/nature-anxiety-depression/

Impact of a Local Eco-Hub on Pro-Environmental Behaviour, Community Inclusion and Wellbeing Dr Louise Venables shares insights into a recent collaborative project, working with Dr Daniel Derbyshire, and Nicky Nicholls from Sideshore Community. Supported by the Engaged Participatory Research ...

🌱 How can a local eco-hub spark lasting change?
Our research explored the impact of a Devon-based hub on pro-environmental behaviour, community inclusion, and wellbeing.
Read more: sites.exeter.ac.uk/per/2025/07/...
#CommunityResearch #Sustainability #PublicEngagement #EcoHub

In this blog, we reflect on much-maligned equity considerations of the debate around zonal energy pricing - important for future energy transition debates as well as this one! Check out the blog below ⬇️

@ecehh.org

📣 Talk, networking and free lunch!
📆 Monday July 21 1 - 2pm at the ESI

Hear more from Dr Emmylou Rahtz and Phyllida Bluemel, about their project 'Perspective Shifts' which received this year’s FX Creative Exchange funding.
tinyurl.com/6c9syd92

@ecehh.org @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk @hls.exeter.ac.uk

Insights on people, place, and planet from ICEP 2025 | ECEHH Dr Leanne Martin reports from the International Conference on Environmental Psychology.

We're excited to share highlights from ICEP 2025!

Our team explored nature and wellbeing across diverse themes – from climate action to sustainable design at an event that:

"Emphasised the role of architecture, design, and urban planning."

ecehh.org/news/icep-environment-health-conference/

Cornwall MP paired with Exeter academic in research and policy exchange scheme Cornish MP Jayne Kirkham has been paired with a University of Exeter academic to explore how research can inform policy making in the UK. Dr Jo Garrett, Research Fellow at the University of Exeter’s E...

Now featured in a @uniofexeternews.bsky.social piece after taking part in the @royalsociety.org Pairing Scheme. I was paired with my local MP Jayne Kirkham to explore how research and policy can work together.
Read more: news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-h...
@ecehh.org @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk

💦 Love wild swimming? So do we. 🌞🏊‍♀️🌳
But we also ask:
Do wild swimmers get unwell more often than non-swimmers?

Take 10 minutes to help us find out
👉https://bit.ly/freshwater-swim-survey

#WildSwimmingUK

🌊 Wild swimming is irresistible right now! 🌞🏊‍♀️

But do swimmers experience infections more often than non-swimmers? To find out, we need YOU 🙋‍♀️ 🙋‍♂️

If you've swum in the past 2 weeks, we want to hear from you
👉 bit.ly/freshwater-s...
@watershed-i.bsky.social @sascampaigns.bsky.social

Home - Net Positive Centre At the Net Positive Centre, we focus on what’s possible — turning the climate challenge into an opportunity to support healthier lives and to improve the environment. Climate change is an urgent healt...

📢 The Net Positive Centre website is live! 🌍Focused on advancing climate-health research & real-world solutions — from urban design to food systems.Funded by @UKRI_News led by a partnership @exeter.ac.uk @ukhsa.bsky.social @nationaltrust.org.uk @forestresearchuk.bsky.social
netpositivecentre.com

Environment and Health Collaborative Forum 2025 | ECEHH Join us for a dynamic event exploring how collaboration with Centre researchers is helping organisations across Cornwall thrive.

🚀 Connecting Business & Research Event
📅 Tuesday, 15 July 2025 | 🕥 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM
📍 Peter Lanyon Building, Penryn Campus

Discover how partnering with our research team can help fuel innovation in your organisation.

Book your spot using the link below!

ecehh.org/events/env-health-collab-forum/

@uniexecec.bsky.social @davvi36.bsky.social @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk @ecehh.org

🚨 SWIMMERS & NON-SWIMMERS WANTED!

Take part in a survey about the health risks of freshwater bathing and help inform public health research 🏊‍♀️

Take the survey: bit.ly/freshwater-s...

More about the National Health Snapshot study: www.ecehh.org/news/health-...