Nature-culture-health promotion as community building

Recent research confirm that longevity and a healthy life is strongly influenced by belonging to closely knit communities or groups, that can give you a sense of meaning, belonging and a sense of coping through collective activities. New health chal􏰀 lenges means that new and diverse networks have to be created in order to achieve interdisciplinary collaboration. Such net􏰀 works should provide mutual assistance within and between countries and facilitate exchange of information on which strate􏰀 gies are effective in which settings. This paper describes research studies that show how «nature and cultural activities» can promote health, quality of life and environment for individuals and create healthy local communities. At the Centre for NatureCultureHealth in Asker, a suburb west of Oslo, there have since 1994 been several experiments where individuals from the local population have been helped to find their own talents and capacity for work to maintain function and pleasure in work. Through participation in NatureCultureHealth activity􏰀groups (NaCuHeal) the individual will find the opportunity to participate in dancing, music, art, physical activity, nature walks, hiking, gardening or contact with pets. Access to nature is a determinant of health, and lack of this will be a contributing factor to increased social inequality in health and welfare. Culture like art and music is socially significant in ways to act as a medium that allow people to connect with others, which allows bridge building and creates friendships, establishes and/or re􏰀establishes social networks and local communities. Safety Promotion and injury prevention should also be natural part of NatureCultureHealth promotion in order to strengthen The Public’s Health.