{"id":885828,"date":"2026-01-17T17:30:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T23:30:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/17\/people-and-planet-how-human-and-planetary-health-are-deeply-connected\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T17:30:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T23:30:34","slug":"people-and-planet-how-human-and-planetary-health-are-deeply-connected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/17\/people-and-planet-how-human-and-planetary-health-are-deeply-connected\/","title":{"rendered":"People and planet: How human and planetary health are deeply connected"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Whether standing on a windswept hilltop, a sandy beach or in the dappled sunlight of a forest glade, being in nature can bring a tremendous sense of well-being. Connecting with the natural world is not only known to help restore and sustain our physical and mental health, but also connects us to the need to restore and sustain the health of our planet\u2014a fundamental that underpins all life on Earth.<\/p>\n

Instinctively, we work hardest to protect what we understand: Storytelling about the importance of nature to human health can inspire people to help preserve the planet. To support this, Bupa has joined forces with Earthrise Studio to tell the story of planet and human health through the experiences of filmmakers from across the world\u2014each touched by the power of nature in their own distinct way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Alice<\/picture><\/div>
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Alice Sainsbury walks a pilgrimage of slowness, drawing lessons of compassion, adaptation, and interconnectedness from the natural world\u2014and reflecting on the need to give back to it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANTONIA SCHA\u0308FER<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Forced into stillness by a spinal paralysis, Alice found herself tuning in to the slower pace of nature.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The more I tuned into that rhythm, the more hollow our culture of speed and endless consumption began to feel.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Inspired by this realization, Alice set herself a goal\u2014to walk again, immersed in nature. In 2021 she hiked the 125 miles of the spectacular Cornish Celtic Way. \u201cI let my senses lead,\u201d she reflects. \u201cIn communication with the land.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Suffering<\/picture><\/div>
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Suffering from migraines, Sydney Gawlik reflects on the <\/b>disappearance of quiet and dark, considering what we might regain by emulating nature\u2019s wisdom, instead of drowning it out with the modern world’s noise.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPH BY SYDNEY GAWLIK<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhat is the cost of living in a world that is always on?\u201d asks Sydney. For her, the cost of modern existence is relentless migraines. But she also sees nature paying a price: The fireflies she chased as a child are disappearing through light pollution. For Sydney, the answer lies in restoring dark. \u201cThe environment resets and recycles,\u201d she muses.<\/p>\n

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The song of dawn emerges each morning. It brings me back to my body, to my health.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Ava<\/picture><\/div>
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Ava Martinez-Lambert <\/b>is part of a community of women and non-binary runners keen to move their sport from concrete roads to earthy trails, protecting urban green spaces so that cities become places of adventure.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPH BY LINDA WU<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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More than half the global population lives in cities, contributing to the disconnect between people and nature. \u201cWe rely on nature to thrive,\u201d says Ava, part of 10ironwomen, a city-based endurance sports community that runs in the many trails that make up the heart of the city.<\/p>\n

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The woods and nature with the smells and the sights is such a relaxing state for the brain and body. Even just the stuff I’m thinking about feels more positive when I’m running on the trail.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Gaz<\/picture><\/div>
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Gaz Oakley\u2019s garden compost heap became a lesson in renewal, teaching him how decay feeds new life, and how modern consumerism impacts planet health and our health as he finds balance in nature.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPH BY GAZ OAKLEY<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Through making my own compost, I feel I’ve seen the perfect cycle of life, and I think that cycle is kind of beautiful.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Since taking up gardening, Gaz has connected with the soil and reevaluated what he eats and uses in everyday life. Gardening has brought more immediate benefits, too. \u201cThere’s actually a bacteria found within healthy soil that can boost your mood and relieve stress,\u201d he explains. \u201cMy mental health has improved so much.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"For<\/picture><\/div>
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For Nadeem Perera, an intense inner-city childhood could have taken him down a dark path. But a chance encounter with a bird opened his eyes to how the natural world can ground him.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPH BY ED MADDOCKS<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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As a teenager in East London, surrounded by violence, Nadeem felt he had to be \u201ccold, hard, tough, like the city itself.\u201d One day, with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Nadeem sought quiet in the green space of a city graveyard.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two meters away from me lands this green woodpecker, and I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in all my life.<\/span><\/p>\n

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This connection with nature steadied Nadeem and is guiding him on a happier path through city life, bringing people together in a community of urban bird watchers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Mustafa<\/picture><\/div>
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Mustafa \u2018Musti\u2019 Yamak is an artist who seeks to escape the noise of daily life and rediscover inspiration in nature\u2019s stillness, aware that creativity comes when we stop chasing and start noticing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPH BY MUSTAFA YAMAK<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cMost days my mind moves faster than my body,\u201d considers Musti. \u201cEverything demanding attention.\u201d But going out into nature and photographing what he sees, helps to slow everything down.<\/p>\n

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Each photo is like a small pause. A moment of connection between what I see and how I feel.<\/span><\/p>\n

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For Musti, fresh air, sunshine, and quiet bring a balance that fuels his creativity. \u201cThe sound of wind; the texture of light. It reminds me that inspiration doesn’t live in noise, it shows up in silence.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"For<\/picture><\/div>
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For Aliza Sovani, working as a landscape architect revealed a connection between the rhythm of the planet and her health, forcing her to pay closer attention to the systems that sustain her.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPH BY VITTORIA RIZZARDI PEN\u0303ALOSA & RICARDO SOKOLOWSKA PEDROSA<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Multiple sclerosis shapes how Aliza moves through the world. As a landscape architect, she studies the ways the Earth rises, rests, and renews, and she noticed a familiar rhythm in herself. \u201cThe same current that runs through the universe runs through me,\u201d she affirms. \u201cThe needs of the planet mirror my own.\u201d This realization helps Aliza move with more awareness.<\/p>\n

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Because when you understand the cycles that sustain the planet\u2019s health, you begin to recognize the cycles that sustain your own health.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Michaela<\/picture><\/div>
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Michaela Skovranova lives in constant pain, but time spent swimming in the wild waters of rivers, lakes, and the oceans connects her with nature, bringing a sense of stillness and relief.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPH BY RYAN ANDREW LEE<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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Living with a chronic illness, Michaela felt disconnected from her body until she discovered the comfort of water. \u201cAt first it was an escape from gravity, from strain,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut over time, water became a place to slow down, to listen, to feel.\u201d The water reconnected Michaela with her body and its rhythms\u2014her pulse, heart, and the stillness between breaths. Here, she found that happiness and pain can co-exist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the ebb and flow of loss and renewal, life keeps finding a way.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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\"For<\/picture><\/div>
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For Aditi Mayer, a member of the Punjabi diaspora in California, the act of growing and tending native plants connects with her heritage, weaving together soil, memory, and care in ways that inspire stewardship.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PHOTOGRAPH BY SIMRAH FARRUKH<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

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For Aditi, connecting with her Punjabi roots has brought a renewed sense of stewardship. \u201cEvery landscape has its own rhythm, the native plants that evolved with it, the original language of the land,\u201d she explains. Tending to these plants connects Aditi to the soil, flavors, and stories of her homeland with a powerful realization.<\/p>\n

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The health of our bodies and the health of our planet are inseparable threads of the same tapestry.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

She muses, \u201cThis is the power of nature: Restoration doesn\u2019t happen apart from the Earth, but through our return to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bupa looks after the health of more than 60 million people worldwide. But you can\u2019t have healthy people without a healthy planet. Often what undermines our health, an over reliance on urbanization and technology, is what disconnects us from nature and contributes to climate change. \u201cWe rely on nature to thrive,\u201d says Ava in \u201cBreathe Her In\u201d<\/i>. A fellow member of 10ironwomen, Katy, adds,\u00a0\u201cIt’s so important that in those urban spaces we give people the access to be able to see it, to value it, and enjoy it, so that we really understand the need to protect it.\u201d Because the story of our planet\u2019s health is perhaps the ultimate health story.<\/p>\n

Learn how sharing your health story is as simple as talking here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Find out how managing your health concerns is made easier by talking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether standing on a windswept hilltop, a sandy beach or in the dappled sunlight of a forest glade, being in nature can bring a tremendous sense of well-being. Connecting with the natural world is not only known to help restore and sustain our physical and mental health, but also connects us to the need to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":885829,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[287,22160],"tags":[6149,9792],"class_list":{"0":"post-885828","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-people","8":"category-planet","9":"tag-people","10":"tag-planet"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=885828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/885828\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/885829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=885828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=885828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=885828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}