Items tagged with environmental health

• Good genes
• Strong support networks
• Education
• Gender
• Household income
• Culture
• Safe communities
• Early childhood development
• Access to health care and social services
• Positive social environments
• Access to employment and good working conditions
• Personal health practices and coping skills
• Healthy physical environments

Some of these factors are within our control and others are beyond it. One thing we are beginning to learn is how much human health depends on a natural environment with clean and chemical-free air, water, and soil. There is a strong link between human health and the planet's health.


Built environments like our homes, schools, workplaces, daycares, and community centres must be equally safe. Just as a healthy physical environment can contribute positively to a child's health, an unhealthy physical environment can have negative and even permanent effects on a child's body and mind.


The good news is that as families, communities, educators, health professionals, child care providers, and policy makers - we can make a difference. We all have a stake in the health and environment of today's children and future generations. By working together and sharing the responsibility of protecting children's health and environment, we can all benefit.

In 2002, after being married, my husband and I moved into our first home together. We were excited at the possibilities to build our life there together. Though we didn't have children, we did have nieces and nephews who regularly visited and we wanted to protect them and encourage a healthy lifestyle. So, six years ago, we began our quest to rid our home of harmful chemicals - in cleaning products, household items and the food that we put into our and their bodies.

It started with a gradual increase in local and organic food and a decrease in packaged food. This felt good - mentally and physically!

More than 150 nurses from across Canada with an interest in environmental health are connecting through Canadian Nursing Association (CNA) to network with their peers, share resources and benefit from discussing colleagues' experiences with nursing and environmental health. A new CNA Emerging Group has formed - the Canadian Nursing Environmental Health Group. These nurses are actively involved in addressing exposures to environmental hazards in the home, school, community and workplace. Check out what they are doing to engage patients, students, colleagues and Canadians on environmental health issues. Get inspired by nurses in action! Please note that items are posted in the language they were submitted to CNA.

This group put together a toolkit for nurses across the country to encourage them to weave environmental health issues into their practice, and provide them with tools to do so. The results are up on the CNA website with focus in three main areas: Greening the Health Sector, Nurses and Environmental Health, and Climate Change. The background papers, podcasts and PowerPoint presentations present sound information and ideas for action to reduce environmental exposures and make nursing practice less environmentally harmful.

See the web site http://www.cna-nurses.ca/CNA/issues/environment/default_e.aspx for more info.

The Children's Health & Environment Partnership of Manitoba was pleased to host the Playing It Safe Workshops at Studios in the Exchange on Thursday, February 26 through Saturday, February 28. The Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment (CPCHE) has developed and delivered this interactive training across Canada. The training is designed to
maximize on a multi-sector approach to capacity building by including networking and strategy sessions.

A little more than 40 people decided to grab hold of this opportunity to learn more about children's environmental health. We had a very diverse group of early childcare educators, inclusion specialists, child care directors, public servants, community workers, health promotion practitioners, and immigrant service providers...just to name a few.

Based on the comments that we received, participants found the workshops to be informative and invaluable. Our goal in hosting these workshops was to build capacity in all sectors - place the information in the hands of those who can transform knowledge into PRACTICE in their sectors. Thanks to their interest and participation we have taken a BIG step in the right direction.

SPECIAL THANKS

Special thanks to Myriam Beaulne, Health Promotion Coordinator for the Canadian Partnership for Children's Health & Environment (CPCHE) and our facilitator. She is a treasure and a wealth of information and ideas! We look forward to further information sharing with CPCHE and growing our relationship.

We also wish to recognize Health Canada Safe Environments for championing these workshops in Manitoba and supporting us in hosting them. Thank you Paul Partridge for your unwavering commitment to this project!

Thank you to our small group facilitators: Eveline Schroth, Paul Partridge, Kate Dykman, Anne Lindsey and Rosemarie Gjerek.

The federal government has functional powers over environmental issues that cross provincial and territorial borders such as air pollutants. It is also responsible for setting health standards across the country.

The provinces are responsible for natural resources, environmental health, hospitals and schools. Some responsibilities are held jointly. Generally, there is a great deal of overlap and interplay between the Government of Canada and the provinces.

At the municipal level, cities are responsible for public health, emergency services and public works. Public works includes drinking water, solid waste disposal, air quality, and public transportation.

The Canadian Child Care Federation, with the support of the Canadian Partnership for Children's Health and Environment (CPCHE) partners, received funding from the National Population Health Fund to undertake a community engagement project with the goal of raising the level of children's environmental health awareness and literacy amongst three key practitioner groups and moving them to action. The three practitioner groups include the following:

• Child care practitioners
• Family physicians and other health intermediaries
• Public health workers