A lunchtime talk on how quickly contact with nature can change our immune system, and what it means for the design of our cities.

Healthy Soil, Healthy People, Healthy Cities: How Quickly Can Nature Change Our Immune System?

Can regular contact with nature affect our immune system in just a few weeks?

Join Finnish scientists Dr Aki Sinkkonen and Dr Marja Roslund for a 25-minute talk on their pioneering research into soil, biodiversity, microbes and human health.

Their experiments in nurseries, homes and gardens have shown that exposure to diverse soil and other nature-associated microbes can positively change the human microbiome and markers of immune regulation within a remarkably short time. In nursery children, changes were detected after 28 days. In an indoor gardening experiment with adults, immune-related changes appeared within two weeks.

What might these discoveries mean for the way we design our towns and cities? Find out why biodiverse soils, vegetation and other natural features should be seen not simply as amenities but as essential, health-promoting urban infrastructure for the people who live there.

Hosted by
Cairo Robb, Soil Policy Research Associate
Department of Engineering, Durham University