The research program Forest and Health aims at studying if and how the health of a person is affected by visits in forest environments, as well as finding new effective means to promote the rehabilitation of exhaustion syndromes by help of forest stands. The study will thus promote a sustainable society in a social sense, and is as such of high relevance to the society.

By creating forest stands and use them for other purposes than timber production we will improve the economical benefits for the society (multiple use of forest).

Forest and Health explores a new field of research which never before has been present at the faculty. It is an interdisciplinary research programme, with close collaboration with researchers, psychologists and physiotherapists at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine and the Department of Psychology, both at Umeå University, as well as with the Centre for Work and Behavioural Medicine at University Hospital of Umeå, and The Municipality of Umeå.

Forest and Health is financed by the forest company Sveaskog, The Swedish Forest Agency, The Municipality of Umeå and the Faculty of Forest Sciences at SLU. The research programme is conducted by PhD Ann Dolling and PhD Ylva Lundell.

At present, the research program includes the following projects:

ForRest (Forests for rest)

In this project we study if, and how, different forest settings have health effects on persons with stress related exhaustion syndromes. We are also studying which of the different ecological forest settings, as well as what properties in these settings, the persons prefer. The project is running since 2007.

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EnRest (Environments for rest)

The aim of this project is to compare the restorative effects of the forest and the handicraft therapy for persons with high stress levels. Are there differences in restoration between a milieu with or without vegetation? The project is running since 2008.

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Family forest green care

In this interdisciplinary project, focused on family forest ownership from a local development perspective, the objective is to examine potentials and constrains in different business practices based on family forest properties. Green care carried out as rehabilitation in the forest is one business practice examined in the project. The project is running since 2009. Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

MiniRest

The aim of this project is to compare the short time (about 1 h) health effects of different environments, city and forest, to persons with exhaustion syndroms. The project started in 2009.

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