The pandemic has unearthed inequalities in our homes and our lifestyles and while some have flaunted the luxuries of leafy green gardens and the seaside on their doorstep, others have been confined to the limitations of their interior living quarters. The pandemic has reinforced the importance of connecting with the outdoors and being immersed in nature but what are the precise physiological and mental benefits and how can we achieve them within the limits of lockdown?

Aoife Kirk is a doctor, currently based in Dublin, Ireland. She was introduced to the concept of Planetary Health during a Masters in Public Health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) in 2018, and worked as Senior Medical Officer in Public Health with the HSE team during the first lockdown, before returning to clinical medicine. She is one of the co-founders of Irish Doctors for Environment, an organisation re-launched in 2018 that aims to educate, advocate and collaborate on environmental health issues and the co-benefits of climate action to create healthier places for wellbeing and public benefit. IDE is a group of voluntary doctors across all medical and surgical disciplines who collaborate on environmental health promotion, public consultations, medical education, sustainability within healthcare, and most recently launched a podcast interviewing other sectors on climate action.

Ben Channon is an architect, author, TEDx speaker, and mental wellbeing advocate, and is well known in the industry as a thought leader in designing for happiness and wellbeing. He is a Director at wellbeing design consultancy Ekkist, where he helps clients and design teams to create healthier places, and researches how buildings and urban design can impact how we feel.

He developed an interest in design for mental health, wellbeing, and happiness after suffering from anxiety problems in his mid-twenties. This led him to research the relationship between buildings and happiness, which formed the basis of his first book: Happy by Design. Ben now speaks on this subject to businesses and universities around the world. Ben then went on to qualify as a WELL accredited professional, broadening his knowledge to encompass design for physical wellbeing. In January 2020 he was invited to join the WELL Mind Advisory panel, using his expertise to raise the bar for healthy buildings worldwide.