Since the Osher Center launched its Planetary Health Program in 2022, we’ve been delighted to host and present webinars, fund pilot research programs, contribute opinion pieces and partner with local and national colleagues to raise awareness of the bidirectional relationship between the health of people and planet.
Please enjoy some planetary health resources below and write to us and let us know what you think! Contact: Aterah Nusrat, MSc, Director of Programming in Integrative and Planetary Health. [email protected]
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To mark Earth Month 2025, the Osher Center is hosting Thrive! Healthy People – Healthy Planet, an art exhibition, curated by the Mutual Reawakening Collaborative. Installed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Earth Day, the exhibit invites visitors to engage with evocative photography by 23 international artists, illustrating nine Essentials for Health: Air, Water, Food, Shelter, Energy, Biodiversity, Community, Safety, and Purpose. It is a welcome balm, encouraging viewers to take a moment to connect with the beautiful illustrations and contemplate how our own health is intrinsically connected to the health of our planet.
From Left: Bernard Jones, VP Department of Psychiatry, Mass General Brigham Academic Medical Centers, Peter Wayne, Osher Center Director, George Player, VP Facilities and Operations, Brigham Health
Photo Credit: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Visit the exhibit online here, or at the Tower Mezzanine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston MA until May 20, 2025. Let us know what you think by emailing Aterah Nusrat at [email protected] or taking the Thrive! survey here.
An Integrative Approach to Patient Care in the Face of Climate Change
On April 7, 2025, we hosted our annual Earth Month Osher Grand Rounds. This year we were delighted to host Wynne Armand, MD, Associate Director for the Mass General Center for Environment and Health and Barbara Walker, PhD, Director of the Nature as Medicine Program at the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of Cincinnati.
Osher Collaborative for Integrative Health: Planetary Health Symposium, 2024
In November 2024, the Osher Collaborative for Integrative Health held its second One-Day annual Virtual Symposium. The planetary health theme of Healthy People, Healthy Planet was spearheaded by Aterah Nusrat, as program committee chair. Along with a guided planetary health meditation, teaching kitchen demonstration, tai chi class, and a virtual forest therapy experiential, speakers from the 10 Osher Centers from across the United States participated in 12 x 10-minute presentations followed by Q&A panels. Over 1,000 viewers joined live for the event. The day ended with a keynote and fireside chat with Lyla June Johnston, PhD.
Watch the full Playlist
Watch Session 1: Healthy Lifestyle
Watch Session 2: Healthy Connections
Watch Session 3: Healthy Lifespan
Watch Session 4: Healthy Futures
Watch Keynote and Fireside Chat with Lyla June Johnston, PhD
Reintegrating Medicine: Nurturing Connections Between Personal and Planetary Health
In April 2024, Osher Director Peter Wayne, PhD, Aterah Nusrat, MSc, and Michael Ferguson, PhD, Director of Wellness and Self-Discovery, Harvard College, and Osher Pilot Research grant awardee for planetary health related research, presented the Earth month Grand Rounds at the University of San Francisco, California, Osher Center for Integrative Health.
Climate Change, Human Health, and Sustainability: Intersections and Opportunities for the Health Sector
For our 2024 Earth month Grand Rounds, we were delighted to host Gregg Furie, MD, Medical Director for Climate and Sustainability at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Further Resources
2023 Osher Earth Month Grand Rounds: The Farm Effect: Implications of Diverse Microbial Exposures for Mental Health, Christopher Lowry, PhD, Associate Professor of Integrative Physiology, Department of Integrative Physiology, University of Colorado Boulder
2022 Inaugural Planetary Health Grand Rounds: Nature Nurtures – Health and Healing Benefits of Nature Connection, David Victorson, PhD, Professor of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine
What Are We Thinking: A Conscious Call for Integrative Health Care to Server Planetary Health
J. Integr Complement Med. 2023 Nov;29(11):691-694. doi: 10.1089/jicm.2023.0518.
Aterah Z. Nusrat, Christine Vatovec, Brenda M Loew, Janet R Kahn
This is Your Mind-Body on Nature
J. Altern Complement Med. 2022 Mar;28(3):197-201. doi: 10.1089/jicm.2022.0490.
Ecology of Mind, An Interview with Peter Wayne, PhD, Mind & Life Podcast, 2021
Integrative Medicine is a Good Prescription for People and Planet
J. Altern Complement Med. 2019 Dec;25(12):1151-1155. doi: 10.1089/acm.2019.0421.
Aterah Z. Nusrat, Iman Majd, Peter M. Wayne