"Aki Sinkkonen, a principal scientist with the Natural Resources Institute Finland, is watching. He's also very interested in Aurora's cake, but for different reasons. Perfect, he says, admiring the way she is mixing soil, sand and leaves and then putting it on her face. She's really getting her hands in it. Aki Sinkkonen (left) and Marja Roslund from the Natural Resources Institute Finland in the Humpula garden"
"There is the outer layer the more familiar vision of biodiversity, made up of soil, water, plants, animals and microbial life, that lives in the forest, playground (or any other environment). And then there is the inner layer: the biodiversity that lives within and upon the human body, including the gut, skin and airways. Increasingly, scientists are learning that our health is intimately linked to our surroundings, and to the ecological health of the world around us."
A five-year-old at Humpula daycare plays with sand, mud and leaves while staff encourage outdoor, hands-on exploration. Forty-three daycare centres across Finland received funding to rewild yards and increase children's contact with environmental microbes such as bacteria and fungi. Outer biodiversity includes soil, water, plants, animals and microbial life in natural spaces. Inner biodiversity encompasses microbes within and on the human body, including gut, skin and airway microbiomes. Early-life exposure during the first 1,000 days is especially important for brain and body development. Increased contact with natural microbial diversity is linked to improved health outcomes.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]