One Health: Human, Animal and Environmental Health
- Sage Milne
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
By Sage Milne
Human health, animal health and environmental health are interconnected. A healthy prospering environment has positive impacts on human and animal health. Positive impacts can emerge through a multitude of experiences. There can be wonderful trails and local environments that enable people to be active. Networks of greenspaces prevent habitat loss and fragmentation for animals. Good food requires rich soil and plenty of active pollinators.
Conversely, a polluted environment can have negative impacts. Noise, air and water pollution can devastate the health of humans and animals. Animals exposed to diseased and cramped environments can more easily get sick and spread sickness between different animals, including humans.
Understanding these interconnections can be challenging. It requires the involvement of many stakeholders including doctors, veterinarians, foresters, planners and community gardeners. People from different areas and experiences need to come together and devise solutions.
A Small Story
When I was 11 years old, a tornado tore through my town. The town of Goderich is on the west coast of Lake Huron. It has a population just shy of 8,000 people. I was away at an overnight summer camp when it happened. On the road home from my wilderness adventure, my mom started with “...none of your friends were hurt.”
My mom described how we were hit by an F3 Tornado. A description does not capture what it was to see the destruction in person. The central market ‘square’ of the town was upturned. The tornado tore up trees, devastated homes and there were many lost pets never to be found.
To respond to this upheaval, people needed to come together and understand what happened and what comes next?
There was a parade of trees that were brought in to replace the ones lost. Young saplings of maple and oak spread out around the new lawn in the town centre. Nowadays I see so many enjoying the restoration of the central Courthouse Park. I can see birds loving the growing canopy, people running by with their dogs and an army of ants crawl around on the grass.
Webinar on One Health
On Tuesday, May 6th, 2025, from 12 – 1 PM, Dr. Wayne Caldwell, Dr. Quinn Webber, Chris Lee and Nathan Schoelier shared important ideas that resonate with the concept of ‘One Health’.
The University of Guelph defines One Health as “the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working together on our planet’s most complex animal, human and environmental health problems." One Health requires interdisciplinary cooperation and communication [1]. As such, a broad range of speakers was brought in from many different disciplines to discuss the concept and how it can be applied.
The webinar began with a presentation from Dr. Wayne Caldwell, Professor Emeritus in Rural Planning and Development at the University of Guelph. He is a former member of the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs Greenbelt Council and has maintained a career-long affiliation with the Huron County Department of Planning and Development. He has published extensively in areas such as farmland protection, rural land use, the environment, siting of livestock facilities, and community planning.
Some of his latest work has included looking at housing within agricultural communities within Ontario’s Greenbelt. His presentation started with the destruction of the Goderich Tornado and broadened to look at the role of the planner in developing a great place to live, work and grow.
Dr. Quinn Webber is an assistant professor at the University of Guelph. He teaches undergraduate students about One Health. His main area of research is on the role of individual behavioural variation and environmental variation plays in affecting fitness and disease outcomes for bats and caribou. He is a regular batman. As part of his presentation,
Dr. Webber visualized the interconnectedness of humans, animals and the environment through concept mapping of One Health.
The University of Guelph has a full series of speakers discussing the idea of One Health in greater depth and an undergraduate program.
Chris Lee is an advocate and volunteer for the Goderich to Guelph (G2G) rail trail. He talks about the incredible organic growth of active use from the trail. It is a trail accessible to all ages. Many groups from cyclist enthusiasts to families and walking groups enjoy the trail.
Nathan Schoelier is the Stewardship, Lands and Education Manager at Ausable Bayfield Conservation. Through this role, he has worked closely with landowners to make environmental improvements on their properties; fostered appreciation through experience by getting people outside on over 9000 acres of conservation lands; and led a dedicated team of educators. Conservation authorities play an important role in managing floods, and greenspace. One big project he is currently involved with is the Huron County Clean Water project.
Watch the full webinar:
The concept of One Health is complex and broad. There are many opportunities to learn more about it and ways to get involved:
Volunteer at a Conservation Authority
Spread knowledge on the Huron County Clean Water Project
Watch some of the webinars on One Health by the University of Guelph
Join local gardening groups
About Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health
Founded in 2008 in the community of Seaforth, ON, Gateway CERH is a not-for-profit rural health research organization run by a community-based volunteer board of directors. Gateway CERH's main mission is to better the health and quality of life of rural residents through research, education and communication. Learn more on the Gateway CERH website at: https://www.gatewayruralhealth.ca/ and follow on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube
A brief disclaimer: the views expressed in these lectures may not necessarily reflect Gateway CERH’s views or opinions, but we believe in providing a platform for a range of perspectives and thoughtful discussion.
Gateway CERH has a full library of lectures and information about the upcoming presentation that can be found on our website: https://www.gatewayruralhealth.ca/lectureseries
Or watch all past lecture online on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GatewayCERH/videos
Comments