Health benefits of greening honoured by VicHealth

The potential health benefits of greening were recognised at the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Awards as Greening the West took home the trophy for ‘Research into action’.

The popular annual awards, designed to highlight important health promotion projects and programs in Victoria, attracted 128 entries overall.

The ‘Research into action’ category recognises achievement in driving new approaches to illness prevention and health promotion. In particular, the judges commended Greening the West’s focus on urban greening to tackle physical inactivity and heat stress.

Greening recognised as bringing benefits to Victorians

One of the challenges for the west is maintaining healthy, liveable spaces while managing the impacts of population growth and development. This award recognises the importance of research and its role in supporting action that will help to build a healthy and sustainable future.

VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter offered his congratulations to all the winners and finalists for their hard work and dedication to health promotion and added, “I look forward to seeing the positive impact these initiatives have on Victorians.” Mr Rechter need only browse the Greening the West’s new website to see the positive effects in action.

The real winner is Melbourne’s west

GTW is the first partnership of its kind in Victoria to bring together a range of stakeholders including local government, water corporations, state government agencies, and industry and community representatives.

While each agency plays a different role in affecting urban greening, all are united by a singular purpose – to enable sustainable, liveable and healthy communities in Melbourne’s west.

The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Awards has an important part to play in showcasing examples of excellence and best practice in this challenging arena. Greening the West is a proud category winner though, of course, the real winners are the residents of Melbourne’s west.