At the first-ever Environmental Physiotherapy Festival 2023, Erin Keough, Susan Czyzo and I came together to host a talk and discussion on the intersections of different justice areas, the environment, and healthcare, all while centering a Canadian perspective. We found wonderful discussion and inspiration from our participants. Here is a brief summary of some key take-aways / thoughts that we identified during the event.
You know more than you think you know.
Using Mentimeter to share a little pre-discussion questionnaire, we found that 11% reported not understanding environmental physio at all, and 89% were not completely sure.
However, as we could see from our discussion, everyone ABSOLUTELY had a good idea of what EPT is and how it can relate to our profession.
It doesn’t have to be perfect
You don’t need to recycle and re-use 100% of your clinic waste, and you don’t need to buy brand new shiny products that are more eco-friendly, as one participant said “The best car to own, is the car you have right now.“
Just taking little steps to be more conscious, have more conversations, and do what you can is more than enough to get started.
Stephanie Molloy
BA (Psychology), MScA Physical Therapy
Stephanie Molloy is a physiotherapist and co-founder of Justice Centered Rehab, a group dedicated to highlighting and improving injustice and inequity within health rehabilitation. She is passionate about EDI, accessibility, and human and Indigenous rights around the world.
The power of the ‘ripple effect’
Similar to above, just get started. Have one conversation about the environment with a colleague or client, look into some local eco-friendly initiatives, and start looking more into what actions you can take in your personal and professional life.
Just doing a few small things is enough to create an effect that impacts others around you and spreads the impact.
Be energized
We are not sure about you but we are feeling inspired and energized by that discussion. It is so powerful to come together as a community and learn from each other. Try to build off this energy and carry it with you over the coming days.
People are interested
We had a great turnout, from all across Canada (and even Nigeria!). If you feel you are alone in your passion for the environment and health/social justice, be comforted that you are not alone and others are also interested.
We hope you feel more equipped to bring up these topics with your friends and family now, we are sure that you will find more people also interested than you imagined! Maybe its time to start a new casual lunch club at work…
We also want to share the cool resources that were shared in the chat at the event:
Podcast on enviro physio: https://drjoetatta.libsyn.com/episode-293-environmental-physical-therapy-and-the-tonic-of-wilderness-with-filip-maric-phd-and-todd-davenport-pt-dpt-mph-ocs
Learn more about parks prescriptions and become a prescriber: https://www.parkprescriptions.ca/
A website that highlights urban green spaces and potential issues: https://healthyplan.city/e
This report titled “the biggest risk is keeping kids indoors” by participation may be helpful about outdoor play particularly page 7: https://www.participaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2015-Children-and-Youth-Report-Card.pdf
Dockside Physio: https://docksidephysio.com/
Lastly, we want to leave you with a challenge
Which you can either accept or decline: In the next few days, talk to at least one other person about environmental physiotherapy. A good place to start could be bringing up this discussion event that you went to recently.
For a longer summary of the event please check out Justice Centered Rehab’s post on their blog, found on their website: https://justicecenteredrehab.wixsite.com/rehab/post/event-summary-environmental-physiotherapy-festival-session
Great summary of the event, Stephanie! You’re absolutely right that participants knew more than they realized/were prepared to acknowledge. If you were present, I’m wondering what action you’ve taken since this event?