This is the first in a series of ‘Nature and Health’ webinars and online events exploring the critical relationship between nature and human health, with a focus on solutions based around environmental growth in Cornwall. Please see Tevi’s full events listing to find out more about our future ventures.

Introduction and aims

As we continue to navigate the unchartered waters of isolation and social distancing, the majority of us are left to explore the confines of our own homes and local environments. Many of us, naturally, will have been experiencing feelings of loneliness, fear and sheer boredom.

However, just because we cannot go out and about as before, does not mean we have lost our freedom. Though there are real tragedies and the loss of loved ones impacting populations across the globe, like nature, we must learn to adapt and thrive.

There has never been a more important time to reconnect with ourselves, our loved ones and nature. It is the latter that this webinar will predominantly focus upon, by detailing how and why we can all make positive environmental action, to create a positive mind.

Beach Guardian Emily will lead the webinar and will begin by explaining how she has personally experienced the benefits creating change throughout her own conservation journey; not only on improving the state of nature, but also her own mental health and wellbeing.

We are also proud to host Rob Kelly CEO of the THRIVE programme – a mental health training programme that teaches people the skills and resources to overcome mental health issues and learn to thrive. Included in the training is a designated programme titled ‘THRIVE in Business’, which details how to optimise and reinvigorate a team’s performance, resilience and wellbeing by utilising methods specifically tailored to extract the benefits of connecting with and maintaining the natural world and community spirit.

Emily will then specify some simple and easy ways in which we, as an individual or professionally, can all help to preserve and protect the planet, without stepping foot over your own front doorstep.

The virtual floor will then open up to the audience for a live question and answer session with both Emily and Rob. Ending with a final set of top tips from the speakers of how to make the most of our time and surroundings for both our own mental wellbeing and welfare of the environment.

If you have specific questions for our speakers, please email them to [email protected].

Speakers

Emily Stevenson co-founded Beach Guardian CIC in 2017 with her dad, Rob, which aims to ‘engage, educate and empower against plastic pollution’.
Since its founding, Beach Guardian has organised over 200 community clean up events with over 6,000 volunteers; visited over 85 schools, engaging with over 14,000 school children and worked with some of the world’s largest companies, to help them reduce their reliance on plastics, such as PepsiCo and Nissan.
Emily is also a budding environmental reporter, with her weekly ‘Tune in Tuesday’ video blog reaching over a million people worldwide and features with BBC Spotlight highlighting the plights of plastic across the South West.
In 2019, Emily’s work received recognition as a Point of Light recipient from the British Prime Minister and was titled one of the Young Citizen’s of the Year by the Rotary Club in Great Britain and Ireland.
Emily is also currently on the MSc Conservation Science and Policy course at the University of Exeter, where she is undertaking a research project looking into the pathogenic and antibiotic resistant bacterial colonisation of microplastics from sites in Cornwall.

Rob Kelly is insightful, slightly irreverent and interested in just one thing: teaching you how to THRIVE. Thriving means having high self-esteem, a sense of positivity, resilience and motivation. Anyone can thrive if only they have the skills, self-insight and psychological resources: The Thrive Programme helps to achieve all this.
Rob Kelly is the author and researcher of The Thrive Programme series. He has spent more than twenty-five years studying how people develop emotional and psychological resilience, worthiness and what it takes to live successful lives.
Rob is the author of the original Thrive Programme book, Thrive. He is also the author of the #1 book on curing emetophobia, Cure Your Emetophobia & Thrive, Thrive for Teenagers, and Thrive as a Non Smoker. Rob is also the founder and CEO of The Thrive Programme – a teaching and certification program for helping professionals who want to facilitate his work on helping people to thrive in life.
Rob Kelly has worked in private practice as a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist for over twenty-five years. His smoking cessation course (The Rob Kelly Method) is used by therapists nationwide and has a 93% effectiveness rate.
After 20 years in clinical practice, Rob consolidated research and practical experience to write ‘The Thrive Programme’, now a series of four books. He has trained nearly 100 Thrive Programme Consultants worldwide who are all licensed to take clients through the Thrive Programme, either in person or over Skype.
2014 saw the publication of ‘Cure your Emetophobia and Thrive’, arguably the most successful interventions for emetophobia (a pathological fear of vomiting). Rob is an authority on the subject and he leads seminars worldwide for sufferers.

Hosts

Tevi is an ERDF-funded programme supporting Cornish SMEs to grow whist contributing to Cornwall’s environmental growth priorities and circular economy transition. Tevi currently supports over 300 enterprises through bespoke consultancy services, challenge networks and a grant scheme. Tevi is delivered by the University of Exeter in partnership with Cornwall Wildlife Trust, Cornwall Council and Cornwall Development Company.

Data Protection and Privacy

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