Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) NSW Hub 2024 Symposium

On 31 October 2024, we gathered for the HEAL NSW Hub 2024 Symposium, hosted by Professor Xiaoqi Feng, School of Population Health, UNSW.

The Symposium brought about a day of learning, networking, and collaboration at The Tyree Room, UNSW. We welcomed guests to this opportunity to connect with like-minded experts and individuals with lived experiences. Guests travelled from Regional NSW and across Greater Sydney to attend.

The day began with Welcome to County by Aunty Lola Ryan then moved to presentations from HEAL NSW Hub Lead A/Professor Veronica Matthews (The University Centre for Rural Health, USYD), Prof. the Hon. Verity Firth AM (Vice-President Societal Impact, Equity and Engagement, UNSW), and Dr Aaron Coutts-Smith (NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water).

A Panel discussion followed which focused on Climate Change and Health: Challenges and Potential Adaptation Strategies. The panel featured Angela Cartwright (Asthma Australia), Dr Aaron Coutts-Smith, Diana Fear (Central West Farming systems), Prof Ben Newell (UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response), Nelson Nolan (Blacktown City Council) and Matthew Riley (NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water). During lunch a poster session was held.

Afternoon presentations were launched by Dr Kim Sutherland of the NSW Ministry of Health. Followed by presentation from Emma Bacon (Sweltering Cities), Kylie Falconer GLENRAC Incorporated), Chaseley Cameron (International Universities Climate Alliance unsw) and Taya Barratt (Jagun Alliance, Country Needs People). These speakers joined the Panel Q&A along with Andrew Hewson from Penrith City Council. The Panel focussed on Partnerships and Research Collaborations.

This event was funded and sponsored by NHMRC and the HEAL Network.