Recap: CAFE's State of the Science Webinar on Greenspace and Health

October 1, 2025

Thank you to all who joined CAFE’s State of the Science: Greenspace and Health webinar with Dr. Peter James from UC Davis! If you missed it, or want to review key points, here's a recap, with links to the relevant moments in the recording.

The Growing Evidence Base

Dr. James presented on the expanding body of research that shows measures of greenspace are associated with many health benefits. Several studies have found that people living in the greenest areas experience an approximately 12% lower mortality rate compared to those in the least green areas. A 2019 study of the Danish population found that children who grew up with the lowest levels of green space had up to 55% higher risk of developing a psychiatric disorder.

New Tools to Measure Types of Greenspace

Much of the literature to date has relied on satellite-based vegetation indices like the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to assess greenspace. However, NDVI is a marker of vegetation and doesn’t distinguish between different types of greenspace or the quality or accessibility of that space. Dr. James’ team is instead applying novel deep learning algorithms to differentiate between trees, grass, and other vegetation types. This allows their studies to determine the potentially different health impacts of varying mixes of vegetation.

Health Impacts

Mental Health: Evidence has shown that residential green space exposure is associated with lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Healthy Behaviors: Evidence suggests that living in greener neighborhoods is associated with better sleep quality and higher levels of physical activity.
Chronic Diseases: Higher greenspace exposure has been linked to lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and may be associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Birth Outcomes: Consistent evidence suggests a positive relationship between greenspace exposure and birth weight.

Key Takeaways

Dr. James emphasized greenspace represents a crucial component of healthy community design. Current research priorities include developing better measures of actual contact with nature using GPS and wearable sensors, understanding the specific elements in nature that drive health benefits, and exploiting natural experiments such as tree planting interventions in at-risk communities. “We need to make [greenspace] not a perk that only the wealthy can have, but something that we see as a core part of our infrastructure,” Dr. James noted.

‍

NIH Health and Extreme Weather Program

Health and Extreme Weather is Now a Highlighted Topic

Health and Extreme Weather is now designated as a Highlighted Topic across participating NIH Institutes and Centers.

Rather than waiting for a dedicated funding announcement, investigators are highly encouraged to pursue research through existing NIH funding opportunities that align with the goals of the Health and Extreme Weather Program. These opportunities may include parent R01 grants, fellowships, career development awards, and training and education grants.

One focus of the Health and Extreme Weather Highlighted Topic is training development. The NIH has released three Research Education Program (R25) funding announcements (PA-27-034, PA-27-035, PA-27-036) that support research education and training programs incorporating a health and extreme weather focus.Explore all currently active NIH funding opportunities here.

Future Funding Opportunities are in Development

While there are currently no active HEW-specific funding announcements, NIH shared that two major opportunities are currently under development and listed in the NIH Forecast.

These include:

Health and Extreme Weather (HEW) Research Coordination and Data Center: Will solicit applications for research coordination and data support for the Health and Extreme Weather (HEW) initiative including two closely aligned components: research coordination and data support. The coordinating component will facilitate engagement across the initiative’s grantees and the larger HEW community of practice. The data component will develop resources and infrastructure to facilitate access to and use of HEW-relevant data resources.
Health and Extreme Weather Solutions-Focused Research Hubs: Will solicit applications that propose translational research hubs with multiple highly integrated components focused on research, capacity building, and community/public health translation for regionally relevant topics related to the health impacts of extreme weather and cumulative exposures, including but not limited to wildfire smoke, extreme heat, flooding, hurricanes, drought, and other climate-related hazards affecting populations at heightened risk across the lifespan.

Investigators interested in these opportunities should monitor the NIH Forecast for future announcements.

Connect with an NIH Program Officer

A key message from NIH speakers was the importance of engaging with program officers early in the grant development process. Whether you are developing a new research project, training award, or educational initiative, program officers can help investigators determine how well their ideas align with NIH priorities and identify the most appropriate funding mechanisms.

CAFE Research Coordinating Center Updates

The second half of the webinar highlighted new and ongoing resources and opportunities available through the CAFE Research Coordinating Center.

Some of the highlighted resources and opportunities included:

Half-Day Events: CAFE hosts virtual half-day events featuring expert panels, lightning talks, workshops, and networking opportunities focused on topics in health and extreme weather research.
Mentorship Program: The next CAFE mentorship cohort will support early-career investigators through grant writing mentorship, guest speakers, and small-group discussions. The call for mentees is open until August 21st.
Research Matchmaking: CAFE continues to connect researchers with potential collaborators, mentors, datasets, and technical expertise across institutions and disciplines.
Actionable Solutions Grants Program: CAFE provides seed funding to support activities that strengthen health and extreme weather research, including data collection, training, and community engagement efforts. Deadline September 15th
Public Narrative Workshop: Participants will learn practical storytelling techniques to communicate their research more effectively to policymakers, communities, and the public. Deadline August 28th.
Data Resources: CAFE highlighted its growing collection of shared resources, including the Harvard Dataverse repository, GitHub tutorials and code, data management support, and the Educational Resource Hub.

To hear the full discussion and learn more about current and future opportunities, the webinar recording is available here.

Stay connected with CAFE through the newsletter and website for updates on upcoming webinars, conferences, funding opportunities, mentorship programs, and new community resources.