The link between the environment and health manifests in multiple ways. In recent years there has been a focus on zoonotic diseases and the impact of forest clearing on outbreaks of zoonoses transmitted by wild animals, yet this is far from the beginning and end of this story. The positive impact of nature on humans must seem obvious to the vast numbers of people on the planet who encounter it on a daily basis. However, growing urbanisation around the world has gradually meant that others are cut off from this reality, to the point that we need to call science into service to put this issue back at the centre of public policy.