A mountain of health benefits? Impacts of ecological restoration activities on human wellbeing

•Rural areas adversely affected by environmental degradation and poor health outcomes require innovative solutions.•Ecological restoration activities benefit human and ecological wellbeing, yet are disconnected from the mainstream health sector.•Participants describe a suite of health and wellbeing benefits from participation in ecological restoration activities.•Participation in well-designed, holistic ecological restoration programs can contribute to ameliorating complex health problems.