We like to keep the NCH2 community updated on the most important events and information through our bi-monthly newsletters. Click the title below to see our most recent newsletter. If you are not on our mailing list yet, please head to our Get Involved page to sign-up. 

Highlights from the most Recent Newsletter

Click on the date to see details and links!
Date: 5/13/21
Key Points:
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and we’re celebrating! Here are some upcoming events and things to be on the lookout for:

• Follow us on social media. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. All can be found using handle @NCH2Network. Throughout the month of May, we will be posting daily tips for ways to get outside and stay well.
• Post pictures. Show places you enjoy going, things you do outside to support your wellbeing on Instagram (@NCH2Network) or on your own social media sites using these hashtags: #NCH2, #Take5OutsidetoThrive, #Tools2ThriveOutside, and #CultivateWellbeing.
• THE POWER OF NATURE TO HEAL. Presented by CARES (Chicago Associate for Research and Education in Science) in support of the Veterans Administration Research Week (May 17-21)  10:00-11:30am Wednesday, May 19th; Location on Zoom, Meeting ID: 894 864 2443, Passcode: CARES2021; Moderator: Teresa Horton, PhD, Northwestern University ; Speakers: Sally Coulthard, COL (Ret.), Defence Garden Scheme, UK; Kristen Walter, PhD, Naval Medical Center San Diego; Catherine Game, Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods, Lake County, Illinois; ALL ARE INVITED ◊ ALL TIMES CENTRAL ◊ ALL PROGRAMS VIRTUAL
• Geographies of Racial Justice in Chicago May Webinar: Finding Food and Food Justice in Chicago. Join us Wednesday, May 26th 7:00-8:30pm for a discussion about the widening food disparity in Chicago communities. For more  information and registration click here.
  Chicago organizations have been working on increasing food access for decades, yet many Black and Brown communities continue to have lower access to healthy food than white communities. This talk outlines these differences, then discusses examples of innovative projects growing and distributing food in new ways throughout the city and beyond, with a particular focus on responses to food access issues related to the COVID pandemic. Presented by the Geographic Society of Chicago https://www.geographicsociety.org/
• Looking ahead: AHTA/IPPS Joint Symposium , The Role of Horticulture in Human Well-being and Social Development The 2021 AHTA/IPPS Joint Symposium, is a collaboration of the International People Plant Council, the American Horticultural Therapy Association, and the International Society for Horticultural Sciences and will be held in a virtual format, October 29-30, 2021. 
  The purpose of this international symposium is to provide a forum for researchers, educators, and practitioners to continue to discuss, identify, encourage, and expand the research used by professional and trade associations to clearly demonstrate the benefits of horticulture in wellness and quality of life. This research facilitates the expansion of programs in diverse areas from urban planning to healthcare. For more information and registration, click here.
• Recent Research: Triguero-Mas, M., Anguelovski, I., García-Lamarca, M., Argüelles, L., Pérezdel Pulgar, C., Shokry, G., Connolly, J.J.T., Cole, H.V.S., Natural outdoor environments’ health effects in gentrifying neighborhoods: disruptive green landscapes for underprivileged neighborhood residents, Social Science & Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113964 This article highlights the need for careful research to examine the effects of urban greening projects. Not all change is therapeutic. In socially underprivileged neighborhoods, the addition of greenspace often comes with gentrification and stress which offset any proposed health benefits.