Newsletter from Thursday, October 13th, 2022
Dear NCH2 Community,
We hope you were able to take a moment or many to nurture your state of mind on Monday, October 10th, World Mental Health Day. The theme of this year’s observance is to “Make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority.” At NCH2, we underscore the importance of taking good care of your well-being taking your time in nearby nature, getting fresh air on your front stoop or porch, sitting under a tree, or watching birds in your backyard. Equitable access to safe and welcoming nature spaces like these is essential and needs to be a top priority for our region. As we advocate for improving access to and opportunities to enjoy nature, the goal to make “wellbeing for all” attainable.
There are many other facets to wellbeing--food security, nutritious food, physical movement, community, purpose, work, spending time with friends and family, and many others. Let us know what you think is essential to your mental health!
Take good care of yourself, your friends, and family,
NCH2 Team
There are many other facets to wellbeing--food security, nutritious food, physical movement, community, purpose, work, spending time with friends and family, and many others. Let us know what you think is essential to your mental health!
Take good care of yourself, your friends, and family,
NCH2 Team
Index
Community Spotlight
Upcoming Events
Future Events: Save the Date
Job Opportunities
In the News
Connect with Us
Community Spotlight
Upcoming Events
Future Events: Save the Date
Job Opportunities
In the News
Connect with Us
Community Spotlight: Imani Green Health Advocates
Leslie Leon-Aguilar, Maybelline Mariscal, and Ajiah Gilbert planting a Redbud (homeowners choice) in the Pullman neighborhood
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Food Farmacy Program in “Pill Hill” Chicago, fresh produce for neighbors with health risks. (From right to left: Lauretha Woods, Khaila Franklin, Melinda Harville, and Fatimot Hassan, staff at Trinity Advocate Hospital.
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Photos courtesy of Laura Derks
One local team has a multi-faceted approach to community well-being. The Imani Green Health Advocate program offers several ways for young professionals to take action in the community. Part of Imani Village (add link here AB) at Trinity United Church of Christ, the Green Health Advocate program emerged from a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, Advocate Aurora Health, and The Nature Conservancy. Ajiah Gilbert manages and helps train the team of Advocates, exposing them to many professional fields, including forestry, and horticulture, with many opportunities for hands on, community-based learning and experiences. The program runs from May 23 - Nov 15. This year they plan to plant over 50 trees. Ajiah notes about the importance of green spaces to communities, “"Outdoor spaces should be accessible for every person because nature and trees are essential and provide a wealth of benefits for communities. The South Side deserves to have a beautiful tree canopy like the North Side, and our goal is to provide the makings of that tree canopy."
Khaila Franklin, another Green Advocates spends some of her time distributing fresh produce near Trinity Advocate Hospital in Chicago’s Pill Hill neighborhood. The “Farmacy” is offered to patients whose health and well-being would benefit from produce, a few recipes, and encouragement. Melinda Harville, a community health worker at Trinity, works closely with Khalia and are so pleased with the number of families served and how the program has grown. “Participants actually request spaghetti and yellow squash now with the delicious recipes we have given them.”
Khaila Franklin, another Green Advocates spends some of her time distributing fresh produce near Trinity Advocate Hospital in Chicago’s Pill Hill neighborhood. The “Farmacy” is offered to patients whose health and well-being would benefit from produce, a few recipes, and encouragement. Melinda Harville, a community health worker at Trinity, works closely with Khalia and are so pleased with the number of families served and how the program has grown. “Participants actually request spaghetti and yellow squash now with the delicious recipes we have given them.”
Upcoming Events
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Ladd Arboretum Fall Stewardship Series: Healing the Land
Date: October 16th, 2022 Time: 1:00-2:30 pm Location: Evanston Ecology Center This fall, the Ecology Center is partnering with stewardship and urban forest experts to lead classes in the Ladd Arboretum! Participants will learn about the North Shore Channel Habitat Project, how to calculate the benefits of trees in their neighborhood, how ecosystems can be restored, how to landscape with native plants at home, and how to identify and remove invasive species. This week, Healing the Land! When the North Shore Channel opened in 1910, almost no native habitat remained. Learn how community efforts have restored a functioning ecosystem and pick up some tips to nurture healthy habits at home. To register, call the Ecology Center at 847-448-8256. |
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Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards: Restoration
Date: October 1, 9, 15, 23, and 29th, 2022 Time: 9:00 am-12:00 pm Location: Parking Lot on the West Side Rt 59, between Golf Road and Shoe Factory Road Our Workday Activities vary depending on the season. Although we work hard, our workdays are fun! They are a great time to enjoy the great outdoors, get some exercise, learn about native Illinois habitats, meet new people, and make new friends. We have a mid-morning snack break (we provide the snacks), and volunteers often go out for lunch at a nearby casual eatery after the workday ends. This fall, come help us restore 1000 acres of prairie, woodlands and wetlands! The most enjoyable time of the year, and the most enjoyable activity, is Fall seed collection. PCPS will be collecting seed to enhance and expand the restoration. Contact Jenny Flexman at Flexfolks@comcast.net with any questions. RSVPs are helpful in case of changes. Learn more here. |
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Queer Hike at Brushwood Center & LGBTQ+ Center
Date: Sunday, October 16, 2022 Time: 9am-11am Location: Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods 21850 N. Riverwoods Rd. Riverwoods, IL 60015 Join Brushwood Center and the LGBTQ Center of Lake County for a nature walk specifically for the queer community! We will explore the historic Edward L. Ryerson Conservation Area, looking for birds, enjoying the fall colors, and discussing the multitude of identities and possibilities that can be found in nature. This walk is free of charge, but registration is required as space is limited. Register here. |
Future Events: Save the Date
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Mappy Hour: Winter Camping in the Midwest
Date: November 3, 2022 Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm Location: Arc'teryx Bucktown: 1630 N Damen Ave, Chicago, IL Winter doesn't mean the camping season has to be over. As colder weather approaches, join us for a discussion with winter camping guide and owner of NOW Outdoors Expedition Co, Nick Gordon. Nick will share everything we need to know about winter camping. He'll also give a live demonstration on setting up a winter camp stove inside a "hot tent" and show off some of the handmade snowshoes he built for the upcoming winter season. For more info on winter camping, join the Midwest Winter Camping Facebook group, a community of winter camping lovers in and around the Chicagoland area and Midwest. Read more here. |
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Garfield Park Neighborhood Market
Date: October 22, 2022 Time: 10:00-2:00 pm Location: The Hatchery, 135 N. Kedzie, Chicago, IL 60612 Shop from your local favorites at this in-person, outdoor market! Masks are required at this event. |
Local Farmers Markets:
Pullman: Wednesdays through October 26th, 2022
Englewood: Saturdays through October 29th, 2022
Bronzeville: Sundays through October 16th, 2022
Skokie: Sundays through November 6th, 2022
Highland Park: Wednesdays through October 26th, 2022
Hyde Park: Saturdays through October 29th, 2022
Pullman: Wednesdays through October 26th, 2022
Englewood: Saturdays through October 29th, 2022
Bronzeville: Sundays through October 16th, 2022
Skokie: Sundays through November 6th, 2022
Highland Park: Wednesdays through October 26th, 2022
Hyde Park: Saturdays through October 29th, 2022
Job Opportunities
Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities seeks an Associate Director, Community Collaboration and Engagement. Learn more here.
Openlands is looking to hire two Garden and Nature Based Education Coordinators. Learn more here.
Cool Learning Experience is looking for a Deputy Director. Learn more here.
Openlands is looking to hire two Garden and Nature Based Education Coordinators. Learn more here.
Cool Learning Experience is looking for a Deputy Director. Learn more here.
In the News
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Overview: Half a Million Pounds of Litter Off the Shores of the Great Lakes
Now in its 31st year, the Adopt-a-Beach program of the Alliance for the Great Lakes has reached a milestone: As of Sept. 29 of this year, Adopt-a-Beach volunteers have removed 501,336 pounds of litter from Great Lakes beaches and shorelines. Volunteers from eight states cleaning the five Great Lakes have collected 8,859,735 individual pieces of debris since the Alliance in 2003 began tracking litter in its online database. The story, posted on the Alliance for the Great Lakes website, includes photos of volunteers, including some from Evanston by photographer Ted Glasoe. Read more here. |
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Overview: An Hour’s Walk in Nature Reduces Stress
A new study found that a 60-minute walk in nature decreases activity in brain regions involved in stress-processing, according to a Sept. 11 article by Beth JoJack in medicalnewstoday.com. The research, conducted by Lise Meitner Group for Environmental Neuroscience at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany makes the case that walks in nature “could serve as a preventive measure against developing mental health problems” and “buffer negative effects of [the] urban environment on mental health,” said Sonja Sudimac, lead author of the study. Dr. Sudimac acknowledges that the study could not untangle the “hen-and-egg” problem of “whether higher rates of mental illnesses in urban areas were related to individuals having less access to nature, or whether certain types of people are drawn to live in certain environments.” Nonetheless, the relief of stress, which appeared to last beyond the hour of the walk, was documented. Read more here. |
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Overview: Best Places for Fall Hiking
For local fall beauty, Zachary Nauth recommends 20 Midwestern hiking trails in in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin that are free and uncongested and that “offer a solace and beauty all their own.” Fall beauty, fewer ticks and mosquitoes, cooler weather – all are factors in the list he compiled for WBEZ. One of his favorites is the 42-mile Palos Trail System, one of the starting points for which is the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center in Willow Springs. Cap Sauer’s Holding, “a forested, certified nature preserve within the Sag Valley Trail System” offers a seven-mile loop in the most remote area of Cook County. Read more, including the full results of the survey here. |
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Overview: Climate Change and Older Adults
Older adults are vulnerable to climate change, their bodies trying to withstand an onslaught of complex medical conditions, along with the normal aging process that erodes mental and physical capabilities and socio-economic conditions such as substandard housing. Climate disasters can disrupt power supplies to critical medical equipment and deliveries of needed medications. Robin Cooper, co-founder of the Climate Psychiatry Alliance and Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco Medical School writes that older adults, singly and in groups are bringing their determination, wisdom and even wealth to address the climate crisis. Read more here. |
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Connect with Us!
We are taking requests for any upcoming events to be added to future newsletters and our events calendar which can be done here. You can also submit materials for the next newsletter by emailing NCH2.Chicago@gmail.com by July 20th, 2022.
FOLLOW US on our social media by clicking the icons below!
CREATE your own stories on Instagram and tag @NCH2Network so we can share how you engage with nature; we would love to see them!
EMAIL US and keep us updated on local events, exciting opportunities in the area, or send photos of local nature to be featured on the website.
CONTACT US at NCH2.Chicago@gmail.com.
We are taking requests for any upcoming events to be added to future newsletters and our events calendar which can be done here. You can also submit materials for the next newsletter by emailing NCH2.Chicago@gmail.com by July 20th, 2022.
FOLLOW US on our social media by clicking the icons below!
CREATE your own stories on Instagram and tag @NCH2Network so we can share how you engage with nature; we would love to see them!
EMAIL US and keep us updated on local events, exciting opportunities in the area, or send photos of local nature to be featured on the website.
CONTACT US at NCH2.Chicago@gmail.com.