Virtual Tavern Talk

Parks are a community superpower. The outdoors connect people to nature and to one another, to our neighborhoods, and to the world. Among their superpowers is the role they play in community health. Research shows that the more parks there are in a community, the more people exercise. People who live near parks also report better mental health, even if they don’t actually go there. Building new parks—and improving existing ones—is a great way to keep people active.

Pour your favorite drink and join in a conversation with Caroline O’Boyle, Chicago Program Director of The Trust for Public Land, and three experts who will share their research and observations about the connection of health and parks:

Dr. Ming Kuo
Dr. Kuo, Associate Professor at University of Illinois at Champaign, helps cities provide a healthy human habitat for their residents by showing the benefits of urban greening. Her research shows that urban greening reduces aggression and crime in inner cities, reduces ADHD symptoms in communities of all sizes, promotes self-discipline and academic achievement in children, and promotes health across the lifespan by boosting the human immune system. She also defines sustainable landscape practices for all federal lands in the United States and internationally.
 
Pastor Reshorna Fitzpatrick
Reshorna Fitzpatrick is the Associate Pastor of Stone Temple Baptist Church and a faith leader in the North Lawndale Community of Chicago. She also chairs the GROWSS (GReening, Open space, Water, Soil, Sustainability) Committee of the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council. Every day at Stone Temple’s recently installed vegetable garden and public gathering space, Pastor Fitzpatrick observes the power of providing community with attractive and safe outdoor spaces.
 
Dr. Sadiya Muqueeth
Sadiya Muqueeth is the Director of Community Health at the Trust for Public Land where she advances built environment & nature as tools for community health and resilience, with an emphasis on high-quality, inclusive public park spaces. She joined the organization from CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield in Maryland, where she was a Strategist in Community Health. She is a former CDC PHPS Fellow, an RPCV, and earned her BA in Public Health Studies (JHU), MPH in Health Behavior (UNC), and her DrPH (Harvard). 

Special thanks to Exelon for sponsoring this event and The Trust for Public Land’s work to bring engagement and education opportunities to The 606.

To reserve your spot, please register here: https://tpl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vI-OBHBTTja9iRNagTPgnA

We look forward to "seeing" you then!