Managing an entire city’s parks involves a lot more than just mowing the lawn. The parks and recreations department maintains a city’s public spaces, organizes community events, and much more, and all requiring an eclectic range of knowledge and skills. And there’s also paper work, of course. To learn a little about the work beyond…
As much as I love my winter city, when spring rolls around life brightens up. The onslaught of studies from Friday’s Earth Day imply that our feel-good response to the fresh lime green of spring does much more than pump endorphins. How we green our cities may be a life and death issue. People with…
In 1879, a physician in Elmira, New York, had a dream. He wanted to build a place where his patients could exercise. So, Dr. Edwin Eldridge purchased a tract of undeveloped wilderness land and turned it into a garden of great beauty — a world-class, Victorian-style park named Eldridge Park. He believed this park could…
Happy birthday, National Park Service! Help celebrate the centennial with these stunning books, ranging from detailed travel guides to moving memoirs. National Parks of America by Lonely Planet This comprehensive guide to all 59 of America’s national parks features gorgeous photographs and detailed suggestions about where to stay, what to do, and what flora and fauna…
The Minnesota cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have the best park systems in the United States, according to The Trust for Public Land’s 2016 ranking. The national nonprofit, which advocates for preserving green space for Americans, evaluated the 100 most populous U.S. cities on the metrics of park access (how many residents live within…
Shinrin-yoku is the name given to the Japanese art of “forest bathing,” contemplative walks through the woods that reconnect the individual with nature and can lead to decreased stress, natural mood elevation and even a stronger immune system. This means of mobile meditation has been recognized by the Japanese government since 1982 and has been…
It’s an overused quote, but when John Muir said, “The mountains are calling, and I must go,” it’s sometimes best applied when L.A. is having a heatwave. The beaches are flocked, energy use soars, and hiking the local trails can turn into a dangerous affair. Luckily, there are alternatives within reach. Those mountaintops we see…
David Sabgir, MD, first started encouraging his patients to walk when he was a medical student in the mid-’90s. But by 2004, it was clear to the cardiologist that his longstanding advice wasn’t working. “[It] took me 9 years to realize it was ineffective for me to just tell or even beg them [to walk],”…
The National Park Service is celebrating a hundred years of protecting and preserving wild spaces. Here are the best ways to enjoy the parks. On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson established the National Park Service. Up to that point, the United States’ 35 national parks, monuments, and reservations had been managed by the Department…
A trailblazing approach to mental health by Forestry Commission Scotland and local health boards is seeing service users go on activity-filled woodland walks The Scottish are keen woodland-goers, with 78% visiting woods for recreation compared with 56% across the UK, according to the Public Opinion of…