Here are 6 reasons why access to public land and parks is vital to everyone's physical and mental health.

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Friday, September 2, 2016

#1 – Access to parks is another form of healthcare.

When we think of parks, we think of places for people to recreate and connect with nature and their history, but they also provide places for people to have fun, and find mental, physical, and spiritual health, and social wellbeing.

#2 - Parks Encourage Physical Activity.

Access to parks are a great way to enliven activities that sustain vigorous, heart healthy exercise and this can take place in nearby neighborhood parks every day.

#3 – Parks Advance Health Equity.

We know that there are racial disparities in rates of activity and childhood obesity, particularly in urban areas. Parks with trails and greenway attractions afford activities such as walking and cycling, and those connections allow people to move back and forth between activities. People with access to parks are more active, including children, and adolescents are less prone to being overweight.

#4 – Parks Help Kids Flourish.

When kids play in natural spaces they develop higher order cognitive skills that complement classroom learning. They develop problem solving skills—like trying to figure out how to make it all the way across the monkey bars! Or collaboration and teamwork, like negotiating the rules of a game with other kids.

#5 – Parks are a Powerful Prescription to Combat Chronic Disease.

There are many studies looking at health benefits just by virtue of spending time in green space. There’s good evidence that sitting or eating outdoors, even just touching a tree, has a measurable impact on your psychological health.

#6 – We Need Parks to Survive

Lets think about parks holistically—these green spaces are a necessary part of our culture and humanity—free space to play, to gather or to simply be by yourself. We have a need to connect with nature, just as we have a need for water. They feed our souls.