Simsbury Land Trust: Nature and Health: Back to the Future

Join the Simsbury Land Trust and our fellow Farmington Valley Land Trusts for a talk about Nature and Health! Recent evidence quantifies many direct health benefits of nature, yet this idea is not new. Links between nature and health, especially brain health, have been recognized for centuries, and the benefits of public parks and wild areas in the United States were heralded long ago by Frederick Law Olmsted, born in Hartford in 1822, as well as others of his era. Olmsted is best known for designing Central Park, but he had a strong influence in Connecticut and many other places. Now, the scientific recognition of multiple interconnected global crises underscores the critical role of protected areas and natural ecosystems for accumulating carbon and preventing extinction. This presentation will highlight new data that underscores power of trees and forests as 'multisolvers” – systemic solutions that protect the climate while improving our health and well-being.

Susan A. Masino, PhD is the Vernon D. Roosa Professor of Applied Science at Trinity College.  Recently Dr. Masino served as the co-chair of the Science and Technology Working Group of the Governor’s Council on Climate Change in Connecticut and is currently on the Open Space Commission in Simsbury, CT.

Co-sponsored by the Simsbury Public Library and the Simsbury Land Trust.