CDC Foundation Youth Health Action Corps Project

Over the summer and 2023-2024 school year, students in the Greenhouse Program and Summer Fellows Program collaborated with medical students from the  Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine at Baldwin  Hills Scenic Overlook on a series of summits. These gatherings focused on the shared experience of connecting with the natural world, and included collective art projects, directed discussion. Aiming to tease out themes of stillness and movement in nature and its impact on health and community resilience to climate change, the summits were followed by opportunities to participate in community habitat restoration events at the park. For the students, the experience moved beyond simply visiting the space; it transcended the physical into the symbolic, allowing for deep reflection and application. A publication of student writing and artwork is the culminating product of this year-long grant.

Below, we offer the introduction to the publication, authored by Jonathan Kim and accompanied by original artwork by Haifa Maung, both of whom are current students in the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program.

We thank the CDC Foundation for their funding and support for this project.

Dear Reader,

I’d like to start by posing a question: when was the last time you went on a walk without your phone or headphones? What did you do while on the walk, and how did you feel?

Many of us might not even be able to give a clear answer to the first question. It’s no secret that as a society, we’ve become technologically dependent. Even basic actions — like going on a walk or standing in line to pick up your morning Starbucks order — seem impossible without staring at your phone or blasting music in your ears.

Yet we are not entirely to blame. Society teaches us to always seek “more”; to strive to be better. In this constant pursuit of productivity, taking a walk around the neighborhood while listening to music might seem to some as their only escape. But in that process, we’ve become so individualized. When we’re surrounded by these constant distractions and only “trust what’s on the screen,” we “avoid our intuition… listening, learning, and making our own connections,” as artist Anna Brones says. How do we know we’re even living life if we're constantly consumed by distractions? If we never have a moment to disconnect? 

We’ve failed to value what we have right now; what we have in front of us, and yet continue to ignore. We’ve failed to value each other, and the outdoors. As a society, we need each other. Solving any issue, particularly one as complex as climate change, requires more than just a single mind. And it’s nature that’ll be our biggest tool in addressing climate change.

For one, we can’t solve climate change without understanding that nature is essential for our individual health. This is not a surprise. Many studies find that exposure to the outdoors is essential for mental health and well-being. It is in that walk around the park, as the cool evening breeze sets in, that we learn how to live in the moment — to feel at peace amid the overwhelming life that consumes us. When people have access to green spaces, they are more likely to develop gratitude for their experiences outdoors, and understand the value in protecting nature.

But it is also through nature that we also find a sense of belonging, a realization of where we are and that we live in a world beyond just ourselves. Author Barry Lopez writes that “existential loneliness and a sense that one’s life is inconsequential, both of which are hallmarks of modern civilizations, seem to… derive in part from our abandoning a belief in the therapeutic dimensions of a relationship with place.” Being grounded in our surroundings and feeling a sense of community is inextricably tied to learning how to slow down and appreciate what’s around us. It’s when we do this that we can find gratitude for our experiences in the outdoors, and in the process not only gain awareness of the value of accessibility to green spaces, but ultimately find the encouragement necessary to partake in the broader community effort to tackle climate change.

It is through the mediums of art and writing, and in communicating the value of nature, that we might find our best solution to the problem of building community climate resilience. These two mediums allow us to tell stories and uncover larger truths that may not be immediately recognizable: How do you understand the value of nature and community interaction in addressing climate change, when exposure to green spaces — something that is inextricably tied to health — isn’t equally accessible for all? Art and writing bring to life the idea that experiences in nature are essential for individual and community health, and in the process cultivate climate-resilient communities.

This publication, relying on a mix of art and writing components, brings together a wide range of groups — middle school students, high school students, medical students, and community members — to show what’s possible when we come together. Through the varying components of this publication, including collective art posters, letters, and reflections, we hope to highlight how facilitating community connections to understand the intersection between nature and health is necessary to foster a community equipped to tackle climate change. When we collaborate as a community to discuss these concepts, it’s evident that we can cooperate; that perspectives can shift. When we work together, we can cultivate change to promote health and fight climate change in our communities.

Haifa Maung (2024), Introspective Nature, oil on canvas