Celebration of urban parks and community health at Menomonee Valley Urban Ecology Center

The public and media are invited to a celebration of urban parks and community health to be held at the Menomonee Valley Branch of the Urban Ecology Center on June 7, from 12:00 pm-3:30pm. The celebration, entitled “More than a Pretty Place,” will offer education on the healthful aspects of community parks.

The event kicks off at noon with a light lunch, followed by a keynote address by Cheryl Charles, Ph.D. Dr. Charles is the co-founder of Children and Nature Network. Nature hikes will follow the keynote, and a second keynote address will be offered at 2:30.

“Urban parks are more than pretty places; they are vital community assets. Research has shown that green space can improve mood, health, and general well-being,” said Kirsten Beyer, Ph.D., M.P.H., M.S., assistant professor of epidemiology in the Institute for Health and Society at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), which is one of the four community health research partners involved in the celebration.

Additional partners include the Urban Ecology Center, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Urban Initiatives and Research, and Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc.

The program is supported by the Healthier Wisconsin Partnership Program (HWPP), which is a program of the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin endowment created by funds generated from Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin’s conversion to a for-profit corporation. HWPP awards funding to partnerships between academic and community health and non-profit organizations for urban, rural and statewide health improvement projects in Wisconsin.

The Menomonee Valley Urban Ecology Center is located at 3700 W. Pierce St. in Milwaukee.

To register for the parks celebration, visit http://urbanecologycenter.org/index.php?option=com_serviceu&view=event&id=3582&Itemid=191. Registration is required by June 1.