Green Spaces

Our speaker in class this week was there to discuss the health of communities in BC. Many of the communities in BC have aspects to them that are not healthy and are in need of someone to point them in the right direction. I liked the example that Jodi used about helping groups start community gardens. I have always thought it was a creative way to turn an old parking lot full of asphalt into a green space. To have a space that everyone can enjoy and where people can grow their own veggies when they may live in an apartment and have no access to a backyard. It also provides a place to get green therapy and relief from the ever expanding asphalt land that surrounds us. BC Healthy Communities at first seemed kind of a fluffy concept when I first heard of it, but after the talk in class, I do feel it is necessary for there to be these types of resources available. It is a step in the right direction when sustainable concepts are incorporated into any part of a community.

The use of green spaces not only helps a community build on its community involvement but it has also been proven that they improve mental health as well. I feel this is important because whenever I go camping I always feel a sense of relief and inner peace that I just do not feel living in downtown Victoria in an apartment. I always think that I should be going camping and hiking more often since it seems to calm my inner self down but I am constantly running out of time and fail to get out there. My full-time schedule at school does not help and I know I would be out there more often if I didn’t have such a hectic schedule.