Be the Change with Christine Dimmick

Numerous studies, including those conducted by our own governments show it is not just important, but imperative our children have consistent exposure to nature.The positive effects of nature include improved cognitive functioning, including increased concentration, greater attention capacities, and higher academic performance. Yet millions of city kids have no access to anything more than a cement park, already putting them at a disadvantage.My next guest is out to change that.Manny Almonte is the Co-founder of Camping to Connect, a BIPOC-led experiential mentorship program that uses outdoor recreation and nature immersion to address the diverse issues faced by young men of color in America’s cities. Led by and for people of color, Camping to Connect is elevating the narrative that the outdoors belong to everybody. For more information please visit www.campingtoconnect.com and www.mastermindconnect.com.

This October 22nd will be 10 years since much of NYC was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. With millions of dollars in federal funding, it wasn’t until this past year that NYC started to take action on making downtown neighborhoods more resilient to ever increasing storms. The plans approved and forced on to residents by former Mayor De Blasio, with the support of our city council and current Mayor Adams- reads like a typical political playbook.  How can we make things worse and spend billions of dollars doing so.Today I am joined by Allie Ryan and Tommy Loeb from East River Park Action.  Both Tommy and Allie have lived in the Lower Eastside for years, are lifelong activists with experience in NYC politics. They fought with the city for a true climate resilient plan in their neighborhood,  but unfortunately were unable to stop the city from cutting down 700 mature cherry trees, destroy the amphitheater and leave behind an asbestos problem that still is not remedied. They will give us an inside view on their remarkable battle against the greenwashing that took place in East River Park and how they will continue to fight for transparency. Want to get involved and #bethechange ? Visit www.eastriverparkaction.org

In NYC we are currently facing major green washing resiliency projects that are taking away our public green spaces and old grow vegetation and being replaced with cement mounds and more development. Is it possible to have resiliency and also nature? The answer is a resounding yes. Not only do we need to work with it, we need to partner with it.In this BTC conversation we will hear from Eric "T" Fleisher, an Environmental Restoration expert who believes we need to stop fighting with nature and learn to live in harmony with it – floods and all.Eric is the Co-Principal of F2Environmental Design, a Soil Scientist, an Evironmental Restoration Specialist and a A Loeb Fellow at Harvard University. He is a frequent lecturer on sustainable practices and serves as a consultant for some of the top institutions in the country including Battery Park City where he is the former director of horticulture.http://www.f2environmentaldesign.com