One Health

March 3, 2022, Co-Sponsored by the Doylestown Township Environmental Environmental Advisory Council

Richard A. McCoy, President and Owner of McCoy Horticultural Services, presents an introduction to a new form of land care. In this introduction, he provides a 30,000-foot view of a multi-layered systems approach to land care where all living things are considered and viewed as one connected system. Over the last several years, he has gained an appreciation of how to utilize organic/ecological and sustainable landscape design and maintenance strategies, battery-powered equipment, and green infrastructure. He has learned how to apply these strategies in his business and home, and presents as a way to show the public how to apply these strategies in their homes and businesses. McCoy's business runs in New Jersey, so he also discussed what to look for when seeking a sustainable practitioner in your area. See related resources below. 

November 17, 2021

Dr. Elena Bennett, Professor and CRC (Tier 1) Chair in Sustainability Science at McGill University, explains how ecosystem services can be an effective organizing principle for meeting the needs of a growing global population while maintaining resilient provisions of other services across the landscape. Thinking in terms of ecosystem services compels us to consider the interactions and relationships among services across the landscape. She presents a novel framework to quantitatively link landscape planning, biodiversity, the provision of multiple ecosystem services, and human well-being, which she and her team tested in an agricultural landscape in southern Quebec. She is currently exploring it's applicability to a pan-Canadian network. See related resources below. 

October 21, 2021

Shannon Fredebaugh-Siller of the Heritage Conservancy discusses the importance of protecting land and providing safe, natural spaces. The opportunities for those open spaces and natural areas in our communities to have positive impacts on human wellbeing are limitless. Research highlighting the benefits of spending time outdoors for all ages is growing. A special emphasis on the benefits of connecting children with nature includes important results, such as increased focus, reduced stress, and more engaged learning. Even views of nature can yield positive results for overall health. Shannon shares a case study about the transformation of a superfund site and a pilot project that Heritage Conservancy has launched that looks to maximize on the benefits of these outdoor spaces for school students. See related resources below.

April 10, 2019, Co-Sponsored by the Heritage Conservancy

Jeffrey L. Marshall, president of Heritage Conservancy in Doylestown, PA, presented unique ways in which land use and building architecture can help shape communities and our impacts on the planet for future generations. Marshall has been involved in land conservation and historic preservation for 40 years and was selected for a Lifetime Achievement Award as the "2015 Ambassador of Bucks County" and the "Bucks County Preservation Legacy Award." He has authored six books on Bucks County architecture and history. See related resources below. 

February 21, 2019

The Land Beneath Our Feet is a captivating film that depicts the conflicts between Liberian communities and corporations, governments, and one another. The film follows a young Liberian man who uncovers explosive footage of the 1926 corporate land grab in West Africa. It sets in motion decades of broken promises, wars, and food and health crises. What can this ghostly footage offer in the debate over radical land reforms? See related resources below. 

Panelists that discussed the film at this event:

Dr. Vera Tolbert, Liberian Association of Pennsylvania Senior Advisor
Rev. Dr. John K. Jallah, Founder and Executive Director of the Agape African Senior Services Center in Philadelphia
Portia Kamara, Founder and Executive Director of the Multicultural Community Family Services in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania
Rev. Dr. Moses Suah-Dennis, Pastor of Faith Immanuel Lutheran Church in East Lansdowne Pennsylvania