New USFS Resources
New Model Website: Prescribe Outside
A new partnership in Philadelphia has produced a break-
through online resource applying research findings
to help families become more healthy and happy by
spending time outside in nature. Prescribe Outside is
Philadelphia's new nature prescription program partner-
ship between Children's Hospital, Awbury Arboretum,
Let's Go Outdoors, and the US Forest Service.
The goal of the program is to provide physicians and
families with tools to improve the health and happiness
of Philadelphia children by helping them locate and use
safe, accessible, and convenient public green space,
and to discover the benefits of time spent in nature.
Perhaps you can replicate this in your community!
Case studies: Biocultural Stewardship in Urban Areas
The Division of Urban Forestry within the City and County
of Honolulu's Department of Parks and Recreation
manages street trees, park trees, botanical gardens,
community gardens, and, since 2019, a community for-
estry program. The Division's vision is to "preserve the
natural environment; protect wildlife habitat; create
educational, social, and recreational opportunities;
and increase the quality of life of Honolulu residents
by preserving and increasing Honolulu's tree canopy."
A new paper in the journal Sustainability describes
how this program and its partners work together
to address contemporary Indigenous steward-
ship in urban areas of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. Specifically,
this paper explores Urban ʻĀina, a practice-based
Native Hawaiian paradigm that shapes how urban
landscapes are engaged as Indigenous spaces.
The practice revitalizes the expression of Indigenous
knowledge, and relies on Indigenous sensibilities
to address and respond to food insecurity, ecolog-
ical degradation, and climate change. Urban ʻĀina
practices operate within cultural kīpuka—biocultural
refugia where kincentric, reciprocal relationships
are honored through the engagement of ancestral
knowledge. The sharing of innovative case studies
from urban Oʻahu brings breath and the healing
power of Indigenous knowledge and ancestral prac-
tices to urban spaces, with the aim of transforming
contemporary conceptions of urban stewardship.
32 CityTREES
