President’s Column

March 2005

by Jim Clark

I attended the recent forum sponsored by the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, Community Development Department (Planning) and the State Department of Health Services. The County Health Officer, Ann Lindsay; County Director of Community Development, Kirk Girard; and State Health Officer, Dr. Richard Jackson, and other officials and interested persons were present.

The topic for the evening’s discussions was Planning Healthy Communities. The basic premise was that communities and neighborhoods have evolved to encourage automobile traffic and discourage pedestrian travel, resulting in an epidemic (pandemic, I think) of obesity and related diseases. The facts and statistics presented by Dr. Jackson were, indeed, staggering. Worse, it seems as if we are getting fatter cars (SUV’s) to accommodate our obesity, requiring even more space for roads and parking.

There was much discussion about making our streets and communities pedestrian friendly through planning. Most of the discussion was fairly familiar planning concept material. The role that nature plays in making life enjoyable, however, was missing. When community planning is discussed, we sometimes forget that we live in wildlife habitat, however altered or degraded it might be. So why not include appropriate wildlife, like birds, as assets to our neighborhoods? It’s time that we started including wildlife, rather than merely avoiding negative impact to it, in the planning process. More people will walk more often if it is enjoyable, not just utilitarian and healthy.

As Audubon members, you can help by encouraging wildlife-friendly planning and landscaping in your community. After all, it’s where you live.