Nature Benefits Public Health and Wellness

The winter 2023 edition of our quarterly newsletter, the River Reporter, features a cover story about the importance of nature in developing public health and wellness policies, which has taken center stage at Friends and is at the core of the work of the Greater Chicago Watershed Alliance (originally established as the Chicago-Calumet River Watershed Council).

“In the past, resiliency, flooding, pollution, and other environmental stressors were deemed less important than potential economic benefits of developments, but an expanded cost-benefit analysis is needed that recognizes the importance of environmental and public health considerations,” said Friends’ Planning Director Adam Flickinger. “Public health studies prove that investing in nature is well worth the investment.”

The River Reporter covers all the latest news of Friends’ policy and planning initiatives, education and outreach programs, and on-the-ground habitat projects. Past edition of the River Reporter are also available on our website. To receive the River Reporter by mail update your membership here.