Public Health Action Plan

Module 5 Lesson 10

LESSON 10: ACTION PLAN OVERVIEW:

The purpose of this lesson is to revisit the driving question introduced in lesson 1 of this module: How can I make my neighborhood a healthier place to live? Students synthesize what they have learned across the module - that healthy neighborhoods have green space, robust social networks, effective waste delivery and waste removal, clean air and healthy foods. They use this general information to analyze a proposed exercise path. Students work in groups to address the action plan topic for this module: resources, both social and material. For this action plan, there is a specific focus on discussing resources in terms of determining what you need, identifying places to obtain the resources and finally acquiring the resources. After developing their action plans, students present them to the class and receive feedback from their peers.

SUB-QUESTION:
How can I make my neighborhood a healthier place to live?

WAYS OF KNOWING URBAN ECOLOGY:

Understand Talk Do Act
Students will Recognize solutions for public health issues (human impact, ecosystem state and structure, forces and drivers). No specific goals connected with talking urban ecology in this lesson. No specific goals connected with doing urban ecology in this lesson. Develop a list of necessary social and material resources in order to successfully complete an action plan.

SAFETY GUIDELINES
No specific safety issues are associated with this lesson.

PREPARATION:
Time: 1 45 minute class periods Materials: Activity 10.1 Computer with PowerPoint and projector or printouts of PowerPoint presentation Activity 10.2 Student sheet with diagram of proposed path (one for each student) 1

Public Health Action Plan

Module 5 Lesson 10

Activity 10.3 Student sheet with diagram of proposed path and action plan (one for each student) Reflections: Student journals (optional)

INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE
Activity 10.1: Analyze a Proposal for a Healthy Neighborhood 1. Present the PowerPoint presentation to your class. You may use the notes in the PowerPoint slides. 2. The presentation can be summarized in the following table: Resource Category Resource Type Social People you can rely on Organizations that can help Material Tools and Supplies you can use Investments you can use to build your plan Activity 10.2: Analyze a Proposal for a Healthy Neighborhood 1. Remind students about some of the ideas you have been studying that lead to healthy neighborhoods, such as: o Green space o Robust social networks o Effective waste management o Clean air o Healthy foods 2. Read the introductory paragraph together or have your students read individually. 3. Have your students look at the diagram of the proposed path. 4. Ask your students how the ideas that lead to healthy neighborhoods are represented in the plan. Some potential responses include: o Added usable green space with trees and a native wildflower garden o The path is designed for exercise o The benches and the community garden promote social networks o The trees and extra plants promote clean air (by sequestering carbon) o The community garden promotes healthy foods 5. Now let your students know that they will be working on figuring out what resources are necessary to make the plan happen. Activity 10.3: Create Public Health Action Plan 1. Have your students turn to the action plan process on the third page of the handouts. 2. Read through the sections of the action plan process that have already been filled out (Science Knowledge, Investigate Site and Envision Possibilities, and Identify Stakeholders) as a class or individually. 3. Have students work in groups, pairs, or individually to write up a section on identifying the resources that they can seek out for help. Remind them of the two 2

Public Health Action Plan

Module 5 Lesson 10

categories of resources, social (people and organizations) and material (tools, supplies, and investments), and remind them to include resources from both categories in their write-ups. 4. After students have completed identifying resources, have students share some ideas and discuss them. Encourage students to share when they think that something is a good idea or something they hadnt considered. 5. If time remains, in class or for homework, you may ask your students to complete the rest of the action plan. Concluding the Lesson 1. Remind students that the driving question for the entire year is How do we develop healthy and sustainable cities? Either as a class discussion or in their journals as a reflection have students consider - How is their public health action plan similar and different from the other potential action plans they have developed throughout the year? Would their action plan influence any of the other aspects of healthy and sustainable cities that they have discussed throughout the year? Students responses will vary. There is not a correct answer here, but the hope is that students will make connections across the modules. They might also find that some actions, like planting trees, could have a positive effect across multiple topics such public health and carbon fixation to reduce global climate change.

Public Health Action Plan Name: _________________________________ Date: _________

Module 5 Lesson 10 Class/Period:________

LESSON 10.2: PUBLIC HEALTH ACTION PLAN Directions You and your classmates in the Environmental Sciences class at Central High School have convinced your school and your city to create an exercise path around Central High. You have demonstrated to the city and the school district the health problems in the city and the benefits the exercise path would bring to the community. The exercise path will have six stations for walkers and joggers that are fun and focus on one particular kind of exercise. In addition to the path, you and your classmates have convinced the school and the city to plant new trees, install benches, set up a native wildflower garden, and create a community food garden. Half of the vegetables and fruits grown in the garden will go to the growers themselves. Of the other half, some will be served in the school cafeteria on special Local Food Days and the rest will be donated to shelters and kitchens around the city. The path itself will be made of permeable materials and the exercise stations will be surfaced with shredded recycled tires. Your job is to come up with a list of resources, both material and social, that are necessary to make the action plan happen.

Public Health Action Plan PROPOSED PLAN

Module 5 Lesson 10

Public Health Action Plan

Module 5 Lesson 10

Science Knowledge: What do I need to know?

Currently, there is a high incidence of diabetes and other related health problems in our city when compared to national statistics. There are very few green spaces in our city that are accessible to people without cars, and none that are dedicated to exercise and health. It has been shown in numerous studies that accessible green space can lead to improved community and individual health in urban areas in a number of areas including reducing the incidence of diabetes, strengthening social networks, and reducing crime.

Investigate Site and Envision Possibilities: What is the site like now? How can the site be in the future?
The school is in the central part of the city easily accessible by public transit. High school students come here every day to attend school. The school grounds around the school and the athletic field are mostly grass, which must be watered and maintained, providing less carbon benefits than trees. There are also large areas of weeds on school grounds surrounding the grassy area that are not used for any particular purpose, are ugly, and serve as a hiding area for unlawful behavior. We propose that a path be constructed around the school with specific exercise stations set around the length of the path. We also propose that trees be planted around the path, and that one area be set aside as a community garden and another area to be set aside as a native wildflower garden. See the full proposal on the preceding two pages for more details and a potential map of the new school grounds.

Identify Stakeholders: Who is involved?

There are stakeholders on a number of different levels: students, school administration and staff, community members, and city officials. We propose that students maintain some responsibility for the upkeep of the new exercise path by establishing a Health Education Club, which will help to maintain to path and to educate the community about the benefits of exercise, diet, and being outside. We will work with the school administration and staff to work out a plan of how to maintain the new path and to set up the Club. Community members have pledged their full support after a recent public hearing on the issue, as many community members would like to improve their own health and the health of the community at large. City officials are concerned about the costs, both initially and long-term, but are generally in favor of the project.

Public Health Action Plan Identify Resources: What do you need?

Module 5 Lesson 10

Public Health Action Plan Construct Actionable Steps: How are you going to do it?

Module 5 Lesson 10

Implement the Plan: Do it.