Climate Health Promoters Graduation
On July, we graduated our third cohort of Climate Health Promoters. A training program hosted by LifeLong Medical Center in collaboration with Urban Tilth, with funding from the Transformative Climate Communities grant.
This event was symbolic of the power of investing in community through a holistic approach. The ongoing collaboration between LifeLong Medical Center and Urban Tilth involves an effort to invest in the intersections of environmental health, medicine, and community. The benefits of approaching health this way are apparent through the outcomes of this training program.
As the third cohort of this program, and the second English-speaking cohort, this group had the unique opportunity to be trained by previous graduates of the training program. These facilitators are now a year removed from the program, and came back to support the continuation of learning and community building.
Photo Credits: All photos are Copyrights of Shots From Richmond.
The newest cohort of Climate Health Promoters participated in a 2-month training on topics ranging from “Eating for Resilience” to “Parks & Health” to “Home & Neighborhood Resilience”. After one month of in-classroom training, the participants were divided into various hands-on projects under the Richmond Rising coalition.
On this final training day, where they presented to friends, family, and community members on their group projects, we heard about the impact this cohort has already had on our community. For example, one group was tasked with presenting to local neighborhood councils about all the work being done under the Richmond Rising coalition, contributing to the continuous outreach required to ensure residents are aware of the resources available to them. The Veggie Rx group created and conducted a cooking demonstration, further developing skills that will allow these Climate Health Promoters to promote healthy eating and build community through workshops led by and for the community. Another group supported efforts to clean up and beautify the Richmond Greenway Trail. With seven different groups working on projects around the community, this cohort has already made huge strides in applying the lessons of this training to the real world.
This event displayed the importance of thinking beyond our standard ideas about health and looking deeper into the multifaceted ways our environment, government, medical system, community resources, and food systems all contribute to well-being. The emphasis of this program was not just what foods we feed ourselves, but what it looks like to feed the community with knowledge, resources, and power.
The next Climate Health Promoters training will be conducted in Spanish in November 2025. Stay updated through our Veggie Rx website or email us at veggierx@urbantilth.org with any questions.
