Adapted from Larimer County Natural Resources press release
In late January, Larimer County Department of Natural Resources (LCDNR) announced $19,700 in grants to support six community and neighborhood projects that help connect people to the land as a part of its Small Grants for Community Partnering Program. One of those recipients was Colorado State University’s Collective for Nature Immersion Science and Practice (cNISP), which aims to increase the capacity of nature-based programming to support happier, healthier, and more sustainable communities. The grant amount of $3,450 will aid in a partnership project with Larimer County Extension involving community outreach and supporting the Northern Colorado Nature and Health Network.
The cNISP leadership team consists of co-directors Sarah Walker and Sara LoTemplio, assistant professors in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources at CSU, along with co-director Jill Zarestky from the School of Education.
“Having funding like this available from Larimer County, with a diverse and broad idea of what it means ‘to connect people to nature’, supports important collaborations,” Walker said. “It facilitates opportunities to work on both environmental stewardship and community health and well-being These dollars are going to be instrumental in helping us ensure our work has a local impact!”
In addition to program evaluation support and scientific research, cNISP also convenes the Northern Colorado (NH-NOCO) chapter of the Nature and Health Alliance, joining sister groups in Utah and Washington. This is intended to be a space to foster community and collaboration for those interested in nature and human health. On May 15th, cNISP project manager Sharde Johnson will present the results of a recent study that examined the effect of 20 minutes of physical and virtual reality nature exposure on cognition, stress, and mood. Afterward, there will be a facilitated discussion about nature and aging. To learn more about these events, please visit: https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/cnisp/nature-and-health-northern-colorado-nh-noco/
Since 1998, LCDNR through the Small Grants for Community Partnering initiative has awarded $415,120 from Help Preserve Open Spaces sales tax dollars to 238 community and neighborhood projects.
For more information about cNISP, visit https://sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu/cnisp/.
