Northern Westchester Hospital, Westchester Land Trust Co-Host Family Wellness Hike

From Northern Westchester Hospital:

Northern Westchester Hospital (NWH) and the Westchester Land Trust (WLT) recently formed a partnership to promote the beneficial connection between human wellness and access to nature. On Sunday, April 10, more than 30 people participated in a free Family Wellness Hike co-hosted by NWH and WLT. During the two-hour hike at the Westchester Wilderness Walk and Zofnass Family Preserve (Pound Ridge), children and adults learned about the merits of diet and exercise for both physical and mental well-being and gained a deeper understanding of the relationship between environmental health and human health.

Co-led by WLT’s Director of Stewardship, Tate Bushell and NWH’s Director of Community Health Education & Outreach, Maria Simonetti, the event was the first collaboration between a health provider and a conservation organization in Westchester, and both organizations are proud to promote the beneficial connection between human wellness and access to nature in the community. Paul Zofnass, founder and namesake of the 150-acre preserve, was on hand to welcome program attendees.

The NWH/WLT partnership was spearheaded by community volunteers Gretchen Menzies and Amy Ferguson. Menzies is the owner of The Reading Room and Little Joes Books in Katonah and a member of the NWH Foundation Board of Directors. Ferguson, a resident of Mount Kisco, is a member of the WLT Board of Directors.

On Wednesday, May 11, a guided meditation will be offered at WLT’s nine-acre Pine Croft Meadow Preserve, located off Rte. 35 on Mead St. in Lewisboro, from 10 a.m. to noon. WLT’s Betty Sue Hanson, a Reiki Master and Earth Walk facilitator, will be joined by Marcela Denzer, a physical therapist with NWH. Two sections of this program will be offered: the first to graduates of NWH’s rehabilitation center who are incorporating holistic therapies into their post-surgical care and the second to community members. Program attendees will reap the healing benefits - changes in mind and body - that happen to those who spend time in nature. The rain date is Wednesday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Interested individuals must contact Northern Westchester Hospital’s Whitney Wasserman via wwasserman@nwhc.net as space is limited.