Join Us for Biophilia Pittsburgh: A Farm for Everyone

Biophilia: A Farm for Everyone: Nature, Community, and Connection at West View Urban Farm

IMPORTANT NOTE: This week's biophilia meeting will be in the Center for Sustainable Landscapes classroom. You can access this location by turning into the Phipps employee parking lot by the Christopher Columbus statue on Schenley Drive Extension.

Join us Thurs., Nov. 6, to learn about all about how nature can produce therapeutic properties! After more than 200 years when Casper Reel’s cabin and farm were established in what would become the North Hills, it has provided a second chance to let people connect with nature. What started out as a charitable urban garden, West View Urban Farm has left itself open to the needs of its evolving community, including families where one or more members has ADHD. In this meeting, we will discuss the Farm’s reconnection to the past and the therapeutic benefits of natural spaces.

Meetings are free to attend; however, advance registration is required via email

Meet the Speaker(s):

Jodi McLaughlin, MLIS, MPH

Jodi McLaughlin, MLIS, MPH, is the Executive Director of West View Urban Farm. She and her family founded the West View Urban Farm in 2022 and with the help of a dedicated advisory board and “gardenteers” have been providing produce to the community through food pantries and mutual aid libraries ever since. Gardening is one of Jodi’s favorite ways to connect with nature, and it is deeply fulfilling to help others find their unique connection with the earth. Jodi recently joined the Allegheny Health Department as the Health Librarian Fellow with support from the Grace and Harold Sewell Memorial Fund Learning Partnership. She is also a Pittsburgh Food Policy Council Board Member.

Lori L. Cangilla, Ph.D.

Lori L. Cangilla, Ph.D., is a Certified Forest Therapy Guide and licensed psychologist with a private practice in the North Hills of Pittsburgh. She mentors sensitive, idealistic, gifted, and neurodivergent people who want to make a creative, sustainable impact on the world. Lori has a special interest in supporting people who might otherwise have limited access to wild spaces, including urban and suburban residents and people living with mental health issues and/or chronic illness. West View Urban Farm is one of the special venues that supports her mission. Lori offers both in-person and virtual forest therapy, ecopsychology, mindful photography, and journaling workshops based on her Singularly Sensitive® approach, which is featured in her book, Wander and Delve.

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