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Healthy Westford Committee
Mission
To support the community members of Westford in improving their personal health and safety and that of their households, public spaces, and ecosystems.
Purpose
The Healthy Community Committee works with a combination of town departments, boards and committees to investigate ways to promote Westford as a healthy community through policies, programs, and infrastructure planning.
Committee Partners
Organizations that have been identified as potential partners to the committee:
The Healthy Westford Committee is working to help members of the Westford community to participate in healthy activities, such as walking. Our Westford Walks initiative is a visionary strategic plan to develop and improve our walkways. The Core Westford Walkway is an initiative to develop a walkway that will extend the entire length of Westford – from the northern to the southern border. See the links below for additional information.
Even as these plans are being implemented, Westford already has numerous trails and sidewalks that Westford community can use – as shown on the town GIS map. Just click on the link and follow the directions below to see the town’s sidewalks and trails.
An Introduction to Westford Walks
Westford GIS Map Use “Pedestrian” layer to see sidewalks and “OpenStreetMap” base map to see trails
Healthy Eating :
MedlinePlus: https://medlineplus.gov/vegetariandiet.html
- Has links to sources such as the National Institute of Health
- Clinical trials for both vegans and vegetarians
- Journal articles for risks of eating meats and cardiology problems associated with meat eaters
USDA National Agriculture Library: https://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/vegetarian-nutrition
- Links to “MyPlate” tips for vegetarians
- Links to MedlinePlus, USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and promotion, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetic, Mayo Foundation, Vegetarian Resource Group
- There are also some links on this to places outside the US such as the UK
Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines
- Show that a sustainable diet is a plant based diet
- These guidelines were used to create the current dietary guidelines for the US
Research articles (peer reviewed scientific papers)
- Plant-Based Diets Are Associated With a Lower Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All-Cause Mortality in a General Population of Middle-Aged Adults: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/JAHA.119.012865
- Effectiveness of plant-based diets in promoting well-being in the management of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review: https://drc.bmj.com/content/bmjdrc/6/1/e000534.full.pdf
- A Low-Fat Vegan Diet Improves Glycemic Control and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in a Randomized Clinical Trial in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes: https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/29/8/1777.full-text.pdf
Healthy eating recipe websites (not scientifically approved, websites that I use for recipes)
- Plant based:
- Clean ingredient focused (no carcinogens, added sugars, etc.)
The Healthy Yard A lush green lawn is beautiful to behold but beware the toxic chemicals and fertilizers that end up going into our environment and bodies. It makes sense to be careful and consider alternatives for healthy yards. Use organic methods for lawn and yard maintenance. Try alternatives to just grass. We have compiled a list of articles to peruse. These web sites are for informational purposes only – we are not promoting or endorsing any commercial or advocacy content. We hope you find these links helpful. Enjoy the growing season in good health.
10 Low Maintenance Lawn Alternatives https://richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-04/documents/greenscaping_-_the_easy_way_to_a_greener_healthier_yard.pdf https://elemental.green/10-low-maintenance-lawn-alternatives/ https://learn.eartheasy.com/guides/natural-lawn-care/
Growing a Wildflower Garden http://www.garden.org/howtos/index.php?q=show&id=2310 http://www.www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/grow-a-wild-flowermeadow-zmaz05amzsel.aspx
Caution: Impact of Fertilizers with Suggestions https://www.mass.gov/guides/lawns-and-landscapes-in-your-watershed https://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/15-ways-reduce-nutrients-lakes-and-streams http://www.uvm.edu/~vlrs/doc/lawnfert.htm https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-agriculture https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fertilizer-runoff-overwhelms-streams/
Caution: Impact of Pesticides with Suggestions https://www.epa.gov/pesticides https://ephtracking.cdc.gov/showPesticidesHealth http://www.water.usgs.gov/edu/pesticidesgw.html http://npic.orst.edu/health/pets.html
Opt-out for Pesticides in Westford: https://www.mass.gov/forms/request-for-exclusionfrom-wide-area-application-ofpesticides?fbclid=IwAR1mszRQY8m13lwRIfcxte8aci1EItTqD0mx743EaT4g3vlHjUel7sKQ2mM
A lawn can look completely dead and then come back to life as soon as it starts to rain again.
Summer 2016
Fall 2016
A lawn can be beautiful with dandelions, clover and other flowering plants. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Members
Name | Position | |
---|---|---|
William Harman | harmanwh@verizon.net | Chair |
Katherine Russell | krussell@westfordma.gov | Council on Aging Representative |
Rae Dick | rdick@westfordma.gov | Health Department Representative |
Don Galya | wave900@msn.com | Pedestrian Safety Committee Representative |
Sean Kelly | skelly@westfordk12.us | School Committee Representative |