Biophilia Network
Biophilia: A Farm for Everyone: Nature, Community, and Connection at West View Urban Farm
Note: This week’s biophilia meeting will take place in the Center for Sustainable Landscapes classroom.
Join us on Thurs., Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. to learn about all about how nature can produce theraputic 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.
Not able to join us in person? We will also be streaming the event via Zoom! Register here.
Meetings are free to attend; however, advance registration is required via email. Although this speaking event can be viewed at home, participants are invited to join others in-person to view the presentation at Phipps’ Center for Sustainable Landscapes classroom. Click the button below to reserve your spot today.
Meet the Speakers:
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.
Information for virtual attendees: The Zoom meeting will begin promptly at 6 p.m. (EST), 3 p.m. (PST). After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Designed as a series of posts on the Phipps blog and a hashtag for use on Twitter and Instagram, #bioPGH is a new social call-to-action for people throughout the region to more closely examine the beauty and importance of the nature around them.
Inspired by the Biophilic Cities initiative, the Biophilia: Pittsburgh Directory seeks to present an overview of the biophilic organizations, events, activities and projects in Pittsburgh, to aid the public in enhancing their connections to nature and discovering collaborative opportunities.
In this archive, you may access presentation materials and video recordings from previous installments of our monthly Biophilia: Pittsburgh meeting series. Additions will be made often, so visit regularly for the latest materials to deepen your Biophilia: Pittsburgh experience.
Biophilia: Pittsburgh meets monthly at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens where, over delicious small-plates and light refreshments, an expert guest speaker discusses ways of connecting people to nature and showing how these connections can improve our lives in the interest of sharing ideas and identifying opportunities.
Our Goals
• To welcome and inspire others with the concept and principles of biophilia
• To foster collaboration and learning between professionals from a wide variety of disciplines
• To communicate biophilic principles in action-oriented ways to a wider audience for exponential and regional impact
What Is Biophilia?
The term “biophilia,” which literally means “love of life,” was coined by social psychologist Erich Fromm and popularized by biologist E.O. Wilson, who defined it as “the innately emotional affiliation of human beings to other living organisms.”
The implications of biophilia extend across a vast array of disciplines including design and engineering, nutrition, psychology, public health, education, biology and the humanities. Biophilia is expressed all over the world every day, through complex collaborations such as the design and construction of buildings and landscapes; and intimate, personal encounters including nature hikes and home gardening.
Photo © Paul g. Wiegman, Phipps staff
