Project Leads: Gabriella Danziger, Gabrielle Osher, Anna Haigh, Maya Frost, Dr. Melinda Ring, Dr. David Victorson (Northwestern University)

Brief Project Description, including Feasibility and Anticipated Impact:

This pilot funding supports the development of a course for all helping professionals, including teachers, counselors, therapists, and health care workers who wish to help our students, clients, patients, and communities successfully address the Climate Crisis. The course would inspire and prepare participants to include the most important ecobiopsychosocialspiritual issues of our global climate crisis in their daily professional work

No additional collaborators are anticipated.The anticipated budget will be at about $20,000.

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This pilot funding supports an educational needs assessment and development of an intensive, experiential Mediterranean diet-focused culinary medicine course in Italy for U.S. healthcare professionals and residents in training. The course would provide CME’s and seeks to inspire and prepare participants to assist their patients with dietary advice, and to even take a step towards their own personal self-care.

In 2024, the University of Vermont (UVM) and our Osher Center launched a Planetary Health initiative, grounded in the understanding that human health and civilization depend on the flourishing and wise stewardship of natural systems.  This proposed program would utilize existing medical center and university campus green spaces and leverage existing partnerships e.g.