The Ponca City Chamber of Commerce’s Kindness Campaign held a meeting on Tuesday, June 21 to discuss action items for their July focus on parks and nature. The Chamber is currently in a non-fundraiser, membership year and have chose to make this year’s focus on the different types of kindness one can give.

Research has shown that parks, gardens, urban forests and green spaces have health benefits. According to the CDC ¹ , people who have access to green environments such as parks and trails, tend to walk and be more physically active than those with limited access. Physical activities at parks are shown to reduce stress and improve mental health. Nature settings themselves have also shown to be beneficial to mental health with some benefits including lower stress, improved attention, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders and upticks in empathy and cooperation ² .

Parks also offer environmental benefits by reducing air and water pollution, protect areas from inappropriate development, and mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect. This phenomena attributed to how well surfaces in a given area absorb heat that makes urban areas warmer that rural areas due to heat created by energy from people and vehicles .

Parks and greenways with mature tree canopies can also reduce air temperature by five to ten degrees, which helps to counter the urban heat island effect ³ .

With the Fourth of July holiday on the horizon, many people will be outdoors in Ponca City’s parks and recreational areas. Where people gather, trash and waste can build up and has a host of negative impacts that some don’t even consider.

Litter can increase levels of anxiety and depression, and food left behind can be a food source for rats and other disease-carrying rodents. Littering can also have a negative impact on local economies with resources being spend to clean up litter and unsightly parks can also have an impact on tourism.

Plastics can be subject to photodegradation that causes them to become brittle and break into pieces small enough to be consumed by microorganisms or fish; litter carries all many of germs that can lead to outbreaks of typhoid or cholera should it get into water sources and carried by animals home; and litter can be a breeding ground for rats and other disease carrying rodents and that in turn can attract animals that prey on them such as snakes.

Litter has other environmental issues as well such as fire hazards caused by flammable waste, heavy metals (such as cadmium, arsenic, chromium, mercury, lead, copper, zinc and nickel) contaminate soil affecting plant growth and the health of humans through the food chain.

To this end, the Kindness Campaign committee put together a list of action items that can be used by anyone to showcase kind-ness to parks and nature:

1. Put your own trash in a personal trash bag or take it home to put in your own container. Often times if someone does not see a trash can, they will merely dump their trash wherever they please. The solution is to bring your own trash bag, or place trash in a grocery or shopping bag so that you can then properly dispose of it later.

2. If you see some trash, pick it up. Sometimes trash will be ignored in an area as some view it as “not their problem”, but the reality is that the trash affects far more than just an individual.

3. Recycle when possible. Getting up to date on ways to recycle helps to cut down on non-biodegradable materials ending up in landfills or in the ocean. Often the reason some people don’t recycle is that they are unaware of the process on how to do so. Information to learn about ways to recycle is available at https://how2recycle.info/. The Ponca City Recycling Center is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9 am to 5 pm and accepts cardboard, magazines, car batteries, newsprint, telephone books, glass, office paper, tin, steel and aluminum cans, computer paper, and metals.

4. Creating environments that are appealing to pollinators has a multitude of benefits. Pollinators such as bees and butterflies help flowers reproduce and are vitally important to agriculture.

5. Walking the nature trails and enjoying nature. There are several parks interspersed throughout Ponca City. Going out and utilizing these spaces can help foster appreciation for what they have to offer.

6. Have an education day at the Cann Gardens. The Cann Memorial Garden located on 1500 E. Grand Ave. is used annually for the Herb Festival, and contains a variety of plants throughout its approximate 10 acres.

7. Save energy. Another way to help the environment is to make sure that electronics and devices not in use are turned off, this also includes turning off the lights in rooms that are not in use.

8. Bird baths and bird feeders are excellent ways of helping some of the local wildlife. Feeders ensure that parents spend less time away from nests foraging, while bird baths providing drinking water and a place for birds to cool off during warm summer days.

“Be Kind” t-shirts can be found at Village Screen Print located at 318 E. Grand Ave. for $15 per shirt. Stickers with the Kindness Campaign logo are available at the Chamber of Commerce Office.

Two hashtags have been shared around social media pertaining to the Kindness Campaign including #PoncaCityBeKind and #PoncaCitySpreadKindness

1. https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/activepeoplehealthynation/everyone-can-be-involved/parks-recreation-and-green-spaces.html

2. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature

3. http://usahomepagewww.eastshorepark.org/HealthBenefitsReport_FINAL_010307.pdf