The CLIMB Chronicles Round 2
Please help us to share our story and to inspire others to CLIMB in their neighborhood and spread the joy!
Leader
Angela Allard
Location
Highbridge Park - 165th Street New York, NY 10032
About the project
We hope you enjoy our story and are inspired to CLIMB in your neighborhood!
An Excerpt from The CLIMB Chronicles:
A Midwife, Community, and Belly Dancers
By Mari Pascoe
I am a midwife and was working at the Rangel Clinic on 135th Street for many years. I got involved with Hike the Heights because I'm very interested in having more options for exercise for pregnant patients. For several years, Andrea Matos and I were Hike Leaders from Jackie Robinson Park, and lead exercises for pregnant women (as well as for Girl Scouts and whoever else wanted to exercise) before we joined the larger march.
One year, one of my patients came in early labor, and was happy to have something to take her mind off her mild contractions. Our group walked to Highbridge Park and every once in a while I checked in on her, to be sure she was eating and drinking fluids. I suggested she head home several times, but she wanted to wait for the entertainment that was coming later: the Prenatal Belly Dance Class! A couple of hours later, the Belly Dancers came on stage with flowing scarves and colorful skirts and the crowd roared! Soon after, my patient went home, took a shower, and then went to the hospital and delivered her baby.
The sense of community was palpable.
The Steps
- Send the book document to get put into format for on-demand publishing
- Publish book
- Print Copies
- Distribute Copies to Partners and Neighbors at CLIMB meeting and community events
Why we‘re doing it
The CLIMB Project is a Northern Manhattan community-based initiative founded on the belief that safe parks and neighborhoods are essential to community health, and that all communities, regardless of socioeconomic background, are entitled to access to safe parks and neighborhoods. The purpose of the project is to combat the problems of gang violence, drugs, obesity, sedentary lifestyles and displacement by engaging residents and organizations in creating a sense of neighborhood and park ownership.
At the core of the CLIMB project is the creation of a multi-use urban hiking trail to link the escarpment parks of northern Manhattan – Highbridge Park, Jackie Robinson Park, St. Nicholas Park, Morningside Park and northern Central Park. In addition to physically stringing these parks together, we propose conceptually linking organizations, institutions and residents in the vicinity of the parks to create and/or strengthen programming and services.
We hope that The CLIMB Chronicles book, which outlines and reflects on our collaborative efforts over the past 13 years, will both provide a framework for promoting community wellness and inspire others to CLIMB their neighborhood!
Additionally, we hope to spread the word on our flagship event, Hike the Heights. Hike the Heights is an annual community hike and celebration in northern Manhattan parks that promotes the use of the Giraffe Path, an urban trail that connects the Cloisters to Central Park. This family-friendly event invites New Yorkers to explore and celebrate the area’s natural treasures by combining physical activity, art, and fun!