facilities while drawing on the availability, knowledge, and aspirations of university personnel. This approach gives the program a relatively consistent cohort of student vol- unteers who can begin as early as their first semester. These students then develop skills that enable them to become more involved and take on specialized roles during their time in college. This model also helps to connect college students with individuals of dierent demo- graphics (e.g., age, socioeconomic status)
and individuals with long-term or temporary disabilities. This awareness is increasingly important with the emphasis in the modern workplace on accessibility, equity, inclu- sion, and diversity. Students benefit from the supervised development of skills and poten- tial for project management, internship cred- its, premed patient contact hours, volunteer hours, general wellness, and postgraduation opportunities. General wellness here refers to the physical, mental, and social health ben- efits largely associated with therapeutic hor-
ticulture but also to volunteering as a whole. As part of this program, these benefits are being explored through research to further delineate program benefits and understand student perceptions of how the program ben- efited them in and after college. Corresponding Author: Lee Newman, State University of New York (SUNY), College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 For- estry Drive, Gateway 117 Jahn, Syracuse, NY 13210. Email: lanewman@esf.edu.
References
Beukeboom, C.J., Langeveld, D., & Tanja-Dijkstra, K. (2012). Stress- reducing eects of real and artificial nature in a hospital waiting room. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine , 18 (4), 329–333. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2011.0488 Handy, F., Cnaan, R.A., Hustinx, L., Kang, C., Brudney, J.L., Haski- Leventhal, D., Holmes, K., Meijs, L.C.P.M., Pessi, A.B., Ranade, B., Yamauchi, N., & Zrinscak, S. (2010). A cross-cultural examina- tion of student volunteering: It is all about résumé building? Non- profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly , 39 (3), 498–523. https://doi. org/10.1177/0899764009344353 Kaplan, S., & Berman, M.G. (2010). Directed attention as a com- mon resource for executive functioning and self-regulation. Perspectives on Psychological Science , 5 (1), 43–57. https://doi. org/10.1177/1745691609356784 Kropp, J.J., & Wolfe, B.D. (2018). College students’ perceptions on eects of volunteering with adults with developmental disabili- ties. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement , 22 (3), 93–118. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1193368.pdf Morrow-Howell, N., Hong, S., & Tang, F. (2009). Who benefits from volunteering? Variations in perceived benefits. The Gerontologist , 49 (1), 91–102. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnp007
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Environmental public health professionals are on the front lines of wildfire response and recovery. We understand that even with plenty of all-hazard planning, the reality of an environmental health response to a wildfire can be daunting. These reasons are why we have created the Wildfire Response Guide for Environmental Public Health Professionals. The guide is for environmental public health professionals responding to a wildfire as part of an immediate response or recovery process. It provides information needed in the event of a wildfire within a jurisdiction, with potential considerations and roles for environmental public health professionals. Learn more at www.neha.org/epr-wildfire-resources.
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January/February 2024 • Journal of Environmental Health
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