The Sierra Club recently published “Roots of Resilience: Veteran Access to Nature Report Card”, a study looking at veteran access to the outdoors and air quality in eight cities, to add an outdoor voice to the heavily studied issues surrounding veteran mental health.
The analysis found that one in five veterans lacks access to nearby nature in the U.S. — such as parks, forests, and green spaces within walking, biking, or busing distance of their neighborhood.
For two decades, the Sierra Club’s Military Outdoors program has conducted research proving that access to the outdoors saves lives.
My existence as a Marine Corps veteran is a testament to that truth. I know transition is tough, and surviving a multitude of transitions over the past several years was never a given – without grace and benevolence from others, I might not be here. Studies cited by the Department of Veterans Affairs determined that “the risk for suicide was nearly three times higher immediately following separation than for active duty service members. The suicide rate remained higher more than six years following seperation.”
A veteran “at-risk” – me
After I left the Marines in February 2019, less than one year after my second deployment, I moved to rural Kentucky to begin another high-stress job – coaching college football. While I was extremely grateful for the opportunity, I certainly wasn’t equipped to navigate civilian life, be present for my family, and navigate a community completely unfamiliar to me. During that first year in Kentucky, I would end up: 1) losing and regaining my position, 2) witnessing the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and 3) watching COVID upend whatever was left of my post-separation plans.
I survived that time by disappearing as often as possible to paddle Kentucky Lake in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area or hike Ft. Donelson National Battlefield. Thankfully, I had the time and resources to drive to those places. In my current position as an advocate for military communities, I’m concerned about the mental health outcomes for military veterans like me without means, awareness, or transportation to access green spaces and build resiliency.
Where I live now in Johns Creek, GA, 25 miles outside of metro Atlanta, I visit Webb Bridge Park 3-5 times per week to run, take my kids to practice, or just think.
That’s not the case for nearly half of the veterans in Atlanta. Sierra Club’s research revealed 44% of veterans in Atlanta do not have access to a green space within 10 minutes of their homes. Furthermore, pollution and the impacts of climate change result in poor air quality. This negatively impacts everyone, but especially communities like military veterans who already suffer from higher incidences of poor health as a result of exposure to toxins.
Every veteran deserves to return home to a community where the outdoors are accessible to them, where they can breathe freely, and where local government prioritizes increasing public land accessibility. Everyone deserves to enjoy the positive health outcomes and joy that come with being outside. This is especially true for low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, where deprivation of access to the outdoors is most concentrated.
We can solve this
The successful, aggressive, multidisciplinary, and community-driven approach to addressing the veteran homelessness crisis is a model for how the U.S. can stop harm, build communication, and increase resiliency by fostering connections in the outdoors within the veteran community.
Ask yourself: What does it look like when we replace predatory car dealerships, same-day loan centers, and strip clubs with parks, bike lanes, and community centers? Why does it matter that veterans in northwest Las Vegas live near an abundance of green spaces, while the military population living near Nellis Air Force Base doesn’t?
Cities across the U.S. must begin to recognize the positive physical and mental health outcomes of ensuring military communities have access to green spaces near their bases, as well as safe, reliable public transit options that make travel to surrounding state and national parks economical for young families.
Thankfully, solutions are available: Local and state governments must prioritize funding for parks and public transit, the federal government must fully fund the agencies that connect veterans to nature, and leaders at every level of government must address poor air quality that disproportionately impacts military communities.
Next time you visit a local park, take a minute to reflect on how it came into existence and what your community would look like without it.
In 2006, Webb Bridge Park received a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund – a program that directs revenue from offshore gas leases to a diverse array of local preservation and conservation projects, but that is at risk of deep cuts by the federal government.
Twenty years later, Webb Bridge Park continues to serve as a place for me to find clarity, build connections with my community, and for my kids to play outside safely.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to defend these programs that improve communities, with a deep understanding that creating spaces for veterans to build mental, physical, and emotional resiliency saves lives.
Postindustrial is proud to partner with the Sierra Club to provide perspectives on stories that affect the outdoors and those who enjoy them in our community.
