Editor,
In high school, when I was able to have my parents’ car for the day, I would often spend lunch at the Centreville Beach. Even if it was cold or wet or snowy, I could sit quietly and be calmed and energized by the view and the solitude, and return to GBHS renewed.
When I had my daughter, I would bring her to the same beach – to throw rocks, to swim, to rest and enjoy the waterfront.
In my medical education, the importance of publicly accessible green space as a public health requirement came to the fore. A central tenet of health is the ability to be in nature, to exercise, and to enjoy both the green and the blue vistas of our earth. To deprive our populace of such exacerbates both the physical and mental health crises of our time. We need more public parks and beaches rather than fewer.
In recent past, there has been a drive for private interests to control more of what used to be in the public sphere: our shorelines, our green spaces, our trails. Our governments, weakened as they are by tight budgets and many needs, must protect the public right to green spaces – to recreate and enjoy the landscapes that bring us peace, and joy, and health.
Protect Centreville Beach. Public access is paramount.
Sincerely,
Erica Ferguson MD, MSc. (Rural Planning), Kimberley
