Women’s Health and the Environment A Workshop on Challenges and Opportunities in Western New York
Jan 15, 2016
Women’s Health and the EnvironmentA Workshop on Challenges and
Opportunities in Western New York
Women’s Health and the EnvironmentA Workshop on Challenges and
Opportunities in Western New York
Katherine Street Peninsula, 1924 (Buffalo River)
Grain Elevators, 2012 (Buffalo River)
Broderick Park, 2012 (Upper Niagara River)
Water Pollution in WNY
Contaminants biomagnify as they move up the food chain.
Contaminants come from many sources and can build up in the bodies of fish.
Water Pollution = Polluted Fish
When we eat polluted fish, the chemicals in their bodies can pass to our bodies and build up over time.
Eating a lot of polluted fish may be bad for our health.
Fish caught from some rivers and lakes in Western New York are polluted with harmful chemicals.
What we are doing to address this issue:
- Identify who utilizes our waterways for fishing and eating fish
- Education and on-the-ground outreach, and community events
- Identify methods to help subsistence communities decrease their exposure to chemicals
- Creation of multilingual outreach materials targeted to different communities and sectors of the public
- Developing partnerships with the government and community groups to help with dissemination and distribution of information
Burmese Community Health EventOctober 2011
Many of the favorite fish of the Burmese community and other subsistence communities are fish which tend to build up a lot of contamination in their bodies.
Family Fishing Day Event
Broderick Park
Family Fishing Day Event Broderick Park
Public Health Outreach Materials
Public Health Outreach Materials
Doula Training GuideThe Risks and Benefits of Eating Locally Caught Fish and How
to Make Fish Meals Safer to Eat
Jericho Road Ministries
Risk Reduction Communications
Challenges / Opportunities Ahead
- Clean up the water!
- Expand reach of education and outreach efforts
- Advocate for water cleanup- Empower and build agency among
subsistence communities to do the same
- Food alternatives / Food security
- Celebrate our waterways and cultural traditions centered on the importance of healthy waterways and clean fish