We learned in the Friday, June 6, edition of the Butler Eagle that a long-term study of ways to link the green spaces in Cranberry Township is complete.

The report, which supervisors will consider next month, looked at ways to connect more than 3,000 acres of preserved green space throughout the township.

“The ability to get outside and the ability to connect different neighborhoods is so important to the quality of life in any community,” township manager Dan Santoro said. “So we’re providing those opportunities and figuring out ways that we can make them a reality so that neighbors can walk to the park, to the schools, to the municipal center — those are real tangible benefits from a recreational amenity perspective in the township.”

Santoro is right — having usable green space is important to help stop heat islands caused by concrete and asphalt, and it has real benefits to residents’ physical and mental health.

In a 2022 article, North Carolina State University associate professors Lincoln Larson and Aaron Hipp explained there were benefits beyond those.

“Green land cover also yields economic benefits, and has been linked to lower levels of health care spending and higher levels of financial well-being and security,” the pair wrote. “These benefits have been especially evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, where individuals and communities who had access to parks and green space demonstrated better health outcomes and a heightened ability to cope than those who weren’t able to use or access these areas.”

We look forward to the next steps as Cranberry Township works to expand access to green spaces for its residents.

— JK