Visitors to Savannah’s Lake Mayer Park have a new place to give and take resources promoting better health and quality of life.
“Healthy Hub is a place to go for resources that promote better health and quality of life for all. You can take or add items like books, pamphlets, canned food, and other health resources to share with the community,” said Paula Kreissler, executive director of Healthy Savannah. “It’s a little library with a healthy twist.”
“Like ‘little libraries’ locally and around the country, the Healthy Hub will meet needs exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic,” Hoskins said. “And I’m excited about featuring the work of artists with Savannah connections that should attract attention.”
“We’re putting the first Healthy Hub at Lake Mayer and hope to have two more locations in other Savannah area parks or along the Truman Linear Park Trail, which is nearing completion,” said Armand Turner, Physical Activity program manager. “We hope those who visit will take items they need or leave healthy items that others might need.”
Healthy Savannah commissioned SCAD alum Sydnee Robertson, M.F.A., dramatic writing, 2020; B.F.A., visual effects, 2017; to provide artwork for the project. The artwork on each Healthy Hub will rotate seasonally to feature other local artists’ interpretation of what a healthy Savannah looks like.
The second Hub should soon be coming to Daffin Park, followed by a third sponsored by Center Parc Credit Union. That one will live in their downtown community garden as a welcome addition of inclusivity celebrating the collective joys of team work and growing where you’re planted.
The project that became Healthy Hub was the collective brainchild of nine SCAD students – Chaitanya Ahuja, Lara Isaacson, Hanjun Lin, Xichen Liu, Julia Moore, Shruti Narkar, Sarah Prifitera and Fen Zhu – who developed it during their 2020 Sustainable Practices in Design class. Their professor, Scott Boylston, continued working after the class ended to fine-tune the design.
“The SCAD design for sustainability program focuses on preparing students to pioneer organizational change, technological and material innovation, and citizen advocacy,” said Boylston. Collaborating with Healthy Savannah provided the students a real-world opportunity to put those skills to use. Our students are incredibly committed to understanding the health and wellness challenges that residents of Savannah are facing in their daily lives. Their creative efforts focused on designing a concrete way to amplify the self-sufficiency and self-determination of the community as a whole. SCAD ultimately created a whimsical and easily accessible portal for our partner Healthy Savannah to enhance their outreach and education efforts.”
