Liza Ramrayka

What if your doctor prescribed you a walk in the park instead of a pill?

This solutions journalism story is about a program that gets patients back to health, by getting them back to nature.

It was part of KALW's award-winning What Works series, which highlights health and social justice solutions across the Bay Area. 

When California’s public high schools shuttered in March 2020, no-one could have imagined that some students would still be at home learning remotely more than a year later. 

But for many high schoolers, that’s been the reality. Zoom rooms replaced classrooms; school dances got cancelled; sports activities were shut down. While some high schools have begun to reopen, others might not be in class until the fall. 

I reported on how this lost year of lockdown has affected student mental health in the Bay Area. 

Food pantries are a lifeline for many in San Francisco and Marin but hundreds had to close during lockdown due to social distancing rules.

As part of KALW's @WORK series, I spoke to the program manager behind SF-Marin Food Bank's outdoor pop-up pantries to find out about the challenges of running a COVID food pantry and how things have changed post-pandemic.