A group of parents in Miami, FL, who are seeking to ensure the safety of their children as they ride their bikes, is organizing the city's first ever "Kidical Mass" event. The event is set to take place in January 2015. According to a blog post from TransitMiami.com, the idea for Kidical Mass originated back in 2008 in Eugene, OR. The event has since spread to over 12 communities throughout Canada & the US. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness about the importance of respecting all road users, and to teach kids and parents riding and safety skills. The ride will be approximately 1-3 miles and will last about an hour. Children are expected to wear helmets and to ride with a guardian. Kids of all ages are encouraged to attend and to wear their favorite ...
The Children and Nature Network (C&NN) has recently announced a new partnership with the National League of Cities (NLC) which will lead to the expansion of programs and policies aimed at connecting underserved children and youth to parks and greenspace. The three year project called the Cities Promoting Access to Nature Initiative is being made possible through a grant from the JPB Foundation. According to a press release from the C&NN, representatives from the NLC, the YMCA, and the U.S. Department of the Interior signed a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2014, where they pledged to coordinate efforts to reduce the disconnect between children and the outdoors. Building upon this partnership the C&NN will work with the three groups to help advance the latest ...
What do park systems, pediatricians, health insurance and a new mobile app, all have in common? A need to get connected! The team over at Playorities has been working to develop software that would link all of the above in efforts to get more kids outdoors and playing. “We are engaging pediatricians, the Parks and Rec community, and parents and kids to help them stay focused on getting active at least 45 minutes a day," Playorities co-founder Allison Diego said in a blog post from The Post. Diego, a former assistant director with the Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department, strongly believes that part of the solution to ending childhood obesity involves the use of after-school programs which reward kids for being active. She also believes in the power of park ...
Better bike infrastructure may be key for helping communities become more active. However, according to a recent blog post from People For Bikes, getting people to use bike lanes requires more than just building them. "It's relationships first, understanding the culture and motivations first, and then infrastructure can be a solution," said Anthony Taylor, of the Major Taylor Cycling Club of Minnesota, in a People For Bikes blog post. The addition of new bike infrastructure needs to be planned in accordance with activities such as bike repair workshops and opportunities to have access to bikes. Otherwise it may be much more challenging for communities to integrate biking into their everyday activities. "Infrastructure can't be the only thing we think about as we work for ...
In order to provide Georgia's residents with improved opportunities for outdoor recreation, a taskforce including various outdoor recreation providers, crafted a clear and comprehensive plan, called Georgia's Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) 2014-2016. This is Georgia's official policy to guide outdoor recreation, which enables the state to be eligible to receive funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The plan provides an overview of current trends for outdoor activity in Georgia as well as information on the economic impact of outdoor recreation on consumer spending. Many of the states' short-term challenges as well as the emerging situations in regards to outdoor recreation are detailed in the plan, along with measurable and defined ...
Members of the Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP) recently launched an on-line campaign to raise $36,000 in funds towards a protected bike lane in downtown Denver. According to a Fox31 Denver news report, once built, this would be the fourth protected bike lane for downtown Denver, the latest one having just been installed in May 2014. Crowd source funded campaigns like this, which seek investments from corporations and individual sponsors are becoming more and more common. Last year, supporters from Memphis Tennessee succeeded in raising a total of $70,000 to build one of the country's most innovative bike projects. The idea is to get people vested with the success of this project early on, said DDP senior manager Aylene McCallum, in a PeopleForBikes blog. This way ...
Former mayor of San Antonio, Phil Hardberger is working to bring a unique land bridge to one of San Antonio's premier parks, Hardberger Park. Because the park is actually split into two sections and divided by a high traffic street (Wurzbach Parkway), park goers can generally only get from one side to the other by car. Hardberger, as well as supporters from the Hardberger Conservancy would like to change this by building a wildlife land bridge, which would provide a natural path for both humans and wildlife to cross from one side to the other. While land bridges are not too common in the US, they are much more common in Europe. “I believe it will be done. I believe it can be done,” Hardberger said in a news article from the Rivard Report. “It might take five years ...
Middle-school students in the FreeWheels for Kids program are learning what it means to be leaders for healthy change. By bringing bike clubs to various schools and facilities across Kansas City, and its growing Latino population, this nonprofit is helping kids have fun and stay active, while teaching them how to fix bikes, build nature trails, and to voice their desire for a bike friendly community with bike-friendly streets.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: Benjamin Alexander was already an avid bicyclist when he started working at a local community center, where he mentored kids in Kansas City, Kan., which is 28% Latino. “I rode my bike to work every day,” Alexander said. At the community center in spring 2011, he was fixing his bike when a middle-school student asked him how he ...
The city of Brownsville, Texas which sits on the Texas-Mexico border was desperately in need of some changes for better health. Fortunately, a diverse group of leaders banded together to implement a variety of initiatives to reach locals with improved access to healthy foods, culturally relevant opportunities for physical activity and programs to aid those with limited access to health care. In an article from Health Affairs blog, Salud Hero and associate professor at the University of Texas School of Public Health, Belinda Reininger recounts how some of Brownville's leaders got started with bringing about a culture of health to its residents. According to the article, in Brownsville, 48% of children live in poverty, 80% are obese or overweight, 30% of the population has ...
