By: Joyce Castanza, Public Health Nurse Middlesex-London Health Unit & Kelly Leroux, Good Hearted Living
Every Saturday morning this summer, Londoners have laced up their walking shoes and joined community volunteers with a passion for walking. Anywhere from 25 -70 weekly walkers have foregone yard sales and sleeping in to enjoy the great outdoors on foot. Conditions ranged from paved pathways along the Thames to dirt trails in many natural areas. Whether the trails were muddy or the skies crystal clear, laughter and enthusiasm were abundant among the participants of all ages. As these weekly walks have shown, walking is a healthy activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. In fact, ages of the participants ranged from 17 months to 78 years! An intergenerational activity, indeed.
Weekly walks were initiated by Good Hearted Living, a Middlesex-London program to help promote heart-healthy behaviours. Good Hearted Living is a partnership that promotes awareness of heart health issues and works to reduce the incidence of heart disease. Funding is provided through the provincial Ministry of Health and administered by the Middlesex-London Health Unit. Partners include community agencies, school boards, businesses, interested individuals and many others.
Two thirds of all people in Ontario are not active enough to achieve health benefits, and physical inactivity is one of the major modifiable risk factors for heart disease. Walking is great preventive medicine for both the body and the mind. Benefits include lowered blood pressure, reduction of tension and stress, lowered cholesterol levels, stronger bones, better self-image, increased energy levels, improved sleeping patterns, maintenance of a healthy weight, improved posture and body alignment, as well as an opportunity to socialize with friends. An added benefit is the knowledge that walking is an environmentally sound way to enjoy and reap these benefits. According to the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, walking is the most popular activity in Canada. It's easy to see why. It's fun, easy, inexpensive and accessible to people of all ages, abilities and income levels. Along with avoiding tobacco use and eating healthy foods, walking can be a major contributor to improved heart health.
A supportive infrastructure such as well-maintained paths and trails is the ideal community approach to support healthy active living. In fact, the Canadian Lifestyle and Research nstitute has found that 43% of Canadians strongly agree with this statement. Good Hearted Living’s Weekly Walks support the utilization of these trails, and can help to foster lifelong walking habits. Because each walk is led by volunteers from various community groups, a dynamic community network of support is strengthened. These organizations who have generously and passionately offered their time, expertise and enthusiasm include the Thames Valley Trail Association, London Pacers, White Oaks Community Council, Good Hearted Living and the Middlesex-London Health Unit. Partnerships are what make projects like this so rewarding.
Good Hearted Living also partnered with the City of London in the Spring of 2001 to produce the new City of London walking map, which shows trails and pathways totaling more than 60 kms. This created an exciting opportunity for not only the development of a comprehensive map of walking routes, but also a list of community groups, agencies and clubs to function as part of an active living resource for Londoners. These groups are listed on the map. 60,000 maps have been published, and they have proven to be extremely popular with Londoners who want to get out and enjoy some of the numerous natural areas that the City has to offer. The maps are available at the Middlesex-London Health Unit, City Hall, London Public Libraries, Tourism London Centres and advertising sponsors. The maps include city and neighbourhood paths, as well as trail systems within environmentally sensitive areas such as Warbler Woods, Medway Valley Heritage Forest, Westminster Ponds, and others.
The Weekly Walks were successful because Londoners wanted them, and because community members/partners stepped forward to meet this need. In fact, some of the walkers have expressed an interest in organizing walking groups in their own areas of town. In this way, the benefits of walking will be shared with many more people, and a lifelong habit of enjoying the world on foot may be established.
When groups of people work together with a common vision, goals and passion, the outcome can be nothing other than wildly successful. Hats off to all the volunteers and partners who supported walking this summer in London. Walking is the Activity of a Lifetime.
For further information, call Joyce Castanza at (519) 663-5317 ext. 2278 or Kelly Leroux at (519) 663-5317 ext. 3135.