Spring Break
Walking for wellness: Site merges history, healthy lifestyles
DALLAS DUNCAN
Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: News
Three months into the new year is not the time to give up on a resolution to become healthier or more active. The University's Cooperative Extension Services is about to begin its third session of Walk Georgia, an interactive online program aimed to promote healthy lifestyles.
Walk Georgia is a free, eight-week program that "addresses physical inactivity," said Maria Bowie, marketing professional with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' Office of Communications, in a phone interview Tuesday. The program began Sunday, but registration is still running through March 9.
To join, participants must create an account on the Walk Georgia Web site, either individually or as a four-person team. When they log in, they select the type of activity they have been doing that day. Bowie said there were 40 different choices, not just walking. Participants then enter the number of minutes they did that activity, and the "minutes of activity will be converted to 'miles walked,'" said Judy Hibbs, senior public service associate for Clarke County Extension, in an e-mail interview Monday. For each number of miles walked, they then can choose a virtual path to walk through Georgia, and for every county they "walk" through, they learn different facts about the area, Hibbs said.
These facts include famous people or historical spots, or the area's geography and agriculture.
In addition to learning about Georgia with the online program, Cooperative Extension publishes a newsletter for each week of Walk Georgia. The newsletter features a different Georgia commodity, a recipe for using that product, and a variety of health tips, Bowie said. "We hear again and again, 'Oh, I learned so much about the state'" from past participants, she added.
Walk Georgia "helps [the college] get our message out about what [agriculture] is and its impact on the state," said Jay Scott Angle, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, in an interview Tuesday. "Part of the goal of CAES and [the College of Family and Consumer Sciences] is good health. Primarily to this college, that is good food and the environment. FACS, is [focused on] good nutrition and exercise. The whole thing is very central to the mission of both colleges," he said.
Walk Georgia is a free, eight-week program that "addresses physical inactivity," said Maria Bowie, marketing professional with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' Office of Communications, in a phone interview Tuesday. The program began Sunday, but registration is still running through March 9.
To join, participants must create an account on the Walk Georgia Web site, either individually or as a four-person team. When they log in, they select the type of activity they have been doing that day. Bowie said there were 40 different choices, not just walking. Participants then enter the number of minutes they did that activity, and the "minutes of activity will be converted to 'miles walked,'" said Judy Hibbs, senior public service associate for Clarke County Extension, in an e-mail interview Monday. For each number of miles walked, they then can choose a virtual path to walk through Georgia, and for every county they "walk" through, they learn different facts about the area, Hibbs said.
These facts include famous people or historical spots, or the area's geography and agriculture.
In addition to learning about Georgia with the online program, Cooperative Extension publishes a newsletter for each week of Walk Georgia. The newsletter features a different Georgia commodity, a recipe for using that product, and a variety of health tips, Bowie said. "We hear again and again, 'Oh, I learned so much about the state'" from past participants, she added.
Walk Georgia "helps [the college] get our message out about what [agriculture] is and its impact on the state," said Jay Scott Angle, Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, in an interview Tuesday. "Part of the goal of CAES and [the College of Family and Consumer Sciences] is good health. Primarily to this college, that is good food and the environment. FACS, is [focused on] good nutrition and exercise. The whole thing is very central to the mission of both colleges," he said.
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