Working on Wellness Environments
Working on Wellness Environments (WOW-E) is a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension multidisciplinary community development program

Agent Spotlight: Ashley Gastineau

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Photo of Webb County Family and Consumer Health Agent, Ashley Gastineau

Ashley Gastineau has been with Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program for three years. She is a Family & Community Health (FCH) agent for Webb County. From the time Ashley was in college, she knew whatever career path she chose, she wanted to help others and after taking a Nutrition course as an elective, she knew she wanted to provide health education. Ashley began her career with Prairie View Extension as a Better Living for Texans (BLT) Program Assistant. Through her initial work on BLT, she saw the need and benefit of serving the underserved community. Because of that early experience, she knew she wanted to continue that throughout her career.

Ashley’s favorite part of her job is that her work allows her to reach multiple generations. She teaches and provides programs on various topics such as nutrition, mental health, finances, parenting skills, and food safety. This flexibility allows her to reach people of all age levels and help them improve their quality of life.

For Ashley’s Policy, System, and Environment efforts, she says marketing and networking are really important. The Webb County Cooperative Extension Coalition she works with is one crucial component of connecting the right people to programs and initiatives throughout Webb County. The coalition members are key as well as their partners outside of the coalition. Many organizations in Webb County are already working to make Policy, System, and Environment changes. By networking and working together Webb County can make these changes.

While the coalition cannot meet in person during COVID-19, the support of the coalition is still there. Ashley says the coalition has grown even stronger during COVID-19. Meeting online allows them to meet more often than when the meetings are held in person. Everyone has to adjust their service offerings during COVID-19. The coalition members have been able to help each other make this adjustment and share ideas and information.

Ashley is excited for Webb County to continue working with the WoW-E program. She is proud of the initiative coalition members and youth groups she works with have shown to lead WoW-E initiatives throughout the community. One possibility she is particularly excited about is the prospect of making the community more walkable. While many in the community would like to walk more, there are areas where Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design efforts could make the area safer and, therefore, more walkable.

Ashley recently received a Texas Extension Specialist Association award for being an outstanding FCH/Community Development agent. When talking to her, the passion and love she has for her job is clear in her words and how she speaks. Ashley is a key contributor to the WoW-E team. We look forward to continuing to work with her and the coalition on Policy, System, and Environment efforts in Webb County.

WoW-E COVID-19 Update

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Protect yourself and your community from COVID-19

By: Kelsey Coats

In light of COVID-19, WoW-E will be highlighting relevant COVID-19 resources this week.

Texas A&M Agrilife Extension is continually giving COVID-19 updates. There are resources on physical and mental health as well as how to best protect yourself financially. Click here for Texas A&M Agrilife Extension’s information and resources.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is continually giving national updates on COVID-19. They let you know how to protect yourself and what to do if you think you are sick. They have information on symptoms, older adults and medical conditions, and how to prepare your family. They also have community resources on travel, school and childcare, businesses and employers, and community and faith-based organizations. For national COVID-19 updates and resources, click here to learn more.

The WoW-E Team is not traveling until further notice. We are continuing to provide technical assistance remotely. Please reach out to us with any questions or concerns. Check our blog and social media for more COVID-19 resources.

New Infographic for Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity

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By: Leah Shafer Glaser

The CDC has developed Leading Health Indicators (LHI) as part of Healthy People 2020, communicating high-priority health issues and actions that can be taken to address them. Their most recent infographic addresses Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. It’s a snapshot of progress toward targets — and a place to see where there’s still work to be done. Let’s take a look (full infographic at the bottom of this post).

The first part of the infographic shows the relationship between educational levels and the proportion of adults over 25 who met the guidelines for aerobic activity and for muscle strengthening activity in 2018.

Second, the infographic breaks down rates of adult obesity by race/ethnicity from 2013 to 2016 across the United States. Among Asians, the rate was lowest, at 12.5%. White, not Hispanic, was 37.1%, Hispanic was 44.9%, and Black, not Hispanic, was 48%.

The CDC has Healthy People Targets as part of Healthy People 2020, and this part of the infographic looks at physical activity, where the target was met in 2018. During that year, 24% (age adjusted) of adults 18 years and over met the current federal physical activity guidelines and muscle strengthening activity.

The next part looks at adult obesity, where the goal was not met and a 21% decrease is needed. In 2013-2016 in adults aged 20 years and over (age adjusted), the obesity rate was 38.6%.

Among children and adolescents aged 2-19 years, in 2013-2019, the obesity rate was 17.8% An 18.5% decrease is needed to meet the Healthy People Target in this category.

Finally, the infographic looks at daily vegetable intake for persons aged 2 and over, where a 52.6% increase is needed to meet the Healthy People Target. The mean daily intake was 0.76 cup equivalents of total vegetables per 1,000 calories (age adjusted).

About the CDC Leading Health Indicators

The Leading Health Indicators are a subset of 26 Healthy People 2020 objectives that communicate high-priority health issues. These indicators can help assess the health of the Nation, encourage collaboration across sectors, and motivate action to improve the health of the U.S. population at the national, state, and community levels.

Nutrition, Physical Activity, and ObesityInfographic for Healthy People 2020

Hudspeth County November Workshops

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By: Kelsey CoatsSierra Blanca Park

The Sierra Blanca Community Coalition has begun planning for their Community PSE Start Up Projects. Last week the coalition invited the WoW-E team to do a Walkability and Park Workshop and to do site visits for their nutrition projects.

On Monday, November 4, the Sierra Blanca Community Coalition hosted the Walkability and Park Workshop at Hudspeth County Agrilife Extension. Representatives from Hudspeth County, Ranch on the Rock, and Hudspeth County Agrilife Extension and key coalition members were in attendance. The WoW-E team facilitated the workshop and went on the walking audit conducted by coalition members. The walking audit covered Sierra Blanca Public Park and examined the area immediately surrounding the park.  After the walking audit the coalition discussed what could be improved to make the area more walkable. They identified areas where crosswalks would be beneficial. The coalition would like to improve walkability to the park as well as other everyday destinations. The coalition also discussed creating and naming walking routes in and around the park.

Sketching proposed trails       Coalition discussing crosswalks around park

The coalition’s next steps are to engage the community about walkability. The coalition plans to pilot test proposed crosswalks with pop ups in late winter early spring. In the meantime, the coalition plans to activate the park to engage community members to find out when and where people walk and what would get them walking more.

On Tuesday, November 5, coalition members gave the WoW-E team of two sites where they are building greenhouses. The first site use to have a fully functioning greenhouse that utilized aquaponics for growing fresh produce. The greenhouse has been unusable for the past year and a half due to damage by feral hogs. The WoW-E project inspired community members to start rebuilding the greenhouse. The second site visited is another area community members are going to build a greenhouse. Upon completion of the greenhouses, the coalition has requested business planning for a farmer’s market. The coalition has connections with local convenience stores who would like to sell more fresh produce. The coalition and convenience are discussing working with the WoW-E team on healthy food displays.

Greenhouse construction site       Greenhouse damaged aquaponics system

The WoW-E team enjoyed learning more about Sierra Blanca’s park and hearing community members ideas to make it more walkable as well as the coalition’s ideas for where and how to sell the produce grown at the greenhouses. The team looks forward to watching these projects continue to grow.

Starr County Workshops

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By: Kelsey Coats

On Tuesday, October 22, the Move Rio Forward working group held a Walkability Workshop and Walking Audit at the Kelsey Bass Museum in downtown Rio Grande City facilitated by the Agrilife WoW-E Team. This focused on two of their Route to Destination (R2D) Community PSE Start Ups in Starr County.

A group discussing a barrier on the route during the walking audit.

A group discussing a barrier on the route during the walking audit.

Move Rio Forward aims to make downtown Rio Grande City more walkable for pedestrians, whether those are locals or visitors. The idea is that people will park in one place and walk around to do their errands instead of driving their car to each place separately. The group also envisions people walking around before or after enjoying a meal downtown.

During the Walking Audit workshop attendees walked the downtown area noting what works and what could be improved for supportive walking environments. In attendance were members of the F.J. Scott Study Club and Woman’s Club RGC, Rio Grande City planners, an Economic Development Corporation representative, a Rio Grande City Public Works representative, members of the Rio Grande City Garden Club, and Starr County Agrilife Extension. The group aims to pilot test pop up crosswalks and signage in early 2020. They also hope that making the downtown area more walkable will revitalize the area and make the community healthier.

Picture showing the group who attended the workshop in their safety vests ready to conduct the walking audit.

The Walkability Workshop Group ready to conduct the walking audit in their safety vests.

On Wednesday, October 23, the Rio Grande City Librarian brainstormed active play and walkability ideas with the Agrilife WoW-E Team. The Agrilife WoW-E Team received a tour of the historic building the library is housed in and learned about services and programs offered by the library. The Rio Grande City Librarian is looking to incorporate active play and walkability into existing library programs and is looking for ways to encourage children and their families to be more active at the library. Because the library is an everyday place, they also seek to make walking to and around the library easier. They aim to incorporate pop-up play into an event before the holidays this year.

The picture shows the Rio Grande City Library exterior.

Rio Grande City Library

The Starr County Health Coalition met to learn about and discuss other initiatives in the county and how to promote them as well as to get an update on the WoW-E project. The Agrilife WoW-E Team is excited to continue working with these groups on their Community PSE Start Ups in Starr County and looks forward to returning soon.

Increasing walkability is of growing importance to communities around the nation, with several notable benefits.

  • Health: Multiple studies point to decreased risk for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease for residents of a walkable neighborhood than those in sprawling neighborhoods.
  • Finances: Walking is low cost and people often do not have to spend money on gas.
  • Happiness: Traffic and congestion can cause frustration.
  • Community: Walkable areas increase interaction with friends and neighbors. It also can help small businesses thrive.

 

Find out more about the Agrilife WoW-E initiatives on our Facebook page, Working on Wellness Environments- Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. To inquire about our walking audits and walkability workshops click here.