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

Active People Healthy Nation Walkability Virtual Academy 

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Attention all WAI Alumni Network, WAI Faculty, NACDD Partners and Friends—

It is with much pleasure and excitement that I announce that the NACDD/CDC Active People Healthy Nation Walkability Virtual Academy (WVA) is now live! Please click here to access this wonderful RFA opportunity and all supporting documents. Any WAI Alumni team who participated in a previous NACDD WAI event is not eligible to apply, but we are hoping that any WAI Alumni, Faculty Member, Partner, and Friend will share this announcement to locations that would benefit from this project. NACDD/CDC will select up to eight local/regional interdisciplinary teams and will provide funding in the amount of $5,000 each for WVA participation and initiating action plan implementation strategies. This is an easy application process. All applications are due via email to me (Karma Edwards at kedwards_ic@chronicdisease.org) by 11:59 pm ET on Friday, January 13, 2023. An FAQ document will be updated at very regular intervals. Please direct any questions to me by email (kedwards_ic@chronicdisease.org) or by phone (904-608-8315).

NACDD is proud of its Walkability Action Institute (WAI) project, where a total of 77 local/regional/state interdisciplinary teams from 32 states received training from some of the nation’s top experts to develop Team Action Plans and pursue macro-level policy, system, and environmental (PSE) changes yielding improved walkability, movability, and community and transportation design that will increase active travel or use of transit to everyday locations. Upon successful completion of the course, participant teams then join a national network of other WAI Alumni teams in an ongoing peer community of practice group. With the pandemic, NACDD expanded upon the WAI in-person model by converting the WAI to a WVA and now we are proud to offer three types of WAI events (in person, virtual, and hybrid).

Walkability Action Institute Program

StoryWalk™

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by Anna Stehling & Norma Fultz

A mother and son read a page of the book “Dragons Love Tacos” together at the Miriam Vale StoryWalk™ kick-off.
StoryWalk™ is a site activation activity which encourages children and families to walk together while they read a children’s book. As part of a StoryWalk™, a children’s book is taken apart, and the pages are each secured to a sign that is placed along a designated walking path in the community, oftentimes in a park. A StoryWalk™ is a great option for anyone that is interested in activating a space in their community to promote physical activity.
A group of ballet dancers and other community members visit a StoryWalk™ event at Miriam Vale Park.
A StoryWalk™ program can be created with simple, affordable materials, and it can provide an opportunity and an environment to develop healthy daily habits. According to the CDC Active People Healthy Nation initiative, regular physical activity can help reduce the risk of at least 20 chronic diseases and conditions.
The Rio Grande City StoryWalk™ committee meeting to finalize their strategic plan for future StoryWalk™ efforts.
The process of creating a StoryWalk™ program includes but is not limited to: establishing a goal, identifying potential partners, obtaining permission and support from affected groups, creating a site plan, choosing books and display types, ordering materials, preparing and assembling the materials, installing the displays, and planning the feedback process. 
StoryWalk™ project partners celebrate at the kick-off of the StoryWalk™ pilot-test at Miriam Vale Park.
A local family visits the StoryWalk™ together at Miriam Vale Park.
A spread of pages from the first book to be showcased in Rio Grande City’s StoryWalk™ pilot-test program at Miriam Vale Park.
A local family enjoys the StoryWalk™ pilot-test even at night!
A group of sisters racing to read the next page of the book at the StoryWalk™ pilot-test at Miriam Vale Park.
A group of Girl Scouts visit the StoryWalk™ pilot-test kick-off in Rio Grande City at Miriam Vale Park.
A group of girls reading a book featured in the StoryWalk™ pilot-test at Basilio Villarreal Park in Rio Grande City.
Siblings read a page of the “Dragons Love Tacos” book featured at the StoryWalk pilot-test kick-off event at Miriam Vale Park.

Have a Happy (and Healthy) Halloween!

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By Dr. Jenna Anding

If you have been in the grocery store lately you probably have noticed that shelves are stocked with candy corn, sweet and sour treats, and bite-sized chocolate bars. This can only mean one thing – Halloween is coming!

According to the National Confectioners Association, 93% of Americans plan to celebrate this spooky day. Many organizations are getting into the Halloween spirit as well by having trunk or treat parties. Some offices encourage employees to wear their favorite Halloween costumes during the workday or take time to enjoy candy and other treats. This can help build camaraderie and get to know other coworkers you don’t always have a chance to work with.

Halloween may come once a year, but candy and other unhealthy foods are often available all year long says Jenna Anding, a registered dietitian and Extension specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. In fact, Statista research estimates that we eat, on average, nearly 12 pounds of candy, chocolate, ice cream and other sweets every year. That’s a lot of added sugar and calories that some of us just don’t need!

Photo from: https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/how-to-have-a-healthy-halloween

If your organization or place of business wants to celebrate Halloween but in a healthy way, all is not lost says Anding. If the goal of the celebration is to blow off some steam or give people an opportunity to get to know one another outside of “work” consider these ideas:

  • Have a door, cubicle, or desk decorating contest.
  • Let employees wear their favorite costume contest and host a Halloween parade (make sure employees stay within the dress code policy if there is one)
  • Plan a Halloween-inspired potluck lunch. Include healthy options for those who are trying to stay within their calorie budget!
  • Host a lunch-and-learn pumpkin decorating class. Employees bring their lunch, you bring the pumpkins and tools and carve or paint away; either way allows employees to show their creativity.
  • Play Halloween-inspired music during the lunch hour. “There are lots of great tunes out there,” says Anding. Some of her favorite ones are:
    • Monster Mash (Bobby Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers)
    • Thriller (Michael Jackson)
    • I Put a Spell On You (Annie Lennox)
    • Werewolves of London (Warren Zevon)
    • Ghostbusters (Ray Parker, Jr.)
    • Time Warp (Rocky Horror Picture Show)
    • Somebody’s Watching (Rockwell)
    • I’m in Love with a Monster (5th Harmony, from Hotel Transylvania 2)
    • Superstition (Stevie Wonder)
    • She Wolf (Shakira)
  • Sponsor a clean-up event at a local park or host another type of volunteer activity. Fall weather is a time that outside temperatures start to fall (hopefully!). What a better way to give back to the community by giving employees time during the workday to pick up trash at a local park or volunteer to pack boxes of food at a local pantry.
Photo from: https://seasidesundays.com/healthiest-halloween-treats/

No matter how your office or business chooses to celebrate, be sure to offer options for those employees who are trying to adopt (and keep) a healthy lifestyle. For example, if you have Halloween candy out for people to take, consider offering some healthier options like bags of pretzels, popcorn, or small whole apples.

Happy Halloween from the Working on Wellness Environments Team!

USDA Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge

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The USDA Rural Placemaking Innovation Challenge provides funding for planning support, technical assistance, or training to foster placemaking in rural communities. The USDA defines rural placemaking as a collaborative engagement process that helps leaders from rural communities create quality places where people will want to live, work, play and learn.

There is more information about who should apply, funding details, an application checklist, and more on USDA’s website. Click here to learn more and apply.

To read about previous recipients’ work, click here.

There will be a virtual General Office Hours event on August 3, 2022 with more information and a time to ask questions. Click here to register.

Apply for the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) and Maintenance Action Institute

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AgriLife Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design and Maintenance Action Institute photo collage.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a multidisciplinary approach to create spaces that aim to prevent crime, invite positive use, and make users feel safer.

Up to 65 local practitioners and advocates from Hudspeth, Maverick, Starr, Webb, and Zapata counties will be accepted to participate in the WOW-E CPTED and Maintenance Action Institute. Applicants can apply for travel assistance to the Action Institute through the WOW-E partnership with the Texas Recreation and Park Society (TRAPS).Up to 65 local practitioners and advocates from Hudspeth, Maverick, Starr, Webb, and Zapata counties will be accepted to participate in the WOW-E CPTED and Maintenance Action Institute. Applicants can apply for travel assistance to the Action Institute through the WOW-E partnership with the Texas Recreation and Park Society (TRAPS).  

Who Should Apply:

Park practitioners, public works practitioners, planners, local park and trail groups and advocates, law enforcement professionals, community leaders.  

At the Action Institute:

  • Learn CPTED principles to make safer, more usable public spaces in your community
  • Create a mini-plan for a public space in your community
  • Learn about topics such as: maintenance planning, traffic calming, community engagement, lighting, park site plan reviews, public art & safety and more!

Join us in McAllen, TX at the LaQuinta McAllen Convention Center:

  • Tuesday, August 23, 2022, 10 am – 6 pm
  • Wednesday, August 24, 2022, 9 am – 5 pm
  • Thursday, August 26, 2022, 9 am – 4 pm

*Note: Attendees must attend all three days of the Action Institute, all day.

Click here to apply.