• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Texas A&M Forest Service
  • Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Research
  • Texas A&M College of Agrculture and Life Sciences
Working on Wellness Environments
Working on Wellness Environments (WOW-E) is a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension multidisciplinary community development program
  • Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • What is WOW-E
    • Meet the Team
    • Our PSE Approach
    • The HOP Program
    • WOW-E Counties
  • Stories
    • Blog
    • Videos
    • WOW-E Photo Walks
    • Success Stories
  • Resources
  • Projects
  • Technical Assistance
    • WOW-E Technical Assistance Process
    • WOW-E FY 2026 Technical Assistance Cycle
  • Become a WOW-E Community

Celebrate Your Local Parks and Places!

September 20, 2023 by Kailey

By: Valeria Jauregui

How many active parks and places do you think there are in Rio Grande City? Did you know there are at least 17? Did you know the city of Roma has at least three? Parks, schools, plazas and paths can provide most people with a place to be active and spend time with family and friends.

Many people do not know about all the parks in their communities—even in smaller communities. According to Jamie Rae Walker, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension associate professor and urban and municipal park specialist, research says lack of knowledge is one of the barriers people report for why they don’t visit their local parks and active places.

Roma, Rio Grande City, and the city of Eagle Pass are working with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Working on Wellness Environments (WOW-E) program to tie into the CDC’s Active People Healthy Nation (APHN) campaign. This campaign aims to get 27 million more Americans physically active by 2027. The goal of these local efforts is to make residents “in the know” about parks and active places so more can visit and use them to be active, socialize, and enjoy time outdoors.

The campaign is in full swing; here’s what community members have said about it:

“[The billboard] is going to make people think, ‘I want to go find [the parks!]”

“It’s a great source of information and inspiration because people will want to go and find [the parks] and use them.”

Residents of Roma, Rio Grande City, and Eagle Pass can visit tx.ag/parks to learn about parks and other active places like plazas, walking trails, bike lanes, and schools with after-school amenities. The website also includes information about StoryWalk™, a program that allows children and families to get active together while they read a book that is posted page-by-page along a designated route.

Watch your community for more resources, like billboards, maps, posters, and cues around to help you learn about local active infrastructure. For more information, visit tx.ag/parks.

Note: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Working on Wellness Environments (WOW-E) program is funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) High Obesity Program.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Active People Healthy Nation, Agrilife Extension, parks, wowe

Moverte es Importante para tu Salud

February 13, 2023 by Kailey

Cuidar de ti misma es una de las cosas más importantes que puedes hacer para ti y tu familia. Una forma de cuidar de ti misma es haciendo actividad física regular. Hacer más actividad física puede ayudarte a dormir mejor, reducir el estrés y reducir tu riesgo de enfermedades del corazón, ataque cerebral, algunos cánceres y diabetes tipo 2.

Nos estamos uniendo a otras organizaciones locales y nacionales para apoyar a la campaña Moving Matters, parte de la iniciativa Gente Activa, Nación Sana™ (Active People, Healthy Nation™), para ayudar a promover los beneficios de la actividad física, motivar a las personas a encontrar pequeñas formas de incluir movimiento en su día y recodarle a las personas que la actividad física puede ser divertida.

Visita https://www.cdc.gov/movernos para aprender más sobre la campaña y explorer maneras para moverte.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Active People Healthy Nation, Moving Matters, PSE, wowe

Moving Matters for Your Health

February 10, 2023 by Kailey

Taking care of yourself is one of the most important things you can do for you and your family. One way to do that is to get regular physical activity. Increased physical activity can improve your sleep, reduce stress, and lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and type 2 diabetes.

We are joining other local and national organizations in supporting the Moving Matters campaign, part of the Active People, Healthy Nation℠ initiative, to help promote the benefits of physical activity, encourage people to find small ways to incorporate movement into their day, and remind people that physical activity can be fun.

Visit cdc.gov/MovingMatters to learn more about the campaign and explore ways to get moving!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Active People Healthy Nation, Moving Matters, PSE, wowe

Where do you go to be healthy? Share your photos with us!

January 24, 2023 by Kailey

Out for a walk, biking to the store, or playing basketball with friends? Send us your photo, description of your active environment, and why you like to go there to celebrate your community on the move!  

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension WOW-E’s Active People Healthy Nation Initiative is kicking off in mid- February and we will be showcasing your pictures in our campaign video and on social media!* Research tells us lack of knowledge of places to be active is a barrier for many people. This project aims to bring attention to healthy places and share with people who might not know about the opportunity to be active. Click here to submit your photo(s)/description(s).

*By submitting an image or video, you grant Working on Wellness Environments (WOW-E) staff permission to use your image, likeness, and sound of your voice as recorded on audio or video tape without payment or consideration. Your image may be edited, copied, exhibited, published, or distributed, and you waive the right to inspect or approve the finished product.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Active People Healthy Nation, wowe

Active People Healthy Nation Walkability Virtual Academy 

November 18, 2022 by Kailey

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

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Action Institute, Active People Healthy Nation, PSE, Virtual

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Texas A&M University System Member
  • Compact with Texans
  • Privacy and Security
  • Accessibility Policy
  • State Link Policy
  • Statewide Search
  • Veterans Benefits
  • Military Families
  • Risk, Fraud & Misconduct Hotline
  • Texas Homeland Security
  • Texas Veteran's Portal
  • Equal Opportunity
  • Open Records/Public Information