Seniors and residents were kept moving last Wednesday during a planned walk throughout town.
The Family and Community Support Services event was held Feb. 5 at the Rimoka Housing Foundation’s Golden Leisure Lodge and the Calnash Ag Event Centre.
While Ponoka Elementary School postponed their day for warmer weather, one brave Grade 4 class at St. Augustine Catholic School took to the grounds for a brisk walk.
Organizer Kerry Robideau said the goal is get people moving during the cold, winter months. “In the middle of winter, everyone is just kind of sedentary.” She was with seniors at the Golden Leisure Lodge and found most residents enjoyed the chance to walk and socialize at the same time. Kristie Stretch, activity co-ordinator at the lodge said she is unsure how long the halls are, but some residents will walk the halls to keep active.
“We have some people that walk every day,” said Stretch.
“I think it’s awesome to get them up,” she added.
To keep in the spirit of the day, organizers at the Calnash Ag Event Centre decided to open up the barn for walking. Participants were able to walk between each stall and enjoy a relatively mild temperature compared to outside.
“Some seniors requested it, and we thought, ‘Why not?’” said director Dale Olson.
“We thought it would be a good public service,” he added.
The barn is also equipped with a defibrillator should an emergency arise. In keeping with the spirit of Winter Walk Day, the barn at the ag event centre is open for walkers weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participants are asked to sign a waiver and sign in so staff can know who is in the building.
The Golden Leisure Lodge had 24 participants walking 15 minutes each for a total 360 minutes of walking. At the barn, there were 23 participants walking a total of 700 minutes. That is 19 hours of walking logged at the lodge and the barn, but does not include the time St. Augustine Catholic School students walked.