OSKALOOSA COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, BLUE ZONES PROJECT KICK OFF SPRING WALKING SCHOOL BUS ROUTES
Blue Zones Project sponsored by Wellmark
Oskaloosa, Iowa — March 23, 2014 — Blue Zones Project® Oskaloosa and the Oskaloosa Community School District are now accepting registration forms from elementary and middle school students interested in exercising their legs before they exercise their brains with the Walking School Bus.
Communities and schools across Iowa are using walk and bike to school programs as the first step to positively affect community culture, and to create options for getting around that are more inviting for everyone, both young and old. According to Iowa Safe Routes To School there are currently 45 active Walking School Bus programs in Iowa. These programs not only encourage healthy habits and education around traffic safety — they also reduce congestion and air-polluting emissions from vehicles.
The Walking School Bus routes in Oskaloosa are set to kick off on Wednesday, March 25. The middle school route will gather at Mahaska County YMCA (414 N 3rd St.) at 7:45 a.m. and the elementary school route will meet at the Lacey Sports Complex parking lot (2055 238th St.) at 7:30 a.m. Students must be registered through the school in order to participate. Both routes will be active every Wednesday morning this spring until Wednesday, May 27. For more information on how to register your student, please reach out to the central offices at Oskaloosa Elementary School or Oskaloosa Middle School or check out the school district website at www.oskaloosa.k12.ia.us.
“The Blue Zones Walking School Bus program was a welcome addition to our family’s morning routine this past fall,” said Kelly Carter, parent of two students at Oskaloosa Elementary School. “Between avid discussions about wildlife we encountered, to school subjects and friends; we were able to spend this time in a relaxed, low-key environment sharing laughs and insight with each other, as well as other parents and children. Students also work on life skills such as safety and common courtesy when using a recreational trail and crossing busy intersections. Signing up for Walking School Bus was a great decision, and I hope that more families choose to do this again in the spring.”
Not only is this an opportunity for students, but also volunteers. Each Walking School Bus route is looking for organizations and individuals that are interested in volunteering their time to walk with the students on Wednesday mornings, ensuring a safe route to school and opportunity to socially engage with the students. For more information about volunteering for the Walking School Bus program, please contact Blue Zones Project Oskaloosa Volunteer Coordinator Lindsey Sheets at uwmc.coordinator@gmail.com.
Brought to Iowa through an innovative sponsorship by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, in collaboration with Healthways and Blue Zones®, Blue Zones Project is a community-by-community well-being improvement initiative designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent changes to environment, policy, and social networks.
For more information about how to become a Blue Zones Worksite, contact the Blue Zones Project team at 641-670-7777 or visit www.bluezonesproject.com.
Oskaloosa is one of 15 other Blue Zones Project demonstration communities that are receiving assistance from experts to develop and implement a blueprint for making permanent environmental,
social and policy changes that transition people into healthier behaviors that can lead to longer, happier lives.
The Blue Zones Project is based on Blue Zones principles developed by Dan Buettner and is the centerpiece of the Healthiest State Initiative to make Iowa the healthiest state by 2016 as measured by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®, the first-ever daily assessment of U.S. residents’ health and well-being. Blue Zones employs evidence-based ways to help people live longer, better lives by taking a systematic, environmental approach to well-being, which focuses on optimizing policy, social networks and the built environments where people spend their time.
