Walk! Bike! Fun! Training Recently Offered in Maple Lake, by BikeMN

In early October, the Minnesota Bicycle Alliance (BikeMN) facilitated a 1-day training on Minnesota’s new walk & bike safety curriculum, called Walk! Bike! Fun!

 

 

Fourteen educators and community members from Wright and Stearns counties attended and learned about traffic safety for walkers and bikers and how to effectively present these topics to kids.

 

 

Attendees will teach the curriculum to elementary and middle school students using two different bike fleets (traveling trailers of bicycles) that will debut in the spring.

 

Registration Open for Walk! Bike! Fun! Training on 10/7 in Maple Lake

Check out this training opportunity for teachers and community partners that can help us in encouraging more children to walk or bike to school and throughout their community by providing schools with tools teach safe walking and biking.

Mark the Calendar and Please Help us in Spreading the Word About This Open House

August Newsletter

Have you read the August Newsletter from Live Wright yet? Keep up with Live Wright's monthly newsletter by subscribing to the account! By subscribing, you will be informed about projects happening with SHIP work in Wright County every month. Also included in each newsletter is an exciting recipe! Check out this months newsletter and subscribe by clicking here!

10 Ways to Live Healthier and Save Money Doing It

Michael O. Schroeder of U.S. News Health created this list to help you live a healthier life while saving money!

 

1. Plan your shopping list before grocery shopping

2. Drink water

3. Eat less meat

4. Work out outside the gym

5. Opt for an active commute

6. Quit smoking

7. Breast-feed your baby

8. Go on active dates

9. Follow doctor's orders

10. Mind your mental health

Traveling?

Are you traveling soon? Do you drive? Read these quick tips from Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths and Live Wright!

• Know the driving fundamentals
• Drive a safe car
• Find a safe way to arrive to your destination
• Avoid risky driving
• Pay attention while driving
• Drive defensively

Wright County School Gardens

Did you know that Live Wright helped fund many school gardens in Wright County? Recently, a trip was taken to see many of the gardens in the area! Most of the gardens are flourishing with great produce almost ready to be harvested! The school garden gardeners have many great visions of expanding their current gardens. Live Wright is very happy to see many of the gardens doing so well! Good luck to all gardens with the upcoming harvest!

Rockford Middle School

Monticello Middle School

Maple Lake Elementary School

St. Francis Xavier

Delano Elementary School

CATCH is catching on in local headstart programs!

 

Health Promotion Coordinator, Sue DeMars, taught 41 very energetic staff from Tri-Valley Headstart in Monticello about a Coordinated Approach To Child Health (CATCH) Early Childhood Physical Activity Training on June 26th, 2015. Many comments were given about the "fun and engaging" presentation. One staff stated, "We will use it inside and outside," while another said, "I liked the 4-two minute segments. That will keep our 3 year olds attention!"  Sue and Tri-Valley Headstart are in the process of setting up times for technical assistance in individual classrooms!

Rosewood Eatery

Rosewood Eatery serves classic American cuisine made fresh with the highest quality ingredients. They pride themselves on cooking food the old fashioned way, from scratch! They do it this way because they love cooking and they love good, honest ingredients sourced locally through Local Roots Food Co-op and Crow River Food Council. They love putting a smile on your face, so come in and eat local today in Rockford!

Revashing Recipes of Wright County

The Crow River Food Council and Local Roots Food Co-op provided healthy cooking and eating classes to the community with support from Allina Health Systems/Buffalo Clinic. A recipe book was created of all the dishes cooked during the period of the class. Feel free to cook these wonderful recipes and share comments below or on our Facebook page about how the recipes turned out! Click here to view the recipe book!

July Newsletter

Live Wright's monthly newsletter is now available to view! Click here to see what has happened with SHIP over the last month! Be watching this blog and Facebook for some cool, new, and fun updates!

Regional Active Transportation Plan

Feedback is needed from community members about walking and biking in the area! Wright, Benton, Stearns, and Sherburne Counties are all working together to help improve walking and biking. To actually improve the routes people use for walking and biking, we need community members to click here and take this quick survey and click here to fill out an easy to use map-tool! Click here for more information regarding the Regional Active Transportation Plan! Spread the word to all community members to give input about this project!

What a week!

This past week has been a busy one for Live Wright! On Thursday, July 9th, Live Wright helped sponsor Power of Produce Kids Club at the Monticello Farmers' Market for the first time ever! Kids ages 4-12 can attend the market, sign up and receive $2 of Market Money to purchase any fresh fruit or vegetable they would like. The first week we had over 100 kids sign up! Next market (7/16) will have even more of a variety of fruit and vegetables, like sweet corn! Head over to the Monticello Library parking lot every Thursday between 3:30 and 7 to participate!

On Saturday, July 11th, Live Wright helped sponsor the third annual Open Streets Buffalo event. The turn out was huge! Thanks for everyone that stopped by downtown Buffalo to visit the many vendors and events Open Streets had to offer! We are already looking forward to next years event! Stay connected to Open Street Buffalo on Facebook page for pictures from the event!

Walk, Ride, or Roll to Open Streets Buffalo Tomorrow!

Residence will have a chance to see their streets from a new perspective when their community hosts its third annual Open Streets event, tomorrow, Saturday, July 11th from 10 AM until 2 PM. The main event will be held on 1st Avenue NE, starting at Division Street and ending at the corner of 1st Avenue NE and Hwy 25 ( in front of Lillians). The event is being organized by Buffalo Community Education, Buffalo Parks & Recreation, Wright County Public Health/Live Wright and Allina Health.
The mission of Open Streets Buffalo is to foster individual and community health through creative use of public space. Open Streets Buffalo is an event that encourages recreation, community activities and fun in Buffalo, MN. The Open Streets event closes stretches of city streets to automobile traffic and opens them to people for several hours to enjoy a large, temporary, public space where they can bike, walk, run, dance, do yoga, or do any other physical activity. Non-profit and health organizations offer a variety of free activities and share information about their services during the event.
Join your community for fun, food, and physical activity on the Open Streets of downtown Buffalo! Visit us online at http://www.openstreetsbuffalo.org/ for more information regarding Open Streets Buffalo! Click here to print of a free Open Streets Buffalo map!

https://www.scribd.com/doc/271056409/Open-Streets-Buffalo-2015

Power of Produce Starts TODAY!

Today, July 9th and running every Thursday until September 24th, the Power of Produce Kids Club (PoP Club) will be part of the weekly outdoor Monticello Farmers' Market from 3:30-7 PM (6 PM in starting September). The Power of Produce is a nationally recognizable club for kids ages 4-12, empowering kids to make healthy food choices and educating them on where food comes from. Each kid who attends will receive $2 of Market Money each time they visit the Monticello Farmers' Market. With the $2, kids are able to purchase any type of fresh fruits and vegetables they would like from the Farmers' Market with the Market Money they have received. The Monticello Farmers' Market is located in the Monticello Library parking lot every Thursday from May 14th until October 15th. All venders are local and within a 25 mile radius of Monticello. Vendor items include: sauces, syrups, jams, homemade baked goods, snow cones, drinks, popcorns, cheeses, herbs, canned items, farm fresh meat and eggs, garden plants, natural
detergents, crafts, and of course FRESH FRUIT and VEGETABLES! The Monticello Famers' Market does accept SNAP EBT, debit/credit cards, and cash.
Special events and fun activities will be available to kids of all ages during the PoP Club! Check out http://www.monticellocommunitycenter.com/farmers-market.html for the weekly Market Newsletter regarding the featured weekly vendor, recipe of the week, products available for the week, and special guests attending the Farmer's Market!

The PoP Club is sponsored by the Monticello Farmers' Market, Live Wright, Wright County Area United Way, Crow River, All 4 Kids and Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association. For more information contact Farmers' Market Coordinator Sara Cahill at sara.cahill@ci.monticello.mn.us or Farmers' Market Manager Stephanie Ellingson at stephellingson@hotmail.com.

Happy 4th of July!

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him." -Abraham Lincoln

Wishing you a wonderful holiday weekend! Remember to wear your sunscreen when outside and stay safe around the lake and fireworks! Enjoy the beautiful weather with friends and family!

Open Streets Buffalo!

Open Streets Buffalo is just around the corner! Saturday, July 11th from 10 AM until 2 PM, residents will have a chance to see their streets from a new perspective when the third annual even is hosted. Open Streets Buffalo will be held on 1st Avenue NE, start at Division Street and ending at the corner of 1st Avenue NE and Hwy 25 (in front of Lillian's). The event is being organized by Buffalo Community Education, Buffalo Parks & Recreation, Allina Health, and Wright County Public Health/Live Wright.
The mission of Open Streets Buffalo is to foster individual and community health through creative use of public space. Open Streets Buffalo is an event the encourages recreation, community activities, and fun in Buffalo, MN. The Open Streets event closes stretches of city streets to automobile traffic, and opens them to people for several hours to enjoy a large, temporary, public space where they can bike, walk, run, dance, do yoga, or any other physical activity. Non-profit and health organizations offer a variety of free activities and share information about their services during the event.

Join your community for fun, food, and physical activity on the Open Streets of downtown Buffalo! Visit us online at http://www.openstreetsbuffalo.org/ for more information regarding Open Streets Buffalo!

Garden of Dreams featured on Grow with KARE

Live Wright has been interacting with school gardens all around the county for quite some time now. Recently, the Monticello Middle School garden had the pleasure of being featured on Kare 11's Grow with KARE. Belinda and Bobby Jensen made their way out to the Garden of Dreams to do a short story on the flourishing garden. Click here to watch the story!

Photo by: Lawrence J. Gantner

 

Book donation part of larger effort to increase well-being in child cares

Small summer readers will have more choices at their local library thanks to Wright County Public Health. Using Statewide Health Improvement Program grant funds, the county health organization donated dozens of children’s books to Great River Regional Library last Thursday.

Aimed at very young readers, the collection includes popular titles such as “Barnyard Dance,” about a farm animal hoedown, and “How are You Peeling?” with whimsical fruits and vegetables exhibiting their “natural personalities.” The stories promote healthy eating or staying active.

“It really promotes fresh fruits and vegetables, in the healthy eating area, and promotes physical activity in fun story format,” said Susan DeMars, Health Promotion Coordinator for Wright County Public Health.

The books, funded by a grant from the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP), will be housed at the Howard Lake and Buffalo libraries.

WCPH’s donation is part of a larger initiative promoting well-being in the child care setting. Susan has been working directly with Wright County child care providers for more than a year, offering free or low-cost trainings as well as technical assistance and funding to implement policies on physical activity, healthy eating and supporting breastfeeding.

The “I am Moving, I am Learning” curriculum promotes moderate to vigorous physical activity with brain development in mind.

“Instead of just letting kids go out and play free, it’s organized activities to help kids develop their motor skills, things like throwing and skipping,” DeMars said.

More than 60 area providers have participated in the IMIL training. Another 79 have participated in the training “Supporting Breastfeeding in the Child Care Setting”.

“The books we’ve donated are meant to help child care providers extend their new knowledge, and they’ll be a fun resource for parents and others in the community too,” DeMars said.

 

 

(with photo): Susan DeMars, Health Promotion Coordinator for Wright County Public Health, presents Great River Regional Librarian Amy Wittmann with several titles as part of a donation supporting healthy eating and physical activity.

Ignite Your Inner Chef!

Engagement Tools Now Online - Inform Our Regional Active Transporation Plan

As you think of your community or places you enjoy visiting across our great region, do you ever stop and think about how we could make walking and biking easier?

A number of organizations across Benton, Sherburne, Stearns and Wright Counties are working together to develop a plan that we envision being a resource/guide/tool that our elected officials will be able to use as they plan for future transportation projects. Especially incorporating the realities of what it takes to build communities that support walking and biking.

We invite you to participate in 2 online tools to provide us with your thoughts -

Online Survey

Mapping Tool

You can visit the project's website by clicking here, information about upcoming events across the region will be posted soon.

Mark Your Calendars For a Fun, Healthy and Family Friendly Event in St. Michael!

Reading to Feed the Mind - Live Wright Donates Books to Local Libraries

Mark Your Calendars! Buffalo Community Health Fair is March 21, 2015!

Statewide Bicycle System Plan Open House

http://www.dot.state.mn.us/bike/system-plan/public-outreach.html