Promoting play: how one park and recreation department used playtime to promote healthy lifestyles.

On Wednesday, June 8, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department (APARD) in Texas sponsored Play Day, a widespread fitness event where more than 700 children joined the mayor of Austin in a one-mile walk along Austin's hike and bike trail. The walk marked the kick-off for the APARD's summer camps. Campers from 30 playground sites and 16 recreation centers participated in this opening ceremony as part of the 2005 Play Day Initiative, created by the APARD and supported by two local programs--Walk Texas and Steps to a Healthier Austin.

Play Day's purpose is to create awareness and reduce the burden of chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma and obesity. This initiative includes an employee health and wellness component (the Walk Texas program), and a youth program initiative designed to include a one-hour active play component five days a week within the scope of the Summer Playground Program and summer camp programming. While the focus is on promoting and educating youth about the importance of health, the initiative was also created to promote healthy behaviors within the park and recreation workforce.

Part of Play Day's goal included collaborating with Walk Texas and Steps to a Healthier Austin in an effort to encourage more APARD employees to exercise daily. Steps to a Healthier Austin is part of a nationwide initiative to address physical inactivity, poor nutrition and tobacco use as they are related to diabetes, obesity and asthma. The programs use existing city resources such as recreation centers and parks to promote physical activity.

In addition, Steps to a Healthier Austin works with the APARD to establish fitness programs at three senior activity centers. Walk Texas also encourages park and recreation employees to engage in regular physical activity with its walking programs. As participants in Walk Texas, park and recreation team members are provided with a start-up kit including a tracking form to log individual physical activity.

To help coordinate Play Day, a committee of 15 park and recreation employees began meeting in January to plan a kick-off Play Day to the department's summer programs. The Play Day was designed for the area's campers to come together, participate in a one-mile walk with their mayor, and have fun at interactive booths while learning about the importance of being physically fit and making good food choices. "Play Day is a great opportunity for all camps in the department to participate in a grand opening ceremony to the Summer Playground Program and recreation center day camps," states Program Manager Joanna Mesecke.

In preparation for this day of fun, committee members focused on establishing entertainment, securing internal and external vendors, designing publicity material, coordinating youth lunches, securing sponsorships, creating decorations and preparing for event set-up and breakdown. An additional committee, Curriculum Design and Promotional, was created to educate the parks staff--permanent, temporary and seasonal--regarding the program goals and expectations through trainings, emails, newsletters and word-of-mouth.

"Many of us are already exercising daily," Mesecke says. "Now we have to encourage our co-workers to join us, and we have to log our activity." Goals for this committee included establishing the tool, determining the incentives, monitoring progress and evaluating the program results.

Additionally, camp coordinators were presented with the Play Day program at the annual Summer Camp Coordinator Training. All camp coordinators and leaders were expected to recruit and engage participants in Play Day, and ensure that all participants had a waiver/registration form on file. Summer Day Camp coordinators and leaders were provided with a packet that included physical fitness activity ideas and a tracking log that campers and leaders could use to chart their progress. "It will be difficult to log 80 kids' activity, but it is definitely worth it so they can win medals and free shoes," comments camp leader, Allen Perkins.

After months of preparation and intense staff training, Play Day finally arrived in June. Play Day Committee members arrived early to ensure that the event was special and memorable for all campers. Before the sun appeared, committee members began blowing up balloons and decorating the entrance to the youth's one-mile walk.

They also posted motivational signs along the trail to boost the campers' confidence. At 9:30 a.m. campers began to arrive, and were directed to a staging area where they stretched and warmed up. Camp leaders prepared the kids for the day's events, and the youth waited with anticipation for the arrival of Austin's mayor, Will Wynn.

Wynn, who is committed to encouraging residents to become physically fit and eat healthy, greeted the campers and led them down the trail to the finish line, Auditorium Shores. While there was excitement all around, once on the trail, several campers began to slow down. Completing this one-mile walk was a huge accomplishment for many youth, especially those who suffered from physical inactivity.

When the children arrived at Auditorium Shores, parks employees--including Director Warren Struss--cheered them on, praised their accomplishments and greeted them. Suddenly some of those youth, who thought they were not going to make it, forgot that they were tired and enjoyed the moment. Each camp, holding their camp banner, passed through a balloon arch for their grand entrance and headed toward the "Best Banner Contest" judges consisting of park board members. At the completion of their walk, campers were given water, bananas and apples while they took a seat and watched their mayor engage in a game of traditional box hockey with a camper. Alyssa Martinez, 7, remembers that her favorite part was "walking through the balloon arch and having all those people clap for us."

Once at Auditorium Shores, the youth participated in activity challenges as well as interactive and educational activities. Several recreation centers provided staff to work interactive booths such as volleyball, boxing, archery and tap dancing. Austin's Emergency Medical Services provided support at the event, as well as APARD's Park Police, the Austin Fire Department, RunTex, Youth Interactive and the Austin Wranglers.

At the end of a fun and warm day in the Lone Star state, both camp leaders and campers were exhausted. The day's activities proved successful. "I loved sliding down the huge slide," states 6-year-old Kyle Oxner, who participated in summer camp for the first time this year.

While getting ready to depart Play Day to head back to their recreation center, camp leader Mariel Campos asked her group of kids what was their favorite part of Play Day. They all agreed it was walking with the mayor and playing at the park. Opening ceremonies provided youth with an event that was safe and interactive and age-appropriate.

The displays brought awareness of recreational and health-related activities that can be done at home, school or play, and encouraged regular exercise and proper food choices. Veteran campers such as 12-year-old Simon Ybarra thought "it is cool to do something with kids from other recreation centers in the beginning of the summer."

In closing comments, Play Day committee members encouraged all leaders to continue to promote and educate the benefits of regular exercise and good food choices. Campos and the other leaders at her recreation center included a daily Play Day component in their camp schedule. For one hour each morning, their campers participated in a "Play Day" challenge. Each day, the leaders logged their activity, and at the conclusion of the summer participants were awarded medals provided by the Play Day committee.

According to the American Heart Association, 54 percent of fourth graders in Travis County, which includes Austin, are overweight. The Texas School Physical Activity and Nutrition Study reports that 30 percent of high school students are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, and 63 percent of Texans are overweight or obese. Austin Parks and Recreation Department professionals feel that there is a need to take an initiative in engaging our youth in healthy behavior.

Play Day was not the only time APARD hosted a physical activity awareness day. In summer 2004, APARD implemented NRPA's Hearts N' Parks campaign into its summer camp programming. Camp coordinators and leaders were encouraged to teach their campers about eating heart-healthy foods and practicing heart-healthy behaviors. This summer, the APARD continued its goal of educating youth about the importance of physical activity and healthy eating habits.

However, the education extended to the parks employees and community members was a new extension of the department's focus. Partnering with Walk Texas and Steps to a Healthier Austin provided parks employees with incentives to becoming physically fit, as well as provided them with the resources and guidance to live an active and healthy lifestyle.

"The whole active and healthy lifestyle initiative is pretty cool because it feels like everyone in the department is becoming interested in getting fit," says APARD employee Jerilyn Rainosek. "More of us are attending health screenings, working out in the recreation center weight rooms, partnering to walk in the mornings or after work," and while exercising takes time, "we are getting fit and having fun."