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Healthy Nevada, R-5 district propose building walking trail at the middle school
Healthy Nevada
Special to the Dail Mail
Healthy Nevada and the Nevada R-5 School District have some "exciting plans" in the works, according to a press release. Bryan, Benton and Truman Elementary Schools have seen "great success" with their before school walking program. To extend this walking program to the middle school, Healthy Nevada and the school district have worked together to research, plan and develop a community walking trail that will be located behind the middle school. To help cover the cost of this project, the Finis M. Moss Charitable Trust has awarded this project a grant to fund 50 percent of the project, with the remaining amount to be matched by community donations.
As standards in education push higher, educators are constantly seeking strategies to enhance classroom learning and academic success. Recent studies lend support that just a single aerobic workout before class helps to boost youth's learning skills and attention span (V. Richardson). This trail will provide outdoor walking space at the middle school, which is currently limited due to parking lots and city streets. About 600 middle school students and staff would have the opportunity to utilize this trail for physical activity before and during school. The Nevada R-5 school district has donated the land behind the middle school to build a one-half mile concrete walking trail. Additionally, the school will maintain the trail on an annual basis, noted the Healthy Nevada release.
Two thousand students and teachers will benefit due to the campus location linked to the community trail. The community will be able to use the trail during the summer as well as daylight, non-school hours. The concrete surface allows for walking, jogging, biking, stroller pushing, roller skating and more. It will be ADA accessible for wheelchairs and will feature benches and picnic tables for community enjoyment.
Students will be able to walk the trail with classmates and teachers, exercising their bodies and preparing their brains, before they head into the classroom to learn. School faculty will be instrumental in creating relevant outdoor learning opportunities during the school day, noted the release. The trail will also provide students with a safe walking corridor connecting the middle school, performing arts center, high school, Truman Elementary, NRTC and the track and practice football field. Students and staff at Heartland Behavioral Health will utilize the trail in their recreational therapy program and the Nevada Public Library will have a "perfect" location for their healthy summer reading program. Parents pushing strollers, walking with kids on scooters, and those in wheelchairs will have an ADA accessible trail to enjoy. Families will be able to walk and bike the trail on the weekends and seniors and staff from the Medicalodge will have a nice getaway spot, the Healthy Nevada release continued. This will be more than a walking trail behind the middle school; "this is an opportunity for Nevada to come together and thrive as a community."
With the confirmed support of the Finis M. Moss Charitable Trust, Healthy Nevada and the Nevada R-5 School District will kick off a community fundraising campaign this February to seek local donations. "Our campaign goal is to raise all remaining funds by August 2015 so the trail can be ready for use by the 2015-16 school year. However, to make this happen, Healthy Nevada and the Nevada R-5 School District need help from the community." If you have questions regarding the trail or want to inquire about making a donation, contact Karen Marquardt at (Karen.marquardt@healthynevada.net), or 417-283-3100 for more information.