Choice Section - Spring

Community Event

Exercising more is something that our community, Novato, could do better on and hosting community events to promote this would be a great way to try and get people to be more active. Along with this, promoting healthier eating would be another helpful thing to improve overall health in our community, as it can be very easy to gravitate towards unhealthier options. Novato is lucky because there is easy access to healthy foods from anywhere in the town, and while these meals can tend to be more expensive, they are worth buying in the long run to maintain health and good body composition.

One idea of a community event could be community walk around a preset loop in downtown Novato that residents of all ages can take part in. An example of a path that could be taken is starting at the Lucky's shopping center and then walking down Grant Avenue to Whole Foods and then back. Participants can go at their own pace, stop and take breaks when needed, and can complete the loop as many times as desired. Another part of this to increase motivation would be to add 2 or 3 refreshments stops along the way for anyone who wants them. These could offer drinks like Gatorade and water for free to keep people going, especially on a hot day.

People will benefit from this because of many things. First of all, it would be a good source of exercise. If these community walks happened often, for example, every weekend, then Novato residents (and anyone else of course) would be able to make a habit of going to these and at the very minimum get this ~1mi walk in every weekend as exercise. The people can also go with their friends to chat and catch up with each other so it will be a way of socializing and this could even attract more people to the event. Lastly, it is also an outdoor event to get residents moving outside and getting some fresh air and getting out of the house, which can be both calming for people and to give them a break from their routines at home.

To let people know about the event that would take place, advertising could be done through social media platforms and newspapers easily as many people would be able to see it there and be notified. Using things like Instagram and Facebook, an online flier could be created with the date, time, and location of the walk, and then it can be posted and shared. An advertisement could also be done through the MarinIJ or other local newspaper to try and get more people to join. In conclusion, I think that organizing a community walking event in downtown Novato would help promote being healthy and exercise while also being something fun for the people to do, and so if a proper plan was derived, I think that the event would turn out to be a success.