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Students step up for winter

Elmer S. Gish students will take to the streets next week as part of a province-wide winter walk. Feb. 9 is Winter Walk Day in Alberta.
Safe Healthy Active People Everywhere (SHAPE) wants Albertans everywhere to get out for a 15-minute stroll on Wednesday Feb. 9 as part of Winter Walk Day.
Safe Healthy Active People Everywhere (SHAPE) wants Albertans everywhere to get out for a 15-minute stroll on Wednesday Feb. 9 as part of Winter Walk Day.

Elmer S. Gish students will take to the streets next week as part of a province-wide winter walk.

Feb. 9 is Winter Walk Day in Alberta. Organized by the children's health group Safe Healthy Active People Everywhere (SHAPE), the annual event is meant to encourage people to fit more exercise into their lives.

Winter weather doesn't have to be a barrier to walking, says Bev Esslinger, spokesperson for SHAPE, which is a great way to get in shape. "Only 12 per cent of Canadian children walk to school and that's not very many," she says.

Provided you dress in layers and step carefully, Esslinger says, most children should be able to walk to school. "There are very few days when children are not going to go outside for recess, so there's very few days when they really couldn't walk safely."

Stepping up

This event is meant to address rising rates of inactivity and obesity in children, Esslinger says. A recent Statistics Canada study found that just seven per cent of Canadian children got their recommended 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day and spent up to 62 per cent of their waking hours sitting still.

Esslinger called on Albertans to participate in Winter Walk Day by taking a 15-minute outdoor walk next Wednesday. "Already we have over 100,000 registered to participate," she says, which represents about 1.5 million minutes of walking. The community with the most walkers will be eligible to win prizes from the Alberta Motor Association.

Physical activity has been shown to improve mood, cognition and creativity in children, according to SHAPE. Four one-kilometre walks a week will also keep up to 100 kilograms of carbon dioxide out of the air.

Students at Elmer S. Gish will hold a school-wide walk Wednesday as part of the event, says teacher Heather Japuncic. The walk should give the students some fresh air and time with their best friends. "It's just to show kids how they can be active and still have fun," she says.

It's important to start good exercise habits when you're young, Japuncic says, which is why her students take regular fitness breaks throughout the day. "It gets them out of their desk," she says, and helps them stay on track with their lessons.

But step carefully

It's been treacherous out there lately for local walkers as freezing rain, huge windrows and melting snow have transformed many sidewalks into sheer ice.

Myrna O'Neil, 71, says she still manages about five kilometres a day, but it's been tough. "This winter has been a doozy," she says. "For a while there, you were taking your life into your hands getting over the windrows."

O'Neil and her fellow members of the St. Albert Trekkers Volkssport Club recommend walking poles and strap-on grips to handle the ice. "You just have to pay attention and be very careful."

Schools should scout out a safe route for their kids before Winter Walk Day, says Esslinger, who acknowledged the tough walking conditions. Walking buddies and walking school buses can also help parents make sure their kids stay safe on the way to school.

The most important step towards regular walking is friendship, according to O'Neil. "You really need to have some kind of group for motivation," she says. "You're not going to do it on your own."

Call Esslinger at 780-406-8530 for details.


Kevin Ma

About the Author: Kevin Ma

Kevin Ma joined the St. Albert Gazette in 2006. He writes about Sturgeon County, education, the environment, agriculture, science and aboriginal affairs. He also contributes features, photographs and video.
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