Your Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Your Bike Is Made For Drivin'

Did you check out re:TH!NK’s booth at Country USA? 
If you did not, then you missed out on a fun time!

Hello! I am a guest blogger for the next couple weeks. My name is Sarahjean and I am the AHEC intern working at the Health Department. My main focus for this internship is gathering data for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. AHEC is the Area Health Education Center and part of what they do is place college students that are interested in the public health field into an 8 week long internship at health departments and health clinics. As part of my internship I was able to go to CUSA and talk with people to gather information for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.

At Country USA, over a thousand people took advantage of the opportunity to try a slushie that was made on the bike blender! We also had a Mad Libs Contest where people had the opportunity to win a gift card. All they had to do was fill in the blanks for this sentence:

I wish I could (bike/walk) to a (real place, location, destination) but I can’t because (barrier/reason why not…give examples). We had 100 people fill out a Mad Lib with some really great responses!  

We also had a survey, which was completed by over 200 people! The data collected from the survey will be used in the bicycle and pedestrian plan to make improvements for walkers/bicyclists. In addition to the survey, we also had a map that people could mark where they would like to see improvements and connecting routes. 

Winnebago County is in the beginning stages of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. Part of the plan is to create safer routes for walkers/bicyclists as well as create connections between destinations. Our booth at CUSA was a great way to gather some helpful information from the people that will benefit from the plan! If you have not filled out a survey, we would greatly appreciate you spending a couple minutes and filling it out http://goo.gl/forms/I94G70Zv0s .

5th Year Anniversary of Wisconsin's Smoke Free Air Law!

Isn't Wisconsin better smoke free?

From 1993 to 2009, communities in Wisconsin passed local smoke free air policies with the support of local governments and hundreds of local advocates fighting for clean air in public places. The entire state then followed suit making smoke free public places for employees and patrons the norm.

On July 5, 2010 Wisconsin officially became a smoke free state. Governor Doyle and Wisconsin State Legislature deserve a huge thank you for creating and passing the state policy... Thank you!

Now, fast forward 5 years and we can all see the wonderful things smoke free air has done for Wisconsin's health. In addition to protecting Wisconsinites from secondhand smoke, the smoke free air law has normalized a smoke free lifestyle. In just 5 years, youth smoking rates have dropped from 1in 6 in 2005 to 1 in 10 in 2015. What a win!

To those who supported and advocated for smoke free air and those who continue supporting tobacco prevention... thank you!

 

 

re:TH!NK Addiction Run

“This was a beautiful day in so many ways...and it was so nice for those who lost loved ones to be able to come together to celebrate their lives and not just remember their addiction. And to celebrate the sobriety of those who continue to fight their battles. THANK YOU for doing this for the community. “

“…For many of us here at Solutions we believe this is the beginning of our recovery community having a voice…”

These were a few of the responses received after last year’s re:TH!NK Addiction Run/Walk race. We had over 400 people participate, and were able to raise  just over 14,000 dollars. This year we want to raise even more awareness of the local drug and alcohol issues in our community, and help support the local prevention and recovery programs working on this issue!

So join us on Saturday, September 12th at 8am at Solutions Recovery Center in Oshkosh. The money will be going to support local programs including the Winnebago County DARE, The Angel Fund at NOVA counseling, Solutions Recovery, Inc, and the Winnebago County Heroin Task Force.

If you would like to register for the event, go to DuTriRun.com. The prices are listed below:
Individual Adult $25.00
Individual Adult (Day of) $35.00
Children (18 and under)    $15.00
Teams (21 or more)         $15.00*
  (6-20 people)          $20.00*
*Per person. A team captain can register members all together or each member of the team can register themselves. It is importance that everyone uses the same name for the team when registering.

We have added a few things to this year’s events including a silent auction and open house.  Some of the items for the silent auction include 2 Packer Club Seats and a Paine Art Center Family Pass! If you would to donate an item for the silent auction please contact Ashley Ester at 920-232-3035. The open house will include tables with information from local recovery and treatment center, and tours of Solution Recovery Center.

Let’s end the stigma of addiction!

Share and Share Alike

Instead of posting what we've got going on at re:TH!NK, sometimes we just want to share others that are blogging about things that are related to what we're working on and might be of interest to our readers. So that's what we're doing in this post. (Why re-create the wheel, right?!)

Bike Fed: Bike Week, Budget and More

The WI Bike Fed kicked off its Bike Week on Saturday, June 6th. They have lots of great events planned throughout Wisconsin (none near the Fox Valley, but still, there's lots of reasons to ride your bike). Their blog http://wisconsinbikefed.org/blog/ is always a gold mine of the latest info on biking and bike advocacy and has been one of THE places to go for info on the state budget proceedings.

Wisconsin Active Communities Alliance (WACA)

WACA is a newly formed alliance of local coalitions working together to create more places/communities in Wisconsin for residents to walk, bike and be active. re:TH!NK is a core member of WACA. There blog http://www.activecommunitieswi.org/news/ keeps track of the formation of WACA as well as related topics, like the complete streets campaign. 

Oshkosh Food Co Op is Growing Big

There is a new movement in the Oshkosh area to start a food co-op. What's that you say? Its a community-owned grocery store that gives back to the community! The Co-Op held a Grow Op event on June 4 and are growing their membership and excitement. Their blog http://www.oshkoshfoodcoop.com/blog posts details of recent planning meetings and other happenings of interest.

US Surgeon General on Mental Health

The newly appointed Surgeon General recently posted a blog on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's website related to how the United States is not giving mental health and mental illness the attention it deserves. You can read the blog here: http://blog.samhsa.gov/2015/06/04/raise-your-voice/#.VXX1KzYo7IV

Good Drugs Gone Bad

re:TH!NK's partners from GDGB keep us "in the know" on all the latest drug trends, what prevention folks like us can do, and other really interesting tidbits from places like Colorado and Washington state. http://www.gooddrugsgonebad.com/blog/ They also provide train-the-trainer workshops and presentations if you're with a group or organization that wants to know more. 

RWJF's Culture of Health

For a national perspective on health and prevention, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's blog is always ripe with cutting edge innovations, and the latest in success stories. They also have guest writers from all over the place. Its definitely worth checking out. http://www.rwjf.org/en/culture-of-health.html

Fun with Winnebago County Farm to School and Oshkosh Elementary School Gardens

"Teaching children about healthy eating and where our food comes from is just as valuable as teaching them how to read

and write."

— Christine Quinn

Spring is finally here and although we’ve had some crazy weather, students have been working very hard in their school gardens.  Winnebago County Farm to School is partnering with Growing Oshkosh, a non profit organization, to connect with 6 Oshkosh elementary schools. Two years ago, raised beds were installed at Emmeline Cook and Webster Stanley, and last year at Washington Elementary. This year beds were put in at Read, Merrill, and Oaklawn Elementary

In April, all students, ages kindergarten to fifth grade from the 6 Oshkosh elementary schools, sowed seeds (planted seeds in small trays) and kept them in their classroom by their windowsill for a few weeks. Students observed and cared for their plants as they bloomed into beautiful flowers and vegetable plants.  Now in May, students are transplanting their gorgeous plants into their school garden beds. 

Over the summer, volunteers and Growing Oshkosh will tend to the school gardens. If you’re interested in volunteering or helping out with the Oshkosh elementary  school gardens this summer, please contact Jennifer Sattler at growingoshkosh@gmail.com or Emily Verbeten at everbeten@co.winnebago.wi.us, we would love and appreciate your help!

“There is strong evidence that school gardens increase participating children’s vegetable consumption and willingness to try new vegetables (Langellotto GA, Gupta A. Gardening increases vegetable consumption in school-aged children: A meta-analytical synthesis. HortTechnology. 2012;22(4):430–45. "
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Langellotto 2012, Scherr 2013, Ratcliffe MM, Merrigan KA, Rogers BL, Goldberg JP. The effects of school garden experiences on middle school-aged students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors associated with vegetable consumption. Health Promotion Practice. 2011;12(1):36-43.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Ratcliffe 2011, Parmer SM, Salisbury-Glennon J, Shannon D, Struempler B. School gardens: An experiential learning approach for a nutrition education program to increase fruit and vegetable knowledge, preference, and consumption among second-grade students. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 2009;41(3):212-7.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)Parmer 2009, McAleese JD, Rankin LL. Garden-based nutrition education affects fruit and vegetable consumption in sixth-grade adolescents. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2007;107(4):662-5.
Link to original source (journal subscription may be required for access)McAleese 2007, Rauzon 2010). Establishing school gardens is a recommended strategy to promote healthy eating, improve nutrition, and reduce obesity (CDC-School-based obesity prevention, CDC MMWR-School health guidelines 2011, CDC-Fruits and vegetables 2011, IOM-Government obesity prevention 2009)."

 

"If people can grow safe, healthy,
affordable food, if they have access
to land and clean water, this is
transformative on every level in a
community. I believe we cannot have
healthy communities without a
healthy food system."
— Will Allen

 

Check out these fun photos of students in their school gardens below. Students are so excited and can’t wait for the food to grow to be able to pick with their families this summer!