HEALTHY CELEBRATION
Chamber program promoting health, wellness opportunities in parks
SARATOGA COUNTY, N.Y. >> The local chamber of commerce is celebrating the county’s various parks in an effort to promote health and wellness.
Starting Saturday, April 15, at the Saratoga National Battlefield Park, the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce’s Health & Wellness Council will kick-off a fourweek celebration of health and wellness opportunities available in the national, state and local parks within Saratoga County.
Titled Healthy Parks - Healthy Saratoga, the initiative will include four separate weekend events, all free and open to the public.
“On Saturdays, April 15, April 22, April 29 and May 6, we have identified one signature event for each day at a different park in Saratoga County,” said chamber President Todd Shimkus in a press release.
Everyone who participates in at least one of these events will be registered to win a Healthy Parks - Healthy Saratoga prize package.
Participants can celebrate National Park Day on April 15 at the Saratoga National Historical Park in Stillwater, where programs will be available for children of all ages. Ongoing activities will include a touch table, kid-friendly relay course, uniform try-on station for kids, and Junior Ranger activity book. Event-goers can also hike the battlefield, hitting the trail from noon to 1 p.m. with a Park Ranger for a short one-mile walk and photo scavenger hunt.
On Earth Day, April 22, at the Wilton Wildlife Preserve and Park the chamber will have a volunteer opportunity to be part of a conservation project. Events will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., including a wellness walk, a family nature walk and scavenger hunt, a pond exploration drop in activity and a healthy snack table with donations from Healthy Living Market & Cafe and Stewart’s Shops. The Cornell Hill Fire Tower will also be open to visitors.
The following Saturday, all are invited to take part in the Festival for Change at the Saratoga Spa State Park. Activities will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and include yoga, meditation, fitness, guided tours of the only active spouting geysers east of the Mississippi and an abundance of carbonated mineral springs, immersive wellness hikes, health and wellness presentations and demonstrations, Native American Indian performances and lore, energy healers, guides and intuitives along Mystics’ Path, wellness exhibitors, and a gear swap area where anyone can bring their outdoor gear and apparel to trade or giveaway.
Finally on Saturday, May 6 locals can celebrate I Love My Park Day at Peebles Island, Moreau Lake or and the Saratoga Spa State Park. I Love My Park Day is a statewide event, organized by Parks & Trails New York in partnership with the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and local friends groups, to celebrate and enhance New York’s parks and historic sites and bring visibility to the entire park system and its needs. Volunteers from across the state participate in cleanup, improvement, and beautification events at New York state parks and historic sites, including the three state parks in Saratoga County. Anyone can also participate in I Love My Park Day at the Saratoga National Historical Park. Those planning to volunteer can register at www.ptny.org or www. nps.gov.
“Besides participating in one of the four ‘signature’ events listed on our Healthy Saratoga website, individuals and families are eligible to be entered into the Healthy Saratoga - Healthy Parks prize contest by doing something fun and active in any park in Saratoga County,” said Susan Halstead, of the chamber’s Health & Wellness Council, in the release. “Simply complete and submit a survey on our website at www.saratoga. org/pages/healthy-saratoga and use the space provided to share what federal, state or local park or trail you and your family visited any day between Saturday, April 15, and Saturday, May 6 and what healthy activity you did during your visit.”
The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce created the Health and Wellness Council in 2013. The council launched it’s #HealthySaratoga movement in 2014 with the goal of ensuring that Saratoga County is one of the healthiest places to live and work. The Council is comprised of a dozens of private, public and nonprofit organizations that are committed to improving individual and workplace health and wellness. In 2014, Saratoga County was rated as the fifth healthiest county in New York
State. In 2016 and again last week for 2017, Saratoga County proudly became the top healthiest county in all of New York State as a result of the efforts of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with the University of Wisconsin.
The chamber’s Health and Wellness Council has created a #HealthySaratoga pledge form that more than 150 local organizations have signed. The council hosts an annual Health and Wellness Week which functions like a restaurant week inviting individuals and groups to try healthy activities offered by local small businesses.
Looking ahead, the council will again host a celebration of June as Employee Wellness Month with a Twin Bridges lunchtime wellness walk, in Clifton Park and Halfmoon, on June 9 and an Employee Wellness Celebration event at the Saratoga YMCA, on June 22.
More information on Healthy Parks - Healthy Saratoga, the Health and Wellness Council and the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce can be found at www.saratoga.org.