Valley in Motion (VIM) invites Scranton residents to celebrate its first of three National Walk to a Park Day events on Sunday, October 6, by walking to Nay Aug Park from the University of Scranton. Participants should meet at the corner of Mulberry Street and Quincy Ave at 11:30 a.m. After a short talk about what makes a walk safe and interesting, participants will walk to the Honeybee & Harvest Day celebration sponsored by The Greenhouse Project. Participants will each receive a $10 voucher to redeem with food vendors set up at the park for the day’s festivities.
“Access to great parks is important to our quality of life,” said Gus Fahey, President of VIM. “Scranton is doing a terrific job revitalizing its park system. This event encourages people to walk to the parks and use their voices for change to ensure their walks are safe and enjoyable.”
VIM will host two other National Walk to a Park Day events on Thursday, October 10 at two other Scranton parks, in coordination with the City of Scranton.
- Students at John F. Kennedy Elementary School will walk to Connell Park, where they will learn about the importance of parks and do outdoor art projects.
- Students at Scranton High School will walk to Weston Field on Providence Avenue to hear city officials discuss ongoing improvements to that park at 4:00 p.m. Members of the public are also invited; refreshments are for anyone who walks to Weston Field for the event. The students will document sidewalk conditions and road crossings that impact the safety of the school-to-park walk. Members of the public will likewise have an opportunity to document unsafe street and road conditions they want addressed as part of Lackawanna County’s Safe Streets for All initiative.
Founded by Trust for Public Land™, National Walk to a Park Day, which officially falls on October 10, the anniversary of the launch of the 10-Minute Walk® Campaign, supports the Trust’s ambitious goal that everyone in the U.S. have access to a high-quality park or green space within a 10-minute walk (or half-mile) of their home. National Walk to a Park Day is intended to raise awareness of the benefits of using the outdoors and encouraging communities across the nation to support public parks and green spaces.
Parks offer solutions for today’s most pressing challenges, from supporting physical and mental health, to safeguarding the environment, fostering economic growth, and building strong community bonds.
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About VIM
VIM is leading projects to make it easier for Lackawanna Valley residents to access health, recreation, and a high quality of life. VIM helps to build community pride and promote positive change through public murals, dialogues, and events. To learn more, visit www.valleyinmotion.org
About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,364 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $93 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.4 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit www.tpl.org.
About 10-Minute Walk® program
The 10-Minute Walk® program, a Trust for Public Land award-winning national program, is engaging city leaders to close the park equity divide so that every resident has access to a quality park or green space within a 10-minute walk of home. The program calls on U.S. mayors to address cities’ most pressing needs around health, resilience, environmental protection, economic development, and community building through parks, and provides the resources needed to create and support parks that drive equitable, healthy, thriving communities. Through investigating and implementing high-impact policies and best practices for accelerating parks development, we aim to serve as the go-to group for closing the park equity divide. Read more at www.10minutewalk.org.
Last modified: October 2, 2024
