News  |  Posted April 24, 2024

Stepping Up: Could Your Community Benefit for a Local Walking Action Plan?

The Walking Edition: A New Chapter in Sustaining Choices

Sustaining Choices is funded by the Paths for All ‘Smarter Choices Smarter Places’ fund.

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Over the past three years, our Sustaining Choices programme has seen remarkable success in collaborating with communities to develop active and sustainable travel action plans.

“We are already seeing the benefits of the Action Plan with groups using it as an informed, professional platform” – Sustaining Choices 3 participant

“Well done, articulate and professional” – Sustaining Choices 3 participant

“We have now documented the community concerns and have a working mandate to progress on these initiatives” – Sustaining Choices 2 participant

Now, as we look to the future, we’re excited to announce an evolution of the programme, one that is more responsive, inclusive, and focussed on a key element of healthy living: walking.

Why walking? Because we recognise its profound impact on both individual health and community well-being. Walking isn’t just about physical exercise; it’s about connecting with our surroundings, fostering a sense of belonging, and reducing our carbon footprint. By zeroing in on walking, we believe we can outline interventions that can be readily implemented at the grassroots level, making a tangible difference in people’s lives.

Through creative initiatives, we’ll explore how to enhance walking experiences in local areas, involving residents every step of the way. We’re also offering training opportunities, empowering communities to actively participate in the engagement process and shape their own futures.

We will embrace non-traditional methods for gathering information and this could include art, poetry, podcasts or filmmaking. Each community we work with will have the opportunity to tailor these methods to their specific needs, ensuring relevance and accessibility for all.

Interested to create a Local Walking Action Plan for your community?

While we’re still in the early stages of this exciting journey, we’re actively seeking communities who share our vision and want to be part of this transformative experience. The project has a planned duration of one year, ending on March 31, 2025 and we’d like to start the programme of engagement in September 2024. We’ll provide the support, guidance, and expertise every step of the way, from project management to data analysis and beyond.

At the end, each community will have a local walking action plan, including ideas for community-generated interventions, and the creative outputs intended to share these ideas broadly.

Submit your expression of interest

If this sounds like it is for your community, please complete our expression of interest form by Wednesday 29 May. If you’d like to find out more, please contact Erin Fulton, Community Development Manager, erin@pas.org.uk.

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Photo by Sébastien Goldberg on Unsplash