| Spotlight Program: City of Covina
Located 22 miles east of Los Angeles at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains, the City of Covina, California boasts about 50,000 residents. Its Parks and Recreation Department is actively working to improve the health of its citizens. The city’s website makes the goal clear: “The Covina Parks & Recreation Department’s mission is to provide a multitude of recreational opportunities to have the public use their energies, while enriching their lives and improving their health and sense of well-being…Through the programs and services that are offered by the Parks & Recreation Department, the public has an opportunity to “get healthy, get happy, and live longer.”
In 2009, the Covina Parks and Recreation Department offered Wise Kids Outdoors within its summer camp as a result of receiving a National Recreation and Parks Association Youth Wellness Program Resource Grant. Thirty-six children participated in the program, where they benefited from enthusiastic leaders who stressed positive attitudes and experiences for both the participants and the leaders. As a result, a strong bond between and among the participants and leaders developed, making the summer camp an enriching experience that the kids and leaders won’t soon forget. “Wise Kids Outdoors really enhanced the Summer Day Camp experience for both children and staff. Participants enjoyed the fun, educational activities and staff had a great time facilitating them,” explained Tara Rizzolo, Community Services Supervisor. The leaders really brought the missions to life, setting up recycling stations at the camp after learning about recycling within Wise Kids Outdoors. The survey results from the participants were simply phenomenal! In the pre-program survey, 58% of the participants said they preferred to play outdoors than indoors. But in the post-program survey, all of the participants preferred the outdoors! Similarly, in the pre-survey, 36% of the participants stated that they ate healthy snacks with their friends, but in the post-survey that number had risen to 90%. When the program started, only 40% of the participants thought that taking care of nature was important, but when they were done, they all agreed on its importance. These are amazing results, and it shows how the leaders and participants genuinely learned to enjoy and appreciate nature and developed some healthy living habits at the same time!
They truly are taking active steps to create Healthier Kids, Healthier Communities and a Healthier World!
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