Put Spring in your step
Spring is here, summer is looming and the weather (at last) is improving and as a result Warwickshire County Council’s Sustainable Travel team is encouraging local authority staff to start walking.
Walking can help with a healthier lifestyle and the team hopes it will cut the numbers of people travelling in cars to its offices.
With the introduction of a self-service loan scheme for staff members, which enables them to borrow a ‘brolly’ or waterproof clothing, they no longer have to worry about April showers.
Weather is not the only possible barrier to walking catered for, there are personal alarms available to ensure safety on the journey, and pedometers so staff can measure how active they have become by walking a short distance every day.
On average people walk between 3,000 and 4,000 steps a day and this is not nearly enough! In Japanese, the pedometer’s nickname is ‘manpo-kei’, but there’s nothing lost in translation here, as it literally means ‘10,000 steps’. This is the Government recommended daily amount of steps, as there is evidence that walking 10,000 steps a day can lead to significant health benefits. If done daily it can make you feel better and can help reduce the risk of developing serious illnesses such as heart disease, some cancers, diabetes and depression.
The commute to work isn’t the only opportunity for council staff to get active the introduction of led lunchtime walks around Warwick are an opportunity for those who live too far to consider walking. The walks happen monthly and are approximately 30 - 45 minutes long.
Karen Martin of the Sustainable Travel Team said: “Not only do the walks encourage healthier lifestyles but allow people to socialise and go back to work feeling refreshed.”
These new initiatives are all part of Warwickshire County Council’s continued efforts to encourage green transport choices. On an ongoing basis staff are encouraged to commute to work in more sustainable and healthy ways such as walking, cycling, car sharing or for those cannot walk the whole way are encouraged to catch the bus or train and walk the remainder of the journey to reap the benefits.
A 15-minute walk both to and from work everyday can constitute the minimum recommended amount of physical activity people should be doing every week.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Environmental Services, said: “It has also been shown that people who walk to work often arrive feeling awake and with plenty of energy to take on the challenges of the day, helping towards a dynamic workforce.”