Big Fit Walk a Hit in Shieldhill
The "Big Fit Walk" is an event which has run annually over the last four years in the Falkirk area. The NHS and Falkirk Council Services support the event as part of their strategies to promote physical activity. The aim of the event is to raise awareness of the health benefits of walking by involving as many people as possible in a 30 minutes walk from their own doorstep on the day of the event.
This year, Shieldhill and California Community Council decided to launch a Shieldhill contribution to the Big Fit Walk, with the support of Shieldhill Community Wing and Shieldhill Primary School. The event took place on Friday 13 June at 6.30pm.
The idea was to have a half hour's walk through Shieldhill as a form of gentle exercise for people of all ages and families to join in and also to offer people in the community a fun opportunity to get together. Annabelle Glen of the Community Council worked out a buggy-friendly route through Shieldhill, using part of the core path network.
The Community Council kindly financed healthy refreshments afterwards in the form of fruit juice, smoothies and a selection of fresh fruit. Shieldhill Community Wing helped by designing and printing leaflets and making the wing available for refreshments after the walk. Shieldhill Primary School generously took care of promoting the event by giving a leaflet to every child in the school.
42 people eventually gathered at the Community Wing and had great fun taking part in the walk and in tasting the healthy refreshments afterwards. Every participant also received a certificate and a ticket for a prize draw. 8 lucky people won a pedometer, kindly donated by Forth Valley NHS.
Annabelle Glen said: "I'm delighted that so many people in the community could join us at relatively short notice. We all had great fun and we look forward to doing it again next year with even more people."
Tony Beekman, Community Education Worker
Shieldhill Community Wing
(Tony can also be contacted at 01324 851548)