June 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 55

mented by a variety of local organizations, offered under one umbrella.
We asked ourselves, 'How can we
encourage our residents to become
more active, while engaging them
in a fun way?' and 'How can we influence real behavior change toward
healthier lifestyles?' "
The answer was to create an interactive challenge anchored by enjoyable activities designed to improve
mental and physical health and facilitate greater community connections.
Baldwin and his team at SAPRD designed a points-based system, where
participants would receive a paper
" passport " in which to gather stamps
upon completing a given task. Such
activities included swimming at a local pool, engaging with SAPRD social media through sharing pictures
or tweets, visiting a museum, eating
healthy foods, committing to a race
or fitness challenge, and many others. " Providing a point system and
the opportunity to earn prizes for engaging in healthy behaviors is a great
incentive for some people, whether
you're aiming to win something, setting goals for yourself, or just competitive by nature, " Baldwin says.
" The thought was that, through this
program, people would discover new
ways to be healthy, and hopefully
make participating in these activities
a permanent part of their lifestyle. "
With each iteration of the FitPass
program, Baldwin says they're making tweaks and changes to improve
its draw and efficacy, including telescoping its initial nine-month participation span to three months and, this
year, developing an interactive mobile app to keep track of points, rather than continuing to use the printed
passport. The risks and adjustments
of the past two years certainly paid
off - " In all, we've distributed almost 25,000 FitPass passports over
the last two sessions, " Baldwin says.

Additionally, SAPRD's Ride to
Own bicycle and Mobile Fit San Antonio programs have proven incredibly popular. " Over a 10-week [Ride
to Own] session we teach participants the fundamentals of riding and
maintaining a bicycle, which includes
a combination of classroom-style
teaching and group bike rides, " Baldwin says. " Upon completion of the
program, each participant receives a
brand new bike. Did I mention that
participation in this program is free? "
Mobile Fit was revealed in June
2014 and made possible through a
corporate grant from Coca-Cola.
The tricked out " wellness vehicle "
travels to neighborhoods that may
lack a park or open space for socialization or exercise, and brings those
amenities right to residents' front
doors. " It's equipped with portable
fitness and health screening equipment and travels to parks, schools,
churches and community events,
providing free fitness classes and
free health screenings, " Baldwin
explains. " It's available to the community at no charge for reservation.
We really wanted to be able to reach
people who may not be in our parks
or have access to our services. Again,
it's an attempt at breaking barriers in
order to get more people in the community active. "
And, beyond programmatic highlights, both Urrutia and Baldwin
cite San Antonio's Howard W. Peak
Greenway Trail System as an essential amenity. " [The system is] a series
of paved trails that meander along
the creekways here in San Antonio, "
Urrutia explains. " These trails offer
great opportunities for physical fitness for citizens who enjoy the outdoors, and wish to reduce their stress
and improve their health by spending
time on the trails. It also serves as an
alternative form of transportation. "
The trail is currently under expansion

across the city, and, Baldwin says,
outdoor fitness equipment has been
installed at more than 40 locations
along the trail, offering additional
options for exercise.
Wide Horizons
Urrutia says SAPRD plans to continue honing its current programs and
community outreach, as well as position its parks as economic drivers.
" [Our initiatives range from] 'Parks
as the Centerpiece to Neighborhood
Revitalization,' where parks can be
the catalyst to other investments, to
Fitness in the Park and all the other
programs that have been created to
get San Antonio active and fit, and
the continued development of our
Linear Creekway Trail System, " he
says. " At the end of the day, [SAPRD] will continue to protect our
public green space as a place for all
people to come together as a community, it's just that now people are
walking, running and biking to get
there, which means we have made a
difference. "
For Baldwin, that last part is most
notable for its service as a reminder
that his agency is making a real difference in the health and wellness of
the citizens it serves. " Because we've
made such a strategic and concentrated effort in integrating wellness into
our parks system over the past several
years, you can really see a change in
how people see and use our parks, "
he says. " There's a noticeable change
in the air...you see more people exercising outdoors, biking on our trails,
walking their dogs and taking advantage of what have become very active
spaces. I really believe that the public
perception of parks' role in healthy
living has changed. "
Samantha Bartram is the Executive Editor
of Parks & Recreation magazine (sbartram@
nrpa.org).

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