Upper Valley Trails Alliance

Upper Valley Trails for Life

In November 2003, UVTA received a five-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's (RWJF) Active Living by Design program to implement "Upper Valley Trails for Life"--a project to promote routine physical activity via trails in order to combat the threat of development/sprawl and its associated negative trends in obesity, diabetes cardiovascular disease. UVTA is one of 25 organizations selected nationwide to receive this grant--out of almost 1,000 applicants--RWJF's largest-ever response to a call for proposals. For more information on this exciting initiative, see www.activelivingbydesign.org.

Vision

Upper Valley Trails for Life aims to utilize our hundreds of miles of trails to actively promote, increase opportunities for, and remove barriers to, physical activity. We envision that residents will come to view trails and the use of trails as just as essential to their everyday routines as roadways are today, and that trails will be respected, celebrated and protected by local officials as an invaluable and essential resource to both public and community health.

Mission

To enhance and protect the health of Upper Valley residents and our environment by promoting "Active Living" via trails. "Active Living" is a lifestyle that easily integrates physical activity into daily routines.

Strategies

• Implement a prescription walking program for patients who see internal medicine, family and pediatric physicians
• Integrate use of trails into physical education and other curricula at elementary schools
• Work with area employers, particularly the two largest (Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth College), to encourage and provide opportunities for trail use among employees
• Partner with the recreation departments in each town to promote opportunities for trail use
• Ensure the longevity of trails by working with town and regional planners to protect trails against development and include trails when new developments are proposed

Impact

Trails for Life will bring trails to more people and, by integrating the use of trails into daily routines, will provide a basis for life-long habits of exercise and enjoying the outdoors throughout the year. This will help address chronic health problems such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Our reach will extend beyond our region as new doctors are trained to integrate trails into their regimes for patient treatment wherever they end up as physicians, and as our model is replicated in other communities nationwide.