Upper Valley Trails Alliance to Offer Passport to Winter Fun

The Upper Valley Trails Alliance plans to bring their nationally recognized “Passport to Winter Fun” program to some 4,000 local students in 30 schools this winter. Last year 3,000 students participated in the program and of the elementary school-aged children who completed the program, 79% indicated they were more active because of the Passport program.

The “Passport to Winter Fun” offers healthful incentives (such as free ski passes) to encourage children to accomplish 30 days of physical activity over the course of a six-week time period. Children who complete the Passport also receive additional incentive prizes. The incentive passes and grand prizes are donated by local partners who agree that promoting children’s health is a priority. Data will be collected from the students at both the beginning and end of the six-week program to help assess the impact the program has on their health.

With assistance from the Hood Center for Children and Families, the UVTA discovered that children who participated in 2009 not only were exercising more (on average, a half day more per week), they also tried new activities. The student’s responses indicated that the Passport to Winter Fun has a positive impact on reversing the growing trend of childhood obesity and the continuing disconnect between children and nature in the Upper Valley Region.

The UVTA began the program in 2007 under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Active Living by Design Grant program as a way to engage families in outdoor activities during long Upper Valley winters. “The idea is to get children to start practicing healthy habits at a young age to foster a lifetime love of being active- especially outdoors,” says Russell Hirschler, Executive Director of the UVTA.

Since the program’s inception the UVTA has worked to increase the number of families they reach each year as well as to raise the number who participate and make it to 30 days of activity. Last year, 27% of students completed the Passport compared to 22% in 2008, and 11% in 2007. In addition to reaching more children in the future, the UVTA is also working on other plans to expand the program to multiple seasons and developing an online version of the Passport.

Another encouraging piece of news to come from the data is that more students exercised with their families. By the end of the 2009 program, the percentage of students who did activity with a family member rose by 9%. Hirschler believes that the increased family participation may be a result of the UVTA offering a “family raffle prize” to students who did at least 20 of their 30 days of activity with a family member.

The Passport will also be available at a number of pediatric medical facilities thanks to support from the Upper valley Healthy Eating Active Living Partnership.

The Passport program would not be possible without the generous support of UVTA’s major funders, the Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Foundation, the Ottauquechee Health Foundation, the HOPE program, the Upper Valley Healthy Eating Active Living Partnership, and the Byrne Foundation.

For more information, please visit www.uvtrails.org.

The Upper Valley Trails Alliance is a charitable 501©(3) non profit organization. UVTA advocates for the use, maintenance, and development of trails in the region. Through education, outreach & stewardship we connect people and places through a regional trail network, lead a coalition of local trail groups and advocates, and promote active lifestyles through trail use in all seasons.