Students at Isonville Elementary and Lakeside Elementary in Elliott County have new resources available for physical activity. The Partnership for a Healthy Elliott County, with leadership from Gwenda Adkins, Elliott County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences, received grant funds to construct walking paths at each school. In addition, curriculum resources are being developed to enable teachers to incorporate the trails into their lesson plans.
The trails are each designed in the shape of the state of Kentucky. Signage along each trail communicates information about nutrition, health and Kentucky history. Elliott County has been denoted inside each trail with a permanent marker, and schools have been provided with changeable signage to adapt to curriculum and instruction.
Rhonda Reynolds, a member of the Partnership for a Healthy Elliott County stated, "We hope that teachers will use the trail to emphasize major points in the curriculum. This way they have a teaching tool and students get some movement without taking time away from learning."
Funding for the trails was provided from the Appalachian Regional Commission through the Brushy Fork Institute. The grant funds allowed the Partnership for a Healthy Elliott County to partner with Hepburn Lodge 576 to construct the trails, and donations of rock were secured through the Elliott County Judge Executive, Carl Fannin. Fourth grade students from each school took an active part in trail construction, working with a local artist to design signage.
Congratulations to the Partnership for a Healthy Elliott County for their work to address childhood obesity and lack of physical activity.