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Yallourn North gets off the couch

In a move to improve general health, fitness, and community and personal wellbeing, residents of Yallourn North ‘got off their couches’ and joined in a community walk at the Reserve Street sportsground last Sunday.

By Latrobe City Council - 24th March 2006 - Back to News

Mums with prams and young children, senior citizens, and everyone in between, enjoyed the opportunity to network and connect with fellow community members as they took the walk at their own pace, and afterwards enjoyed a cup of tea together.

Deputy mayor, Cr Bruce Lougheed, who also took part in the morning’s exercise said that the morning was a great success.

"There was a great atmosphere and everybody came away feeling positive. We were very fortunate in that the weather was very kind to us, blue skies were the perfect backdrop for an enjoyable morning’s walk," said Cr Lougheed.

Some light warm up exercises were led by Latrobe City community development officer, Teresa Pugliese.

"The walk itself was not too onerous at all; participants were encouraged to challenge themselves at their own rate and could keep track of how far they had walked through markings set out around the track," Ms Pugliese said.

"Many participants expressed that they are looking forward to the next walk which is very encouraging. Increased levels of physical activity creates a healthier community - it is well known that as little as 30 minutes a day can improve your bones and muscles, reduce the risk of illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer and increase your overall energy levels," Ms Pugliese said.

The community walk was organised after a survey conducted by the Latrobe Active Community Network (LACN) identified that residents believed that they would benefit from organised walking groups.

Many respondents said that they would walk more if they had a companion to walk with, and would be interested in linking up with other walkers.

LACN project worker, Trish Leddin, who coordinated the activity in conjuction with the Yallourn North Action Group expressed her delight with the response for the first walk.

"Our goal is to establish several sustainable walking groups in each of our targeted towns of Yallourn North, Boolarra and Yinnar, with community members leading the way. This is a great start and we want more people to get involved," Ms Leddin said.

There is currently discussion on more walks to be undertaken including the development of a historical walk with items of interest marked out along the route.

The LACN project is being auspiced by Latrobe City Council through grants from the Department for Victorian Communities and the Central West Gippsland Primary Care Partnership.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com



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