Fall 2006
Walking Program Details
Dates: The program will begin on the
10th of September with registration (if you haven't pre-registered), some
details of the calendar, and a short lecture on Henry David Thoreau. We will end
the session with a short walk around Plymouth. The program will end on the 12th
of November with a Crop Walk. We strongly encourage all participants to
participate in the Crop Walk. There will be a final celebration of the program
on the 19th of November.
Costs: The registration fees for adults
(over 21) is $10 and for all others is $5. All collected fees will be donated to
Church World Service,
Step totals: Each person is to supply
his or her own pedometer. Pedometers are available at a variety of local stores
or over the internet. They run in costs from $5 to $35. Price doesn't seem to be
related reliability, as some of the cheaper ones work better and more error-free
than the more expensive ones. Although the program is mostly focused on
walking, we encourage all participants to choose the form of exercise that most
fits their schedule and their abilities. Click on the following link for a
table
of alternatives.
Program goals: There are three main
goals to the program. The first is to encourage regular exercise. The
second
is to foster a sense of community. A the third is to keep our
communities trash-free. For the first goal, we hope the
participants will aim for 10,000 steps a day (five days a week). Some of you
will be able to do this goal in the first week. Others may reach it by the
end of the program. Even if you can't reach it, at least try to add steps to
your step-totals each week to see how close you can come to 50,000 steps per
week. For the second goal, we will have some formal group walks (usually
Saturdays or Sunday afternoons). If you participate in these walks, you can
double your steps. Likewise, we encourage you to walk with other participants
and if you do so, you can also double those step totals. Thus by walking with
others, it may not be as hard as you think to reach the 50,000/steps per week.
The third goal is related to Thoreau's environmental interests. As part of
each person's normal walking or exercise program, we encourage you to
take a plastic bag with yourself every time you walk and clean up the
roadsides and by-ways of your local environment. There will be a
prize given for the person who collects the most trash.
Tracking your steps: On the pertinent forms page, there
is a downloadable form for tracking your daily and weekly step totals. If you
want to participate in the competition activity, there is a link on the index
page for the Fall 2006 program for sending
the organizers your weekly totals.
Prizes: This program is not a contest, but to add
a little bit of excitement we will be giving out some prizes on the 19th of
November for the following categories
Most steps by person under the age of 21
Most individual steps by female over 21
Most individual steps by male over 21
Most steps (group and individual) by female over 21
Most steps (group and individual) by male over 21
Most bags of trash collected during program period
What is a CROP Walk?
Crop Walks are community walks that raise money for
Church World Service, an
NGO that steps up to the plate when environmental disasters occur and which
on a regular basis deals with issues of refugees, hunger and development,
and peace and justice. Crop walks have been sponsored for many years in the
Plymouth area by the United Campus Ministry Program at Plymouth State
University. Last year over $2000 was raised and sent to Church World
Service.
Program Organizers:
Larry T. Spencer, Professor Emeritus of Biology, Plymouth State
University (lts@plymouth.edu), 536-4315
Wendy Burnham, Administrative Assistant, Mathematics
Department, Plymouth State University