Announcing the TOOLKIT!!!

Caption: The cover of Trailnet's Toolkit

Two years in the making, we are excited to announce the official release of Trailnet’s Healthy, Active, & Vibrant Community Toolkit.

This comprehensive and visually compelling document presents an exciting vision for the future of our communities—a future built around quality of life, health, vibrant local economies, and the environment.

The Toolkit is packed with case studies, mini-articles, and policy recommendations arranged in eight sections for:
-Schools
-Community Residents
-Design Practitioners
-Faith-Based Orgs
-Healthcare Providers and Institutions
-Local Governments and Community Orgs
-State and Federal Governments
-Workplaces

Download the Toolkit for FREE.

Margaret Donnelly, Director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, praised the Toolkit for its emphasis on healthy living. Donnelly noted that physical activity not only reduces obesity, but also helps reduce chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure.

"Three of the most important things you can do for your health are move more, eat smart, and be tobacco free," Donnelly said. "These choices are keys to a long and productive life. The Trailnet Toolkit has practical ideas for helping communities of any size achieve those goals. In the process, communities can become healthier, more connected and more enjoyable places to live."

At its core, the Toolkit is focused on creating long-term solutions to address the obesity epidemic. However, we built on this core focus to provide you with a series of recommendations that go well beyond combating obesity and focus on creating communities that foster the highest quality of life and independence for residents young, old, and in between. We believe that the recommendations in the Toolkit, if implemented in a way that is sensitive to the social and physical character and context of your community, will strengthen social bonds, increase sense of safety, help define your community’s identity, attract new local businesses, and of course, lead to healthier individuals.

Caption: The Toolkit includes practical and actionable recommendations

Trailnet convened a multi-disciplinary team to develop the Healthy, Active & Vibrant Community Toolkit which consisted of healthcare providers, urban planners, architects, green building professionals, public health researchers, dietitians, educators, community organizers, and bicycle and pedestrian advocates. The recommendations are intended to lead to long-term, institutionalized change by focusing on solutions that address policies, environments, and social networks.

We hope you find this resource useful. We also hope you will share this resource with colleagues, neighbors, and pertinent decision-makers. The Toolkit can be downloaded for free online at: www.trailnet.org/HAVC_Toolkit.php

If you would like more information, please call or email Phil Valko: 314-436-1324 x119 or phil@trailnet.org

Sincerely,
-The Trailnet Team