Community Members Invited To Attend – Walkability Workshops

COMMUNITY MEMBERS INVITED TO ATTEND BLUE ZONES PROJECT WALKABILITY WORKSHOPS FEATURING DAN BURDEN

Dodge County residents interested in learning how to make their community more walkable and vibrant are invited to attend one of four upcoming workshops hosted by Blue Zones Project® Dodge County.

The workshops will be led by Dan Burden, named by Time Magazine in 2011 as “one of the six most important civic innovators in the world.” An international walkability expert who works directly with Blue Zones Project communities to reshape their built environments, Burden will provide insights into policies and initiatives that could help make Dodge County a more vibrant, walkable and bikeable community.

WORKSHOP DATES:

Burden will lead residents in a walking audit to gather input and data that will inform and help prioritize a list of improvements specifically for Dodge County. Walking audits identify conditions that affect walkability, active living, social connectivity and access in an effort to make a community a safer, healthier place. Residents will also hear inspiring testimonials on the transformative power of connected neighborhoods.

Over the past 35 years, Burden has helped more than 3,000 communities become more livable, walkable and sustainable. As the director of innovation and inspiration at Blue Zones, LLC.,Burden helps civic leaders rethink the design and construction of streets and other areas where people walk, drive, and ride their bikes.

Brought to Dodge County through an innovative sponsorship by Beaver Dam Community Hospitals, Inc. in collaboration with Healthways, Inc. and Blue Zones, LLC, Blue Zones Project is a community-by-community well-being improvement initiative designed to enable community members to live longer, happier lives with lower rates of chronic diseases and a higher quality of life.

To learn more about Blue Zones Project visit DodgeCounty.BlueZonesProject.com

About Beaver Dam Community Hospitals, Inc.

Beaver Dam Community Hospitals, Inc. is an independent, non-profit healthcare organization whose mission is to deliver excellence across a continuum of services to patients in the region of Dodge, Columbia and Fond du Lac counties, Wisconsin. BDCH offers a comprehensive continuum of services to people of all ages, including primary and specialty care, obstetric and inpatient acute care, outpatient surgery and oncology services, emergency services, rehabilitation, independent and assisted living, home care, hospice, long-term care, wound care, urology, orthopedics and sports medicine, interventional radiology, occupational health, pain management, breast health services and womens health, community education, sleep medicine, and day care for children. For more information, visit www.bdch.com.

About Blue Zones Project

Blue Zones Project® is a community-led well-being improvement initiative designed to make healthy choices easier through permanent changes to a city’s environment, policy, and social networks. Established in 2010, Blue Zones Project is inspired by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow and New York Times best-selling author who identified five regions of the world—or Blue Zones—with the highest concentration of people living to 100 years or older. Blue Zones Project incorporates Buettner’s findings and works with cities to implement policies and programs that will move a community toward optimal health and well-being. Currently, 31 communities in eight states have joined Blue Zones Project, impacting more than 2 million Americans. The movement includes three beach cities in California; 15 cities in Iowa; Albert Lea, Minnesota; the city of Fort Worth; and communities in Hawaii, Southwest Florida, Wisconsin and Oregon. Blue Zones Project is a division of Healthways, a Sharecare company. For more information, visit www.bluezonesproject.com