LiveWell Colorado’s HEAL Cities & Towns Campaign participated in the Colorado Municipal League (CML) 93rd annual conference in Breckenridge this month.
The conference was a great way to showcase the success of HEAL Cities & Towns, reconnect with existing members of the Campaign, and recruit new municipalities to join.
To kick off the conference, the HEAL Cities & Towns team led a walk for CML members. LiveWell Colorado staff members Julie George and Sarah Kurz were joined by HEAL Cities & Towns advisory committee members Bennett Mayor Pro Tem Charles Bayley, Thornton Mayor Heidi Williams, Brush Council Member Vicky Quinlin, and Manitou Springs Council Member Nicole Nicoletta. We were also joined by a great group of municipal leaders from Central City, Cripple Creek, Evans, Fort Collins, Florence, Littleton, Montrose, Otis and Westminster. The walk was great exercise but also a fun way to model a walking meeting and observe elements of the built environment that are conducive to active living as well as those that are barriers.
On Thursday, Julie moderated and participated in a workshop titled “Community Engagement: Maximize Access to Healthy Living.” Brian Kates, parks operations administrator for Colorado Springs and Anne Johnson, representing the town of Milliken, did a great job laying out the importance of utilizing the community’s voice in order to ensure that city projects related to healthy eating and active living meet the needs of residents. Both used examples to demonstrate how engaging and gathering input from residents results in a stronger community with amenities that are used and enjoyed by many. Nearly 40 people attended the session and provided the panel with great questions. The attendees were all active participants and the session was well received.
