Beyond the Blue Building -- Partnerships for a Healthier Western Upper Peninsula Region

Making New Connections for Active Living

Ray Sharp — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:48:06 +0000

A new non-motorized trail was installed today in Houghton County, Michigan, enabling more people to safely commute by foot or bike to school, shopping, work and play.

The 800-foot paved trail was a collaboration of PortageTownship and Western U.P. Health Department, through a project funded and supported by the Healthy Communities Initiative of the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH). The Health Department works with local units of government to develop policies and infrastructure to make walking and biking safer and more convenient.

Portage Township Supervisor Bruuce Peterson explains:

“Today the trail was paved by Bill Siler’s crew – the trail is 8 feet wide and 802 feet long and has about 80 tons of bituminous 2 inches thick on it. Ray Sharp at the Health Department was able to get the grant for $8,600, and the remaining costs for the shaping, gravel and bituminous surfacing Portage Township will pay out of its recreation budget. The trail is defined as non-motorized – it’s for foot and bike traffic. This will be a great community asset – it will allow people who reside near Shopko an easy access to the Kessner Park and the adjoining trail that leads along the waterfront in Houghton.”

“The connector trail is a new kind of public health project,” said Ray Sharp, the health department’s manager of community planning and preparedness. “It will help residents travel back and forth between the Houghton Waterfront Trail and the west M-26 area, encouraging healthy physical activity.”

The health department receives funding and support from MDCH and from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities program to promote access to physical activity and healthy eating in order to reduce childhood obesity and chronic disease, and improve quality of life.

Here’s a look at trail construction, with the Portage Waterway and Lift Bridge in the background.

Looking north toward Portage Lake, August 2011

Site preparation, Oct. 25, 2011

Laying the bituminous (paving), Oct. 26, 2011

Completed before the first snow -- Oct. 26, 2011.

Walk and Roll to School Day

Ray Sharp — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:49:33 +0000

A big ‘shout out’ to the students, parents and staff at Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary School in northern Houghton County, Michigan for great participation in Safe Routes to School. Looks like we’re going to need a few more bike racks! And thanks to Arnie Kinnunen for helping with planning, and to our state consultamts Akia Burnett and Jim Harrington. We have a great team!

Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary School

HKHC Case Examples: Complete Streets

Ray Sharp — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 15:27:49 +0000

The section below is (gratefully) reprinted from the Healthy Kids Healthy Communities web site’s Case Examples: Complete Streets document, which profiles efforts in Chicago, Denver, New Orleans and little Houghton, Michigan to enact policies that encourage safe road designs for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users of all ages and abilities. To see what the big cities are doing, and to view the complete document, go to http://www.healthykidshealthycommunities.org/node/707/

Thanks to Abby Lowe, Risa Wilkerson and all the folks at HKHC for spreading the good news and connecting communities.

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Houghton, MI: Complete Streets Policy Win in the Upper Peninsula

In 2010, Houghton City Council passed a Bike Friendly Community resolution, a bike-parking addendum to its zoning ordinances, and, after a process of committee work and public hearings, a Complete Streets ordinance. Houghton became the sixth Michigan city, and first in the rural Upper Peninsula region, to adopt a Complete Streets ordinance. As of July 2011, Michigan led the nation in local Complete Streets policies enacted, with 7 ordinances and 41 resolutions. Ordinances such as Houghton’s specify that all new roads and renovation projects must be designed to accommodate the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and transit users. Houghton is also one of 158 cities nationwide designated as a Bike Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. Next up for Houghton’s bike task force is starting work on an Active Transportation Plan, a guiding document that will provide recommendations for transportation projects that reflect the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, transit users and people with disabilities. The Complete Streets ordinance is one important factor that will make it that much easier for residents of Houghton to incorporate activity into their daily lives.

For more information, take a look here:
• Michigan Complete Streets Coalition
• An article in the Mining Gazette

Healthy Communities Goals

Ray Sharp — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:54:23 +0000

Quiz: Which community-level outcome will lead to lower rates of chronic disease, disability and premature death?

A. Increase physical activity levels
B. Increase fruit and vegetable consumption
C. Decrease tobacco use and exposure
D. All of the above

Of course, the best answer is D. These are the three goals of Michigan’s Building Healthy Communities program, a program of the Michigan Department of Community Health. Here are some local examples of MDCH-funded initiatives that support one or more of these goals.

Bike lane, westbound Sharon Avenue, Houghton, west of Agate Street

Houghton has made great progress toward becoming more bike- and pedestrian-friendly. With help from MDCH on technical assitance and training, Houghton passed a Complete Streets ordinance in December 2010. MDCH funding has also helped with paving and striping bike lanes, and signage for bikers and walkers. When communities are safer and more convenient for walking, biking and public transit, and accommodate users of all ages and abilities, residents find it easier to incorporate more daily physical activity into their routines.

Ryan Street Community Garden, Hancock

The Ryan Street Community Garden at Finlandia University in Hancock, a project of the Sustainable Keweenaw Resource Center, also received funding from MDCH’s Building Healthy Communities grant, as well as donations from many community partners. The garden gives residents of the neighborhood an opportunity to grow (and eat) more veggies, and is a showcase to the community on organic gardening and permaculture methods and benefits.

CLK Heritage Garden at the elementary school in Calumet

Notice the sign, “Our Garden is Smoke-Free” displayed at the CLK school garden. When a child or family comes to the garden, they see this message and associate a tobacco-free lifestyle, eating healthy foods, and getting exercise (by gardening) as three components of a healthier community.

Early Sprouts and Nutrition Explorers

Ray Sharp — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:25:31 +0000

We all know the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables, but how do you get children to try new healthy foods and incorporate more veggies into their daily diets? Arnie Kinnunen, a health educator at Western U.P. Health Department, uses hands-on, research-based garden-to-table activities as he works with hundreds of children ages 4-12 and their families with the goal of introducing them to new foods, gardening, and healthier lifestyles.

The health department received a SNAP Education grant to provide nutrition classes to western U.P. children and families. SNAP (the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as “food stamps”), a program of the USDA, funds Michigan grantees to provide nutrition education through a grant to the MNN (Michigan Nutrition Network), and our agency receives funding to provide programs to preschoolers enrolled in BHK Head Start/Preschool classes across three counties, and to K-6 students in the Great Explorations summer program at 8 elementary schools. We call the preschool program Early Sprouts and the summer gardening program Nutrition Explorers.

The curricula, adapted by Arnie and health department registered dietitian Jean Ballone, feature age-appropriate activities that get kids handling seeds and soil, and tasting various fresh foods. When young people learn where their food comes from and actually plant, grow and harvest vegetables, research shows that they are more likely to add healthy foods into their diets.

Arnie and preschoolers in Aura (rural Baraga County) tasting carrots

Nutrition Explorers planting tomatoes at the L'Anse school, June 2011

How Does Your Garden Blog?

Ray Sharp — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:22:12 +0000

There’s always something interesting happening in a community garden. Every garden season has its activities, moods, sights, sounds, smells and tastes. Community gardens in Houghton and Hancock, conceived and maintained by residents dedicated to creating sustainable communities and to growing and eating local food, provide great examples you can visit in person and on-line.

Here’s the Pewabic Street (Houghton) Community garden blog link: http://pewabicstreetcommunitygarden.blogspot.com/

This is the Ryan Street (Hancock) Community Garden link: http://ryanstreetgarden.blogspot.com/

Both gardens provide gardening space to city residents and are places where children and adults can learn more about gardening and nutrition. They each have many volunteers and many partners, among them the Western U.P. Health Department, which helped them to receive funding from the Michigan Department of Community Health’s Building Healthy Communities grant program.

Hello Friends!

Ray Sharp — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:27:24 +0000

This is our big blue building, the main office of the Western U.P. Health Department, in Hancock, Michigan:

Health Department, Hancock

This is our healthy community:

Houghton Waterfront Trail, September 2010

Pewabic Street Community Garden, May 2010

This is our Healthy Western U.P. blog, where we venture beyond the blue building to bring you stories about where we live, work, study, play, shop and eat, featuring the work of public health and partners to build heathier communities for ourselves and our children.

In the days and seasons to come, we will share good news about pedestrian- and bike-friendly communities, community and school gardens, farmers markets, trails, sidewalks, bike lanes, safe routes to school, and other projects that help people become more physically active and eat well as part of their daily routines.