CREATING LANDSCAPES

Walkathon 2025: walking for playgrounds

Walking for Playgrounds was piloted in winter/spring ’22 when in early spring Meadville families formed 13 walking teams to walk 18,000 miles through their neighborhood. As had been promised, each mile was matched by $1.00. More than $18,000 became available to provide programming, supplies and equipment for a Summer Parks Program.

To date, Walkathon walkers walked singly, or together in teams, either on the defined Walkable Meadville 5K pathway or wherever their day’s journey takes them or on Saturday mornings on the Ernst Trails. For six weeks, each walker keeps track of individual miles walked. Team captains report team totals weekly. Amazingly, miles do add up to create the funding necessary to assure the Meadville parks program will thrive.

Walkathon commitments come in 3 forms: some folks walk, some raise dollars to match miles walked by others and some do both. In Walkathon ‘25 there will also be bikers!

Once again, like robins returning in the Spring, during the first six weeks of Walkathon ’25 (March 22-April 29) Saturday morning buses will be available to transport walkers for a 2-mile morning walk from the Children’s Garden on South Main Street to one of 6 Ernst Trail heads.

On Saturday March 22, when Walkathon ’25 begins, a bus will be waiting at the Children’s Garden--1047 South Main Street. At 9:30 the bus will take walkers to the Ernst Trails. A guide will be there to meet them. A different 2-mile trail section will be explored each Saturday--March 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19 and 26. When the walk is completed, the bus will return to the Children’s Garden.

To form a Walk-a-Thon team of walkers or bikers contact:

Jan Hyatt: jan@creatinglandscapes.org

Tamara Clark: tamara@creatinglandscapes.org

To reserve space on the Saturday morning Walkathon Bus, contact Rosemary Richardson: rosemary@creatinglandscapes.org, Jan Hyatt  jan@creatinglandscapes.org, or Tamara Clark: tamara@creatinglandscapes.org

To reserve space on the Saturday morning Walkathon Bus, contact Rosemary Richardson: rosemary@creatinglandscapes.org