On Wednesday 28th February 2018, I was present at the first Reach Out Health Walk, which brought together Inverness College students, NHS Highland & UHI staff and members of the public.
The health walk came together following contact from Mari Todd, a lecturer at Inverness College, who was looking to put together a project for her students enrolled on the ‘Introduction to Care Practice’ course. The aim would be that the walks would benefit the local community but also raise the students understanding of the importance of physical and mental wellbeing.
The first meeting for the proposed walks took place on the 24th January with Myself, Mari, Elspeth Lee (Health Improvement Specialist – Mental Health and Wellbeing) and Dan Jenkins (Health Improvement Specialist, Sexual Health & Relationships and Physical Activity) in attendance. It became clear almost immediately that with support from ‘Step It Up Highland’, the walks could become a regular event during the spring/summer term.
With a follow up meeting held on the 6th March, we confirmed the launch date of the first Health Walk and set about making sure that everything was in place. We advertised the health walks using social media and via traditional media with support from own Corporate Communications teams and the Inverness College UHI Press Office.
On the week of the first walk, the UK was issued with a weather warning; dubbed via the media as ‘The Beast from the East’, with high levels of snow and cold temperatures to be expected. Thankfully, the Inverness area was welcomed with sunshine and hardly any snow. This meant that the walk could proceed as expected, with advice issued that those attending should dress accordingly for the low temperature levels.
A meeting point was setup near the reception within the College’s main entrance, with a ‘Reach Out’ banner to provide a visual cue to those who would be attending. Not quite knowing how many to expect, we were pleasantly suprised to find that we had eight people in attendance, with Mari, myself and our ‘Step It Up Highland’ Walk Leader, making eleven. The walk consisted of a lap around the College’s lochs and it was great to see everyone joining in coversation with each other. The students on the walk were extremely enthusiastic and it was nice to see them making an effort to speak and also listen to the members of the public who attended. All in all, the walk lasted for around 45 minutes to an hour, although it didn’t feel like it.
The walks will continue to take place for the next few weeks; with a fortnight break from the 4th April, restarting on the 18th April, and it would be great to see others taking advantage of this opportunity.