Over the past two years, we’ve had the pleasure of rolling out our Wander Walks programming to over 45 places throughout North America.
Our Wander Walks initiative focuses on partaking younger households in exercise based mostly signage that helps early childhood growth and nature based mostly play. For instance, a household is likely to be strolling by a neighborhood greenspace and so they see a Wander Walks signal which inspires them to discover slightly additional, spend slightly extra time outdoors, and finally it helps them have a optimistic and memorable expertise collectively. Every signal is guided by Wox the Wander Stroll fox and shares motion based mostly actions, tales about native species and indigenous individuals, and alternatives to apply mindfulness, in addition to enjoyable nature information that Wox tells us all through the Wander Stroll. Indicators are bilingual (English and Spanish) and embody diversifications for these with altered talents.
Due to companions like Merrell, L.L.Bean, Sunday Afternoons, Turtle Fur, Joules and Burley, we have been in a position to set up indicators in a wide range of places as each semi-permanent signage in partnership with native parks and recreation departments, and as occasion kits despatched to our Department Ambassadors, and neighborhood companions to allow them to pack them up and transfer them from place to position to assist get their branches lively on the path. Every package is made up of 10 indicators, that are chosen from our library of particular person indicators, providing the chance to select the most effective indicators for his or her location.
We’ve actually loved seeing the place our neighborhood has been in a position to Wander with Wox! Right here’s a few of what individuals love about our Wander Stroll indicators.
Hikers can work together with the indicators as a gaggle taking part on a hike collectively, or on their very own.
We partnered with the Level au Roche State Park Nature Middle and put the indicators alongside one among their brief trails (a few quarter mile). We had a number of group Wander Walks, however these staying away from others as a result of Covid considerations particularly loved that they might do the Wander Stroll on their very own at any time. – Valerie Gregory, Hike it Child Adirondack Coast NY Department Ambassador
The indicators can be utilized in a small space, and doesn’t must be a mountaineering path! They assist youngsters have interaction with nature the place ever that nature could also be:
Wander Walks have been an effective way to get our college students out of the classroom and out of doors. Our program doesn’t have nice entry to the outside, nonetheless we have been in a position to facilitate an academic alternative for our college students proper on faculty grounds with the assistance of the Wander Walks program. – Sam Giffin, Program Director for twenty first Century Grant in Marysville, WA
Wander Walks create a novel, interactive alternative to go from merely shifting alongside a path to really sensing what is occurring round you
This Wander Stroll was interactive for our household, and helped level out issues that you simply may not have seen. For instance, it made us extra conscious of bug life. We additionally went on the Ice Age Path, and we truly appeared round at what was round us relatively than simply walked after noticing a few of what the indicators identified. It was a fantastic outing with my grandkids. – Sue H, Eagle, WI

To be taught extra about Wander Walks, attain out to us the place you may get a set of your personal, or companion with us to develop our subsequent customized Wander Stroll signal!