She’s walking on sunshine

Local walker invites residents to get active through NS Walks

Greenville resident Rachel Falls has decided to help people get out of the house and become more active in the community.

“I love to walk and I also want to get elderly people out and get them active so I thought this would be a great way to do it,” says Falls, who is a Yarmouth-based walk leader for the volunteer organization NS Walks.

“(And) I had no idea Yarmouth had so many different trails!”

Recently introduced as a Hike Nova Scotia program, NS Walks is a free initiative that aims to provide social support for residents who want to become more active or get involved in a local walking group in their community.

“According to some surveys in Nova Scotia, there are many people who want to be more active but they want someone to walk with or do something with active-wise,” says Catherine Droesbeck, program co-ordinator of NS Walks.

“Walking is a great activity and it’s accessible to everyone, it’s cheap and something you can do in your daily life.”

The program operates by pairing participants with volunteer walk leaders throughout the province. Through NS Walks, those leaders are provided free training and guidance to organize and lead accessible, gentle walks in their respective communities.

“It’s three hours, it’s quick and it’s really good,” says Falls about the NS Walks free leadership training program. “Then you sign up after to say you want to be a walk leader and they send you a vest (and) armbands for your walkers, attendance sheets and assessment forms.”

Falls plans her gentle walks on a weekly basis and ensures they are accessible to people of all mobility levels. She also changes her routes regularly and has hosted them everywhere from downtown Yarmouth to as far afield as Pubnico Point Trail.

“We try to do different routes every week just so our walkers don’t get bored and tired (of) the same old scenery,” says Falls, who usually plans her walks on Sunday afternoons. “So, we try to switch it up every week.”

Since the launch of the NS Walks program in 2021, the voluntary organization has been growing quickly with many walking groups now taking place across the province.

“We’re hoping for a tremendous amount of growth,” says Droesbeck, adding more groups are always welcome. “(But) it’s going to depend on getting walk leaders into communities.”

As such, volunteers in Yarmouth and surrounding area are encouraged to sign up either as participants or as potential walk leaders through NS Walks on the Hike Nova Scotia website.

As much as the NS Walks program hopes to lead more residents into living a more active lifestyle, the non-profit group is also quick to note the added mental and health benefits of connecting and socializing with others in a walk group should not be understated — especially in the shadow of the pandemic.

“With COVID, (people) couldn’t get out and a lot of people were depressed,” says Falls. “My own personal thoughts are that I just feel when you walk, you just feel like your whole body is being cleansed and I feel great after walking (so) I want to make other people feel good and be active.”

For more information on the program, visit: www.hikenovascotia.ca/ns-walks