August 2020

Welcome to the monthly edition of we can move news. We hope this helps and inspires all of us in Gloucestershire to move more.

This month:
◾ What is at the top of your to do list?
    - Become a champion of change
    - Become a young trustee

◾ Staying in, getting out or something in between
    - Green spaces and open spaces
    - Get out cycling
    - Staying in
    - Stuck in between

What is at the top of your to do list?

The disruption caused by coronavirus has led many people to reorder their lives and priorities. Sport England reports* that people have an increased desire to get active after lockdown. Physical activity is now at the top of many peoples to do list!

This is great news; however, we know it takes more than desire and commitment to make it happen. We need our environment to work for us, we need to form good habits and to keep them, and we need to know what to do and how to stay active.

We can move aims to support individuals and the community to change the places we are in, to make physical activity a part of everyday life. This movement is only possible through some sort of disruption. It takes people willing to share their passion, share their knowledge, make introductions, change their approaches. So, what is at the top of your to do list?

Become a champion of change

The community of we can move change makers is passionate about helping to bring about change in Gloucestershire, to create a county where more people enjoy an active life and a place where it is normal and easy to be active.

Change makers drive this change in their workplaces, communities and families. We produce a collection of resources, events and training to support change makers. These are sent to change makers every month.

This month in the change maker newsletter:

• Want to start cycling or encourage others? Discover free events and practical tips.
• Support employees with the Stress Reduction & Mental Wellbeing Resources and Toolkit.
• New insight around striving for a more inclusive approach to public health research and innovation. Read more. 
• Book your place on our series of we can move change maker workshops. 

Get all this and more straight to your inbox.
 

Become a young trustee

Active Gloucestershire, the coordinating body behind we can move, is recruiting for young trustees. If you are aged between 18 to 25 or know someone who is and is able and willing to make a real difference, read on.

Becoming a young trustee is an incredible opportunity to enable people in your community to lead happier, healthier lives – at the same time as enhancing your own value to employers. It’s a real commitment and a voluntary role, but it’s also something you can do alongside work or study. Fully supported, our young trustees will join our approachable, experienced board members. As a young trustee you will develop skills in key areas such as marketing, strategy, accounting, legal compliance and public speaking.
 

Staying in, getting out or something in between

Green spaces and open spaces

The pandemic has seen many of us rely on green spaces for our wellbeing. People with better access to green spaces enjoy a wide range of benefits from lower levels of cardiovascular disease through to maintaining a healthier weight. **

During lockdown we were initially limited to local green and open spaces and many people took walks or cycled to local spaces they may not have spent much time in before. With this new knowledge and perspective; how are you engaging with green spaces? Can you be physically active in them and what can you change about them?

Find out more about green spaces in Cheltenham, Stroud and Gloucester as published by each council.

Gloucester City Council is setting out its plans and ambitions for Gloucester’s parks and open spaces for the next five years. You can see the Open Space Strategy here.

Let Gloucester city council know what is important to you about your open spaces. How would you like to see these used?

Get out cycling

Cycling picked up over lockdown as more people took to their bikes to get their one form of exercise a day. With quieter streets, many who had not cycled before felt confident to give it a try. There is now a push to keep this going with the launch of the £50 bike repair voucher scheme, which is currently oversubscribed, and powers have been given to local authorities to create safer cycling spaces.

Check out We are cycling UK on what you can do to get better cycling facilities in your local area.

Inclusive cycling
Gloucestershire Wheels for All provide inclusive cycling for ages 8 upwards, and for people with reduced or little mobility. They have trikes, tandem trikes and companion trikes, hand cycles and companion hand cycles, a quad bike and side-by-side bike and wheelchair cycles and wheelchair transporters available for use. Find out more.

Women in cycling
Read the story of Sarah and Fazeela, two women whose fitness journey led them to organise cycling classes for their community.

'We can move' can support you in developing your idea to get more people in your community cycling.

Staying in

It is with caution that some people in our communities are going out of their houses more and for some, not at all. Coronavirus has created another barrier to physical activity for those who rely on going out of the house to stay active.

While we continue to encourage the use of green and open spaces, we need to recognise the need to keep physical activity accessible. The Activity Alliance have developed Ten principles to encourage activity at home. This resource supports organisations on how to encourage people with impairments and health conditions to be active in and around their homes.  

Our Fall-proof strength and balance exercises are easy to follow and can be done at home. Fall-proof provides 6 sets of exercises and an easy to use guide. It's never too early to start building on your strength and balance.

Stuck in between

You may have access to indoor and outdoor spaces, however you or someone you know may need extra support to get going.

Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire has qualified health coaching available for free to provide personalised support to help you get more active.

Public Health England has launched the Better Health Campaign with a range of tools, including an app to record your activity and progress and links to apps such as Active10 and Couch to 5K.

Wherever you find yourself, we have blogs, articles and resources to support you.

*Simple activities set for participation increase by Sport England
** Improving access to greenspace; A new review for 2020 by Public Health England

Active Gloucestershire is the coordinating body of we can move. Active Gloucestershire is a charity whose vision is that everyone in Gloucestershire is active everyday.