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StoryWalks are a fun and innovative way to get moving, enjoy reading, and appreciate the beautiful outdoor landscapes located in our community. Laminated pages from a children’s book are attached to yard signs and installed along a walking path. Children follow the signs along the trail to read the full story.
Rebecca Owen, local FCS SNAP-Ed Extension agent with Virginia Cooperative Extension, is teaming up with Live Healthy Rockbridge Kids and Buena Vista Parks and Recreation to bring StoryWalks to the area.
A StoryWalk has been installed on the Fox Trot TRACK Trail located at Glen Maury Park in Buena Vista. This will remain up indefinitely with a new book being featured on the trail each month. The walking path is approximately a one-mile loop in the woods with the entrance and exit near the double decker pavilion.
The featured book for the month of October is “Apples and Pumpkins” written by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell. The story follows a young girl visiting a farm where she can pick apples and pumpkins. When she returns home, she helps her mother carve the pumpkin for Halloween before she heads out for a fun evening of trick-or-treating. Meanwhile, her mother stays home and hands out the freshly-picked apples as treats.
The books used for the StoryWalks will be in some way related to food. At the end of the Fox Trot TRACK Trail, children and families will find a healthy recipe from the Virginia Family Nutrition Program; each recipe relates to the featured story. This month, there will be a pumpkin dip recipe located in a staked literature holder at the exit of the trail.
To schedule a free food tasting of the featured recipe for a children’s group at the end of the walk, contact Owen at (540) 463-4734, or at [email protected].
Pending the success of the StoryWalk at Glen Maury Park, other sites in the Rockbridge community are being considered.
Next up at the Glen Maury Park trail in November will be the book “The Best Thanksgiving Ever,” with a recipe for double cornbread.
The StoryWalk Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vt. It was developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk is a registered service mark owned by Ferguson.
