City encouraging residents to get active with trail program

May 15—As spring continues and warmer weather begins to arrive, community members are being motivated to hit the trails.

The St. Joseph's Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities department is sponsoring St. Joe FIT, a free program beginning May 26, allowing residents to enjoy the city's parks and trails while getting a chance to earn prizes.

"It's just kind of a really good way to get people out and be active with their lifestyle and show them different parts of St. Joe that they may not see before," said Jessica Oshel, special events and communications coordinator. "We've got many, many miles of trails that connect to other parks as well that a lot of people haven't seen."

The St. Joseph Health Department sponsors a weekly giveaway for people who register and walk each week's featured trail. Prizes like activity trackers and water bottles are shown on the St. Joe FIT Facebook page.

"Those are really big in helping motivate people to get out there each week because they see something they like, and it's this free way they can win it," she said.

St. Joseph resident Susan Cornelius said she is interested in the program because she already walks the trails and stays active with her border collie, Elaine.

"Elaine and I seem to get out here every day, sometimes a couple times a day," she said. "There's so many things you can enjoy nature-wise out here."

Cornelius said that when she is walking the trails and observing wildlife, the maintenance crews are always respectful.

"When the mowers are here, they are so good, they stop their mowers, so nothing shoots out at the walkers," she said.

Oshel said compliments like these give parks department employees more pride in their work, and more participation in the program means additional opportunity for feedback.

"Parks department can't have eyes all over the place all the time, so that community input is really helpful," she said. "And then it's a really good way of giving us value on how many people use our trails."

Registration has been open for a week, and 300 people have registered for the program so far. The St. Joe FIT page on the city's website at https://www.stjosephmo.gov/565/St-Joe-FIT outlines the weekly trail schedule, provides trail maps, and explains how to register for the program.