Oakwood Lincoln Park activists Molly Conaway and Nolan Wildfire are working on plans to get their neighborhood healthier.
Healthy OLP is a part of Healthier Tennessee, an initiative sponsored by the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness, which was founded by soon-to-be-former Gov. Bill Haslam.
Conaway heard about the initiative at a meeting of the mayor’s Neighborhood Advisory Council, where she represents OLP.
Healthier Tennessee is looking to increase the number of Tennesseans who are physically active at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, to promote healthier eating and to reduce tobacco use. It is funded through public/private partnerships, has a professional staff of 10 and reports to an appointed board of directors.
“We heard from a couple of neighborhoods already doing it, and you try to become designated at a gold, silver or bronze level by doing a number of activities. The reason we considered doing this is our neighborhood is already engaged in a number of these with our activities on Sharp’s Ridge, our neighborhood garden and the Community Schools program,” Conaway said.
They plan to start a couple of projects from scratch and are looking for a couple more people to join the OLP Wellness Council. Anyone who is interested can contact Conaway or OLP Wellness Council chair Nolan Wildfire.