Addressing Disparities in Active Play and Recreation in Rural America: What Works and Learning from Louisiana

Please join us for a dynamic webinar focused on how communities address disparities in active play and recreation in rural America. Dr. Christiaan Abildso will begin our time with an overview of the reasons why we need to focus on rural communities, highlighting original research from rural Texas and the importance of coalitions and community groups. Dr. Renée Umstattd Meyer will then share a few stories of what is happening and working in rural communities across the country, highlighting some work from a recent study Activating Rural America and providing an update on how Play Streets are being used in rural Louisiana to address disparities by providing opportunities for youth to engage in active play and as a launch pad for communities to come together for larger discussions about active play, recreation, and physical activity needs. The pinnacle of this webinar will feature the excellent efforts and successes occurring in Madison Parish, Louisiana under the leadership of Frank “Trey” Newsome, III and his colleagues in the LSU AgCenter. This will include a description of MADHYPE (Madison Parish Healthy Youth Positive Energy) – a youth-led advocacy group that enables local teens to model positive behaviors, educate their community, and address barriers to engaging in healthy play and recreation. The webinar will conclude with a discussion of what’s on the horizon in active play and recreation in rural communities and a discussion about how participants can turn the webinar content into action in their own rural communities.

Learning objectives

• Identify three (3) disparities in active play and recreation in rural America.
• List three (3) examples of programs or approaches in rural communities that encourage, promote, or support active play and recreation.
• Identify at least one (1) suggested changes to policy, system, and environmental changes.
• Identify three (3) key coalition community partners engaged in supporting active play and recreation rural communities and addressing disparities.