Mount Rogers Community Services 21-22 Annual Report

Building Bu l n Mount Rogers Community Services’ Prevention & Wellness Team connected wellness and nature for more than 1,500 people this Summer. The ‘Forest Fridays’ initiative began in May of 2022 with the 5 Bridges Wellness Fair hosted by Mount Rogers in Hungry Mother State Park. The Wellness Fair boasted 67 vendors, wellness activities, and free food. All together, more than 1,500 people connected with nature, their community, and their own health and wellness. Following the Wellness Fair, Mount Rogers kicked off weekly ‘Forest Fridays’. ‘Forest Fridays’ were co-hosted by Hungry Mother State Park and Mount Rogers staff. The hour long sessions focused on the 5 Bridges approach, a nationally recognized model for community building and wellness. The 5 Bridges are Bond - How You Connect, Fuel - What Goes In, Move - What You Do, Rest - When You Recover, and Give - Your Positive Output. Each session began with an overview of one of the 5 Bridges, then park staff led participants in outdoor activities related to that week’s bridge. All told, there were 11 sessions this year, featuring participants fromMount Rogers’ services, park visitors, and members of the wider community. There are plans to expand this program to another state park in the Mount Rogers catchment area in order to reach even more people in 2023. With the program’s upcoming expansion, Mount Rogers’ Prevention & Wellness team will engage participants each Friday from April through November.

Utilizing one of Southwest Virginia’s strongest resources, beautiful outdoor recreation areas, to promote healing and resiliency has been one of Fiscal Year 2021-22’s biggest successes. We look forward to even more opportunities to connect with nature and one another next year. Check out some other Prevention & Wellness initiatives from this year.

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