Big Devon March clocks up over 24,000 miles of walking
“It’s great to see workplaces getting creative and making the campaign their own,” says Becky Russell, from Active Devon who joined Exeter College on a lunchtime walk around Exeter, taking in the history of Rougemont Gardens.
Matt Rowett, who has been championing the project for Exeter College and led the history walk said: “I’ve loved seeing how many staff have joined in with this activity from all areas of the college workforce. It’s created a great opportunity for cross college competition along with the county wide rivalry.” More than 60 staff from Exeter College, named as a Top 100 employer in The Sunday Times, have been taking part in the Big Devon March. The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies is an annual ranking of the best workplaces measuring workforce motivation, happiness and engagement.
The Big Devon March is a Devon-wide walking campaign being run by Active Devon, specifically designed to help employers make small, achievable changes to their everyday routine to increase their activity levels. During the month of March the number of organisations taking part has been growing, now with 77 organisations competing to walk the furthest during March and reaching the top of the Big Devon March leaderboard. Collectively the aim was to walk the circumference of the world, a distance of 24,901 miles and this target was reached as the last few days of the month approached and has now been surpassed with more steps being logged every day.
Walking more has a number of great benefits; active travel to work reduces CO2 emissions, whilst a brisk lunchtime walk can leave staff more focused, increasing productivity in the afternoon. More than 60 staff from Exeter College have been taking part in the Big Devon March and have been noticing the benefits. “Staff have not only been replacing their daily commute with a walk to work but have also reported increased productivity and weight loss.”
Taking time away from your desk for a walk can also be great socially, “if you’ve had a busy morning, it's really nice to get outside and catch up will colleagues, chatting to them. If you don’t see them all the time it's really nice to talk to them outside of an office” says one employee who is part of the lunchtime walking group at Exeter University.
The Big Devon March has inspired a range of organisations including Devon County Council, MDEC Royal Mail in Plymouth and smaller organisations such as One Ilfracombe. Aside from getting healthier, enjoying more fresh air and feeling great, the Big Devon March has helped to show people that walking is a really achievable way of getting away from their desks, moving more and catching up with friends.
The Big Devon March aimed at getting employers and employees to discover easy ways to fit more activity into their everyday routines has been really effective. It is changing the culture of workplaces in small achievable ways, such as walking meetings or just taking a brisk 10 minutes walk.
“We are aiming for the Big Devon March to act as a catalyst for change in how activity is incorporated into workplaces.” Says Scott Kendall from Active Devon.
“Active Devon are looking to support workplaces who want to carry on increasing the activity levels of their employees. There will now be opportunities for employees to take part in accredited walk leader and running training in order for them to lead groups within their workplace.” If you are interested in increasing the opportunities for staff to be active within your workplace contact scott.kendall@activedevon.org
