By Ryan McGeeney
Department of Agriculture of the University System
The sign-up deadline for the Cooperative Extension Service’s biannual health initiative, Walk Across Arkansas, is fast approaching. Individual Arkansas residents are encouraged to form teams in their respective workplaces, neighborhoods or other communities and join the effort on August 26.
Heather Wingo, family and consumer sciences program associate in the University of Arkansas’s Department of Agriculture, said the Cooperative Extension Service has been using Walk Across Arkansas for about 20 years to promote health and more active living in the state.
“The main goal of the program is to increase physical activity,” Wingo said. “We are working to help Arkansas residents overcome the state’s high obesity rate and combat chronic diseases throughout their lives.”
During the eight-week course, participants log the total number of minutes of physical activity per day—and it’s not just limited to walking. Running, gardening, playing or training a team sport—it all counts.
“Many Arkansas residents live near parks or hiking trails,” Wingo said. “It’s great when we see them being put to good use.”
At the Walk Across Arkansas in spring 2024, 65 teams – a total of 346 participants – recorded more than 986,000 minutes of activity over eight weeks.
The registration period for the fall semester is August 26 through September 8. The eight-week semester begins September 9 and ends November 3. To register, visit https://walk.uada.edu/walk/.
To learn more about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service representative or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture’s research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Department of Agriculture
The mission of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture is to strengthen agriculture, communities and families by connecting trusted research with the implementation of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land-grant education system.
The Department of Agriculture is one of 20 institutions in the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 Arkansas counties and faculty at five system locations.
The University of Arkansas Department of Agriculture offers all of its extension and research programs to all eligible individuals without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status and is an affirmative action and equal opportunity employer.
