Staying active and have fun through the autumn

Get Set Leeds Local continues to work alongside the community helping develop new activities, building on community good ideas, listening, and helping sustain activities that Get Set Leeds Local has supported to get off the ground.

As the colder weather sets in and darker nights develop then the attention of many community groups Get Set Leeds Local is working with has gone into thinking about how we adapt and support physical activities to continue over Autumn and Winter.

This may be continuing to be active outdoors or moving activities indoors somewhere. It’s certainly harder for many to be motivated to get outdoors and be active if it’s cooler, darker, or rainy but for many it’s even more important to gain some of the positive outcomes of being active – supporting our mental health, boosting immunity, keeping connected etc.

One idea to help families get outdoors, and make a walk more interesting is the Love Exploring augmented reality App which is free to download. It includes games within Leeds parks.

For a short time only families can search for the spooky Halloween dancers at Cross Flatts Park and Middleton Park (alongside Leeds City Centre and Roundhay Park). Those spooky characters have got some good dance moves, for families to view via their phones.

There’s 10 to be found in each of the parks. Have your photo taken with one or even have a go at copying some of their dance moves? We’d love to see your videos or photos if you’d like to share any.

Another element of the App is walking trails, with photos of the routes. We’d be keen to work with individuals or groups to help us develop a new walking trail for the app in Beeston Hill or Holbeck. This could be developing a history walk, an arts walk, a mindfulness walk of one of the local communities (or any other idea). Get in touch if this is something you’d like to help us develop.

One challenge some groups have faced as some activities have moved indoors is finding suitable indoor venues which can accommodate their needs. We’re keen to pull together a helpful list of indoor venues which could be used for different sports and fitness activities. If you know of a good community venue in or around Beeston and Holbeck then drop us an email to let us know about it.

For anyone looking for resources and tools to help them be active at home, there’s lots of useful ideas at www.active.leeds.gov.uk/healthy-at-home to explore, including activities for children, adults and older adults, along with some activities on the Active Leeds YouTube channel.

If you have a good idea for something that could support people to move more, then as always get in touch. We may be able to help make it happen. We have a Community Chest Pot to support small good ideas, with funding up to £300 available. We’re also keen to hear your insight and ideas for anything else. Collectively we can help develop a place where being active is an easier choice for more people.

Get Set Leeds Local is a Sport England funded project for Beeston Hill and Holbeck led by Active Leeds (part of Leeds City Council).

Contact: getsetleedslocal@leeds.gov.uk or fb.com/GSLHolbeckandBeestonHill

 

This post was written by Karen Peck