Contact: Shayna Sylvia, Communications and Outreach Planner
603-994-3500
SRPC Receives NH Children's Health Foundation Grant
The Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC) has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the NH Children's Health Foundation, formerly The HNH Foundation. The grant program supports projects that prevent childhood obesity, promote oral health, and reduce food insecurity.
SRPC will use the grant to map and analyze access to recreation in the Strafford region. Knowing where there is and is not access will help municipal planners and decision makers prioritize funding for projects that increase families' ability to be active. Using data collection, analysis, and communication and advocacy, this project will increase awareness of obesity in children in the Strafford region up to age 5. It will also build capacity for local policies and practices to promote recreation through improvements to infrastructure and safety.
The SRPC Pathways to Play: A Roadmap for Active Recreation will have two phases. The first will include mapping publicly funded recreational spaces and facilities, with additional demographic and transportation infrastructure data, in each of SRPC's 18 communities. This information will be available on the SRPC website and through ArcGIS Online. Each community will also receive a copy of its map.
In phase II, SRPC will partner with the City of Somersworth to use the data and maps to create a customized recreation accessibility plan. The Hilltop City is a good partner for this pilot since 486 families in the city have children younger than 5 and those children make up a significant portion of the population (7.2 percent).
More details about the 12-month project will be available on the SRPC website (www.strafford.org)after the project kick off in January.
