The mission of Live Wright is to partner with Wright County citizens to increase physical activity, healthy eating and

reduce tobacco use by changing behaviors in the environment where we live, learn and work.

Grantee Updates March, 2012 City of Buffalo: Park & Trail Plan: They are using their plan as a tool with
their park planning. Lee said they have some projects coming up that this will come in handy.

Trail Markers: This Spring, they will check the quarter mile
markers to see if any were lost due to plowing, or other winter accidents, and, if so, install new ones. They will also be completing a section near Wild Marsh, where the new Hwy 12 went in last Fall. Efforts will be made to promote use of these to foster healthy living! They are thinking of putting "You are here" labels on the kiosks. Use of the trail markers and kiosks are hard to measure, but they have received nothing but good feedback

Community Garden: They hope to get some educational literature up for the bee area, and
try to get something started in the area for the food shelf. The Community Garden had a good first year, with approximately 10 plots rented

Suggestion for a focus area: Something that can make an impact, and hopefully on more
than one thing. Something like gardening- it's not only good for what food choices we make, but also a good way for people to get out in the parks and move their bodies. It's also a lost art with the youth these days

City of Delano: Park & Trail Plan: the City has continued to utilize the tools and
resources developed as part of its partnership. The City has launched a revised, updated website with the trail mapping tools as a front-andcenter element in the Parks and Recreation section. The City has also promoted its trail signage in the local newspaper and on its social media outlets, encouraging people use the amenities available. Last fall, the

City worked with a local organization to utilize its trail network and mapping resources as part of a first-ever youth triathlon. The Parks and Trails Master Planning effort has been a tremendous success as well. Following the completion of this plan, the community has rallied around implementing portions of the Central Park master plan elements. Community organizations committed $190,000 to the renovation of ball field facilities and support buildings (concessions, storage, etc.) at Central Park. A group of organizations are currently working with the City to solicit additional grant funds to rehabilitate the restrooms and picnic shelter at Central Park. All of these projects were identified as part of the master planning process. Lastly, the City has produced a flyer for distribution in the community to help educate residents of the proposed improvements longterm at Central Park. In summary, its been a busy year as the City has implemented many of the good things the Live Wright grant helped to put in motion. The City is appreciative of the opportunity to participate.

Monticello Middle School: Farm to School: Curriculum is built around teaching

students the importance of eating locally grown foods and teaching them to garden in the indoor classroom gardens. Two indoor gardens are also being used at the Monticello High School in the culinary classes for students in grades 9-12. They have aligned the middle school and high school curriculum so what is taught in 8th grade is reinforced and strengthened at the high school. Farm to School Fridays in September were implemented by the 8th grade staff with a culminating day the last Friday in September. The entire day was devoted to Farm to School with guest speakers, stations, and many wonderful activities for the 8th graders to experience to enrich their learning about Farm to School. Received a grant for $150.00 in February 2012 from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (Minnesota Agriculture in the Classroom Grant) to be used for soil and seeds and any other indoor gardening supplies needed this spring and into next year. The FACS teacher at the Monticello High School and Mrs. Smith presented at a workshop on Farm to School in February, 2012 for FACS teachers in Minnesota on what they do in their classrooms with the SHIP Farm to School program. They will also present their curriculum to the Monticello School Board in May of 2012 Mrs. Smith has been working on an evaluation project with a U of MN student that is working on their Masters in Public Health and Nutrition. She is interviewing/surveying the farmers, teachers, students, administrators, and anyone else involved in the SHIP grant. She will analyze the data and it will be used to further the work of educating the students, staff and parents about Farm to School/Nutrition/Buying Local/ Gardening.

Discovery Elementary: Grow Lunch: Nothing new, except the project continues.
Last year, students who were surveyed reported that many students had not previously been willing to eat lettuce, but ate and liked the lettuce that we grew in school. This year, upon informally surveying students, they report that they are more willing to try other new foods, including other vegetables, since starting the salad project.

Resurrection Lutheran Church: Community Garden: Provided food from one plot of
the garden for the Monticello food shelf. They offered a basic gardening class to the community and gardeners through a Master Gardener. Filled the garden plots and allowed another group of gardeners to experience gardening and grow their own produce. The presence of the garden has stirred interest in gardening. The garden team members enjoy and support continuation of the garden. People have continued from one year to the next to rent garden plots. Suggestion for focus: Support of healthy eating and exercise are great focuses.

Buffalo Community Education: Opening Doors Garden Club: The Garden

Club harvested crops that had been planted by disabled adults. The approximate weight of the crops grown (almost entirely vegetables) was 550 pounds. A fall Harvest Festival was held to celebrate the first year of the club and the bounty picked. The Harvest Festival (where we used produce grown by Garden Club members for part of a meal) was attended by approximately 75 Garden Club members and support staff. The event was held at Functional Industries in Buffalo. Members of the education and training sub group (part of a larger 30 member planning group) were awarded a Minnesota Community Education Association Innovative Project Award for work in developing the material needed for conusmer and staff training concerning basic gardening principles and techniques.

The process of recruiting volunteer groups including new interns from the Wright County Master Gardener program has started at the beginning of 2012. This group will serve to provide leadership , time and the labor needed to maintain and expand the Opening Doors Garden Club. Suggestions for focus: The connection between healthy eating, healthy cooking and health and wellness of the community.

Wright County: Trail and Bikeway Plan: Provides communities

planning information at a regional level, by them incorporating their local trail plans in a regional plan, it allows them to open funding avenues that would not be available with out the larger picture. For example; St. Michael received a $500,000 Trail Legacy Grant for a significant regional route and the City of Monticello received grant funds from the Transportation Enhancement program that based the project on regional qualities. It provides local decision makers with policy and guidelines for establishing and marking bikeways on County Roads, which in the past was not allowed. A small component of the overall plan, but integral to future projects! The plan has provided the county with several other key components, such as; prioritizing projects, funds, identifying routes and locations.