to get active and get fit and step up to recreation!
The campaign, launched in July in conjunction with the National Recreation and Park Association's (NRPA) annual July is Parks and Recreation Month observance, encourages citizens to engage in healthy lifestyles by spending more time in City parks. Click on the links below to view the Step Up to Recreation! Public Service Announcements taped by Mayor Phil Hardberger, City Manager Sheryl Sculley, and City Council members. Then peruse our calendar for fun activities for the whole family. Or take a look at the 2009 SA Active Guide (This is a large PDF.)
Scroll down the page and you'll find information on our Step Up to Recreation van visits to area parks and much more information on the benefits of recreation.
New videos: Former San Antonio Spur Sean Elliott
and his wife Claudia Step Up to Recreation!Greater SA Chamber President Richard Perez
and his family Step Up to Recreation! Bike Enthusiast Greg Hammer
Steps up to Recreation!Step Up to Recreation City Manager Sheryl Sculley PSA
Step Up to Recreation District 1 City Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros PSA (English)
Step Up to Recreation District 1 City Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros PSA (Spanish)
Step Up to Recreation District 3 City Councilwoman Jennifer V. Ramos PSA
Step Up to Recreation District 4 City Councilman Philip A. Cortez PSA
Step Up to Recreation District 5 City Councilman David Medina, Jr. PSA
Step Up to Recreation District 6 City Councilman Ray Lopez PSA Step Up to Recreation District 7 City Councilman Justin Rodriguez PSAStep Up to Recreation District 10 City Councilman John G. Clamp PSA
Look for the Step Up to Recreation van!
The Parks and Recreation Department wants to catch you in the act--in the act of participating in healthy lifestyles at your City parks. That means anything from walking to hiking to playing basketball or skateboarding. And when we do, you're going to receive a goody prize to take home. It's just our small way of encouraging all San Antonians to get active, get fit, and step up to recreation!. So if
you see our van with the blue and green Step Up to Recreation! logo on the side in your park, jog over or give us a wave. You'll be glad you did!
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The benefits of recreation are many. Here are just a few:
Recreation reduces self-destructive and anti-social behavior
Recreation builds strong families and healthy communities
Recreation reduces health care, social service and police/justice costs
Recreation and parks are significant economic generators in the community
Parks, open space and natural areas are essential to ecological survival
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Recreation is essential to personal health!
Recreation helps people live longer
Recreation prolongs independent living for seniors - keeping seniors vital and involved in community life
Recreation and fitness significantly reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.
Recreation and fitness combat osteoporosis
Recreation and fitness combat diabetes
Recreation and fitness help in preventing specific types of cancers - particularly in the colon, breast and lungs
Recreation and fitness help prevent and rehabilitate back problems
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Recreation is essential to the development of our children and youth:
We learn motor skills (physical) through play and sports
We learn social skills through play and sports
We learn creativity through play and sports
We learn creativity through play and arts/cultural activity
We develop intellectual capacities and concepts through play - and many other life skills
Recreation provides the opportunity for adults to develop their full and holistic potential
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Recreation and arts/culture build self-esteem and positive self-image
Recreation and arts/culture enhance life satisfaction skills
Recreation and arts/culture enhance perceived quality of life - for individuals, families and communities
Recreation, sports & arts/culture nurture growth, acquisition of life skills and independent living for those with a disability
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Recreation, sports and arts/culture reduce self-destructive behavior and negative activity in youth - an antidote to smoking, substance abuse, suicide and depression
Recreation and arts/culture can reduce crime
Recreation and arts/culture can reduce racism - building understanding between diverse cultures
Recreation reduces isolation, loneliness and alienation
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Recreation builds strong families and healthy communities
Families that play together, stay together
Recreation provides safe developmental opportunities for latch-key children
Recreation, sports and arts/culture produce leaders who serve their communities in many ways
Recreation, sports and arts/culture build social skills and stimulate participation in community life
Recreation is often a catalyst that builds strong, self-sufficient communities (i.e. sports groups, arts guilds)
Art/culture helps people understand their neighbors, their history and their environment
Recreation and arts/culture build pride in a community
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Recreation reduces health care, social service and police/justice costs
Fitness and well-being reduce both the incidence and severity of illness and disability - lowering healthcare costs
Recreation support families - reducing costs of social service intervention and foster care
Recreation reduces crime and social dysfunction - reducing police, justice and incarceration costs.
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Green space protects habitat, biodiversity and ecological integrity
Green spaces improve air quality - removing carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and other pollutants from the air
Outdoor recreation is one of the best approaches to environmental education - a key to the long-term sustainability
Protecting land from development (keeping it as open space) mitigates against potential environmental disaster (flooding, slip zone, aquifer depletion)
Trail and pathway systems save energy and protect air quality by encouraging non-motorized transportation
Arts and culture are among the best ways to express the spirituality of the land, thereby encouraging stewardship ethics