The Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Community Needs Assessment completed in 2019 indicated that more community parks and greenspaces are a priority of Campbell County residents.  The Extension Environmental Advisory Council took on a project to encourage walking, hiking, and exploration in our communities. Meetings were held to design the Campbell County Trail Passport Project showcasing 19 trail maps featuring over 40 miles of walking and hiking trails in Newport, Bellevue, Dayton, Southgate, Wilder, Highland Heights, Cold Spring, Fort Thomas, Alexandria, Melbourne, and the unincorporated county. https://campbell.ca.uky.edu/content/campbell-county-trail-passport

A challenge event was held from August 1 – September 30, 2021, requiring people to hike all 19 trails in exchange for a hat featuring a logo that was developed to promote the project.  29 Campbell County residents completed the challenge event.  Evaluations completed by the participants indicate that each person spent about 10 hours on the trails and walked / hiked 14 miles.  In total, 29 participants walked about 406 miles and spent approximately 261 hours in parks and greenspaces throughout the county.

This challenge event was popular with families. About half of the program participants were kids 15 years old and younger.  All reported feeling better after the hiking experience. Participants commented, “after walking, we felt refreshed and healthy, especially on the gorgeous late summer days we had”, “walking is great therapy for me – I totally enjoyed the walks and felt much better after each one”, “felt re-energized…took sluggish end of the day feeling away and I got more things done in the evening”.

The challenge event succeeding in encouraging exploration in our communities.  Evaluations indicate participants, “loved exploring our community and discovering so many new trails and playgrounds”, “I think that this is a great way to experience our local parks…this introduced me to parks in my area that I didn’t even know were there”, “I just want you to know how glad I am to see what you have done”, "we have a greater appreciation for our county and found some gems we plan to visit more in the future...we are homeschooling and this conveniently coincided with our local geography block...it was fun exploring the county as a family and we made some great memories along the way".

The Campbell County Extension Agent for Natural Resources and Environmental Management continues to work with the Extension Environmental Advisory Council on the trail passport project and plans to offer another challenge event next spring.