Do you enjoy going outdoors? Need to relax and revitalize after all the craziness of the past 18 months? Want to re-connect to nature. Love to birdwatch or photograph nature? If so, we have the thing for you!
We would like to invite you to sign up for the Walk for the Wild 5K Challenge. This is a nationwide event presented by the National Wildlife Refuge System & Public Lands Alliance. St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge(NWR) is a participating refuge, and we are calling ours the "Walk for the Wild 5K Relaxathon" because we want you to get out and enjoy nature and see the beauty it has to offer and do so at your own pace. If you can't make it to St. Marks NWR, but you walk or bike or move a lot for work or school, no matter the location you can use that for the event during Oct 9-16.
If you would like a little more info the below text is from the sign-up website. During the registration process, choose St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge and help us climb to the top of the list! You can sign up for the "no swag, no cost" option or the standard registration for $30, which will include a race t-shirt. *Note, if you choose the standard option, proceeds do not go to the refuge you choose and you may not get the shirt by the week of the event.
ABOUT WALK FOR THE WILD
Did you know that humans spend 95% of their time indoors?! We’re becoming more and more of an indoor species.
A growing body of evidence supports the idea that spending time in nature promotes mental and physical well-being. We all need a little more of that, right?
This October – to celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week – join us to help wildlife and humans to thrive by taking a walk, stroll, saunter, hike, prance, trot, amble, ramble or roll for the wild.
The Challenge
We're on a mission to empower wildlife and humans to thrive. The challenge is to get people moving a distance of 5K in nature on behalf of as many national wildlife refuges as possible; there are 568 to choose from. (We hope you choose St. Marks NWR!)
By joining us, you commit to:
- Move a distance of 5K (3.1 miles) in nature during the week starting October 9, 2021. It’s up to you how you move (as long as you do it self-propelled), where in nature you go, and whether you go solo or with friends or family.
- Choose a favorite or soon-to-be-favorite national wildlife refuge to walk for. We hope to see as many wildlife refuges represented as possible and look forward to reporting how many are represented by Walk for the Wild participants. This is where we would like you to choose St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge! (you don't even have to participate on the refuge if you live far away, but you can still choose us as your "favorite" refuge.
- During the week, record your activity — walking, jogging, hiking, strolling, or whatever you choose— either manually, or using your favorite fitness tracker. Once you’ve completed the 5k distance (3.1 miles), you are officially a Finisher!
- OPTIONAL, if you are competitive and want to see who can do the challenge the fastest or slowest, you can report your finish time by October 31, 2021.
- Make sure to invite your friends and family to join also. Feel free to share this email or link below with all your friends and family.
- Then participate from Oct. 9-16 for National Wildlife Refuge Week. (For those participating at St. Marks NWR in person we will have a trail map available, and two trails will be marked with distances every 1K, if you let us know you are participating for us, we will put your name in for a chance to win an annual St. Marks NWR pass, after signing up, email Lori Nicholson at Lori_Nicholson@fws.gov to let St. Marks NWR know you are signed up.)
- Lastly, we hope you share your challenge experiences on social media with the hashtag #walkforthewild2021 and #WildlifeRefuge
To join the challenge register at https://www.virtualrunningclub.com/events/walk-for-the-wild/#tve-jump-17af881e6b5