A FREE community activity day was held at Melksham Community Campus on Wednesday 26th April, where members of the public could take part in activity sessions and learn about being active to support their health and wellbeing.
People could try out activities including boccia, table cricket, table top activities, racquet sports, Zumba, swimming, and learn about activities to try at home by chatting to health care professionals.
The event, organised by Wiltshire Health and Care with the support of Wiltshire Council and Get Out Get Active, was open to everyone and in particular for people who are less active than they want to be and for those living with long term health conditions.
One of the organisers, lead physiotherapist in the Wiltshire Health and Care community team for people with learning disabilities, Ingrid Wilkinson Hart, said, “The idea is that a mix of people with long term conditions and people without any of those conditions can be in the same space together, which sounds like a community to me.
“You never quite know how these events are going to turn out but we’ve had a lot of people attend today and a mix of people. It’s been fantastic. There’s an element today about educating people about what they could start out with at home, with the idea that anyone can start anywhere. It’s very inclusive.”
Rob Paget who oversees the sports development team at Wiltshire Council and the Get Out Get Active programme in Wiltshire said, “It has been very busy. It has been a really good turn out with a mix of people attending and it’s also been a good chance for people to come down and see the Campus, it’s still fairly new, to see what’s going on.
“The Get Out Get Active programme does a lot of work with adults with long term health conditions. We’ve got a range of activities, all about trying to get people being more active, to get people mixing and talking.”
Get Wiltshire Walking had a stall promoting the benefits of group walking. A member of the team said, “We have had a couple of people say they are going to come on a Monday walk and we have done two demo walks today. One of the main benefits of walking is to socialise and exercise. Especially if people are new to the area, it gives them a chance to see what’s around and meet like-minded people. It’s just good for the soul mentally and physically.”
The community activity day was first held in 2017 in County Hall in Trowbridge and then again in Salisbury, specifically for people with learning disabilities coinciding with Learning Disabilities Awareness Week. It has now evolved to include everyone, to share information about ways people can get more active and gain the confidence to take part in activities, or support others to do so.
