Vulcan - Cross-Country Skiing

Vulcan is a town in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Vulcan County.  A local community group wanted to advance healthy, active lifestyles in the winter and began planning for action.

A commited group of community champions met to review what they could do to focus on increasing physical activity in the winter months using the Healthy Communities Approach. The result? They decided to develop a program themselves.  They approached the local golf course about developing cross-country skiing on site.  The golf course wanted to be more relevant to the community and enthusiastically participated.  They added garbage cans on site, set aside a ski storage shed, and advertised the new trails.  The community group put up signs all over town and waited for the snow. Community members volunteered throughout the season to maintain the trails.

Vulcan saw immediate uptake on the new cross county ski trails once the snow fell. Trails were open for all to access and families were making use of the new winter set up. Community members volunteered throughout the season to maintain the trails making the project sustainable.

Where there's will there's a way!

Ways to take action: Community Strategies - Physical Activity