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PHOTO: Kids and adults enjoy the new Gardiner Area Middle School permanent StoryWalk at its grand opening Nov. 4. (Submitted photo)
GARDINER — Gardiner Regional Middle School has opened a permanent StoryWalk on the lower trail behind the sports fields.
StoryWalk is a way for children, as well as adults, to enjoy reading and the outdoors at the same time. Laminated pages from a children’s book are attached to wooden pedestals, which are installed along the outdoor path. As walkers stroll down the trail, they are directed to the next page in the story.
In April, Healthy Communities of the Capital Area received a grant from Community Health Options to promote physical activity outdoors. A member of the Gardiner Area Thrives Coalition and Gardiner Regional Middle School principal, Sara Sims, seized the opportunity when HCCA offered $500 to start a StoryWalk project on the trail behind the middle school.
The GRMS Storywalk is the result of contributions and collaborations from all over the Maine School Administrative District 11 community. HCCA worked with Sims to form a workgroup of community members and school staff, and tapped Ruben Deprey, a recently retired Gardiner resident, to design and build 21 podiums to hold storybook pages. Gardiner Public Library, Gardiner Rotary, and Kiwanis Club donated additional money to buy materials. Jake Hubert and The Fire Wing Patrol of Boy Scout Troop 672 helped finish and mount the podiums, while Gary Ladner and Steve Welton donated gravel and equipment so Favreau Lawn Care could install the posts.
The first book displayed is “The Wildlife Tree” by local author Peter Emery and illustrator Deborah Emery. Community members are rallying to donate more books, which will be housed at Gardiner Public Library, to cycle through and keep the Storywalk exciting to visit.
Community members of all ages gathered on Friday, Nov. 4, to celebrate the grand opening of the GRMS StoryWalk Trail. All who attended enjoyed a presentation by the authors about the animals who inhabited a wildlife tree and walked the trail to read the book.
“The StoryWalk activity is an excellent way for adults and children to get outside, be physically active, and enjoy reading,” said Nan Bell, Let’s Go! 5-2-1-0 Coordinator at Healthy Communities of the Capital Area. “The StoryWalk is free and a fun family activity.”
