Spartanburg, S.C. conservation group Upstate Forever will host “How to Champion Active Living in Your Community,” a lunch and learn advocacy workshop, on Thursday, Aug. 23.
The training is designed to inspire and equip citizens and local leaders to galvanize efforts for policies and infrastructure that support active living and healthy communities in Spartanburg County.
Dr. Angela Halfacre will kick off the workshop with a keynote speech, “Nurturing a Conservation Culture and Community Well-Being in the 21st Century,” presenting her recommendations for building grassroots support for active living policies in the Upstate. Halfacre is director and associate professor of political science at the David E. Shi Center for Sustainability at Furman University and author of the new book “A Delicate Balance: Constructing a Conservation Culture in the South Carolina Low Country.”
Participants will also engage in a 90-minute series of hands-on advocacy training exercises led by Diana Toledo, mobilization and southeast program director for River Network in Asheville, N.C. The workshop will be an interactive experience, drawing on participants’ ideas and interests to illustrate successful campaign action steps with locally inspired content.
How to Champion Active Living in Your Community will take place Thursday, Aug. 23 from 11:45 a.m.  – 2:30 p.m. at Tyger River Park Clubhouse, 195 Dillard Rd., Reidville, S.C. The workshop is free of charge and includes lunch.  Space is limited. To reserve a seat, call 864- 327-0090 or email sbarrett@upstateforever.org.  A detailed agenda is available at  www.upstateforever.org.
The workshop is the third event in Upstate Forever’s 2012 Active Living Event Series, based in Spartanburg County and sponsored by the Mary Black Foundation. The series is designed to encourage community dialogue about policies and infrastructure that promote physical activity to improve public health. For more information on the 2012 Active Living Event Series, contact Sherry Barrett at sbarrett@upstateforever.org or 864-327-0090.
– article submitted by Sherry Barrett