Rainharvest System Being Installed at Decatur Recreation Center

On Tuesday afternoon I had the opportunity to visit the construction site at Decatur Recreation Center to find the construction crew preparing to install the rainharvest system on site.  Two 1,700 gallon in-ground rainwater collection systems will be on site to store collected rainwater that will be used for irrigation.  See pictures below of the tanks and construction.  Construction at  Decatur Recreation Center is moving along and anticipated completion is January 2013.

    

Healthy Monday: The Four Types of Fitness

There are four main types of physical activity: aerobic, muscle-strengthening, bone-strengthening and stretching. Each works to keep your body trim and healthy in different ways. Aerobic benefits your heart and lungs most while stretching targets joins and increases flexibility.
 
Get a well rounded work-out this week by incorporating each of these four types of activity. Start by researching some steps online or chat with a fitness expert or doctor.

Centre College Lacrosse team pairs up with Decatur Youth Lacrosse

Connor Stubbs former DAL and DHS Lacrosse player

Decatur’s very own Connor Stubbs, who started his lacrosse years in Decatur Active Living lacrosse program (and former lacrosse player for Decatur High School) came home to give back to Decatur Youth Lacrosse.  Not only did Connor come but he brought his entire college team with him.

Centre College (the Colonels) from Danville, Kentucky conducted a lacrosse clinic for the Decatur Youth Junior and Senior Lacrosse Players.  Centre College had the opportunity to use Ebster as a practice site for their upcoming lacrosse game. After completing their practice the team returned to conduct an hour and a half lacrosse clinic for Decatur Lacrosse players.  The players had the opportunity to learn new skills and fundamentals.  Centre College players were amazed by the number of kids that came out to the clinic.  They were also impressed by the Decatur Lacrosse skills that they witnessed. It was hard to tell who was having the most fun, the  College Players or the Youth Players.

Coach Severns indicated that he will keep his eyes on Decatur Lacrosse players for future Connor Stubbs.

Local Boy Scout Troop Keeps Greenspace Clean

Local Decatur scouts from Pack 134 took the initiative to clean up the debris located in the woody area behind Ebster field last Saturday. Pack 134 provided 13 young scouts along with 12 adults to clean the woody area.  Pack 134 meets at First Baptist Church in Decatur. Items removed- bottles, tires, trash, oil cans and engine parts.  The activity was coordinated through Active Living and the trash removed was brought to the recycling bins located at Beacon Hill Center. Congratulations to Pack 134 for carrying about the environment in Decatur. Pictures below are from the clean up last Saturday.

4th and 5th Grade Valentine’s Dance

The Dance Off

Decatur Active Living would like to thank all the 4th and 5th graders for attending the Annual Valentine’s Dance. There were over seventy-four boys and girls to attend.  The kids had a wonderful time, dancing (doing the “wobble” and “cupid shuffle”), playing games, taking pictures, competing in the dance off and enjoying pizza and punch. 

The Valentine Dance had the kids flipping

 

        

Musical Chairs "no touching the chair"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

It's "wobble" time

 

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take A City Walk

Getting bored with your usual walk? Try taking a “City Walk”

• Start off with an easy stroll/warmup for five minutes.
• Increase your intensity for five minutes.
• Find a bus stop or a park bench and do one set of tricep dips.
• Do “city-block” intervals for the next five minutes: Alternate between a slower pace and a faster pace on each block.
• Find a flight of stairs, and walk up taking two steps at a time. Push up through your foot as if you were doing lunges. Walk down and continue for one minute alternating up and down.
• Do another set of “city-block” intervals.
• Find a bench, tree, pole or wall and perform standing push-ups.
• If time and energy persist, do five more minutes of “city block” intervals.
• Find a pole, tree or wall and do one set of calf raises.
• Cool down with an easy five minute stroll.
• Be sure to stretch out your legs when you are done.
• Have fun!!

Ideas from The Walking Deck by Shirley Archer,published by Chronicle Books.

Join Us For An Update And Review Of The Adair Dog Park

Adair Dog Park Meeting         

Wednesday, February 1  

6:30pm at the Beacon Hill Complex -430 W. Trinity Place (Behind the Police Department)     

Decatur Active Living will host a dog park meeting to discuss the following items:

• review and have a discussion about exercise equipment and park amenities
• erosion issues and possible solutions
• dog festival ideas

For more information contact Gregory White, Active Living Director at 404-377-0494 or greg.white@decaturga.com 

Ebster Teen Club and MLK Weekend

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday January 14th was a great day for a service project. Ebster Teen Club participated in it’s second MLK Service Day Project.  We had a total of 10 teens to participate. Our teen were split into 2 teams and were assigned to different locations. Tavelus Johnson and Irin Pitman (Ebster Recreation Center Staff) assisted the teens with their assigned duties. Both teams were assigned yard work, that also included removal of debris.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather was perfect for a yard clean-up day.  Once we arrived at our location we found that another team was already busy at working preparing the yard.  We introduced ourselvs and found out that this team was a family that had volunteered from Sandy Springs. We were suprised to find out that they had heard of this great event all the way in Sandy Springs. The dad informed us that his daughter had volunteerd during last years MLK Weekend, so they decided to make this year a family event.

  

 

 

 

 

 

What a great way to remember all the great works and service that Dr. Martin Luther King passed on to our generation.  This is what service is all about giving of of your time and effort to make someone elses day a little brighter. Working with people from different backgrounds and cultures helps makes the heavy lifting a lot lighter. This was a great experience for our teens and staff alike. They are already looking forward to next years MLK Weekend.

Community Workshop: Pedestrian Safety Improvements

At Clairemont, Church Street and Commerce Intersections and Church Street Bicycle Lanes

 A community worshop to discuss alternative plans for pedestrian safety improvements at Clairemont, Church Street and Commerce intersections and Church Street bicycle lanes will be held on Thursday, January 12 from 6pm-8pm in the City Commission meeting roo of Decatur City Hall, 509 North McDonough Street, in downtown Decatur.  As part of the City’s capital improvements program, the purpose of the work is to improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians, bicyclists and others using these facilities.

The City has retaine the firm of Development Planning and Engineering to help plan the project, which will be partially funded through grants from the Georgia Department of Transportation.  An initial workshop to outline project goals was held in September.

The project is based on Decatur’s 2008 Community Transportation Plan and is a project in the 2010 Strategic Plan.  A major goal of the Community Transportation Plan is to encourage healthy lifestyles and active living in Decatur.

Lacrosse Registration Is Going On Now!

Grab your stick and join in on the fun with Decatur Lacrosse! Decatur Active Living offers leagues for children grades 1st-8th.  Each player receives a jersey, shorts and an end-of-the season award.  Practices will be held at local schools and fields, beginning the week of January 30th.  Games will begin February 25th for all ages.  

Lacrosse Just for Girls!  Decatur Active Living will offer ALL GIRLS Lacrosse for girls in grades 1^st -8^th.

Participants cannot participate in GRPA competition and school activities during the same period.  This applies to both public and private schools.

Information At-A-Glance

Registration begins:	December 10- January 23 (or until spaces are filled)
Parents meeting:	January 28th
Practices begin:	Week of January 30th at local schools and parks
Season begins:	Saturday, February 25th
Fee:	Boys Lacrosse    $145; $110 Decatur resident Girls Lacrosse     $145; $110 Decatur resident Those applying for financial assistance must pay a minimum of $25; only City of Decatur residents may apply.
Game days/location:	All games will be played on Saturdays.  Teams will play both home and away games.

For More Information Contact

Stacy Green, 678-553-6549; Stacy.Green@decaturga.com

 Lindsey Struck, 678-553-6550;Lindsey.Struck@decaturga.com