Hi I am Natalie and I am currently the Community Engagement Coordinator for Beat the Street Sheffield, the fun, free, physical activity, community exploration and active travel game running in Sheffield from June 16-28th for 6 weeks.
Beat the Street has been proven to help people to become physically active long term (Harris, 2018). Not only that, but it’s also a great way to spend time with your family and friends outside in a Covid -safe way and to explore the amazing parks, green spaces and countryside that has to offer! Best part about it is that it is free for all ages, abilities, and geographical areas. It is a way of drawing attention to all that Sheffield has to offer in terms of outdoors and physical activity!
It is also never too late to join, we still have 4 weeks left of the game and any movement and time spent outdoors is good for both your physical and mental health!
With access to the Peak District right on our doorstep, numerous green spaces, parks and outdoor gyms, there is no city quite like Sheffield and it makes it a great place for the game. I love Beat the Street because so much it is accessible for everyone, no matter where you live, your age, abilities or background. When we think of “what makes people healthy” we often think of medicine, but it is so much more than that. Health includes social, physical, mental, financial aspects as well as having a purpose. Health includes moving our bodies and spending time with others and in nature.
Beat the Street addresses these various dimensions of health. The mission of Intelligent Health, (the creators of Beat the Street), is to “create active vibrant communities where everybody matters” is in line with the mission of the many organisations in Sheffield working to better individuals lives. It just makes sense for Beat the Street to take place here!
My role is to work with Sheffield's outstanding network of community organisations during the game and a few months after, to find out how we can best work together to get people playing the game, to collaborate on events during the 6 weeks, to promote existing community events, and to create a plan to help people sustain activity long term!
My colleague Alasdair, our Senior Engagement Coordinator been working hard with workplaces and community organisations. Dan is our schools engagement coordinator and he has been visiting schools and delivering exceptional assemblies and events to get primary school children involved.
When I came into this role, much of the hard work had already been done by Sheffield’s numerous organisations and individuals working behind the scenes for many years in Sheffield. Coming from the lens of a physical activity researcher and an American, I am not aware of any city that has such a comprehensive strategy to help people become active, no matter your ability, postcode, background, or income. In addition, the ability to travel across the city on foot or using public transport is an important facilitator of not only Beat the Street, but the health of community members. These two factors laid the groundwork to make the launch of Beat the Street a success!
It is a beautiful thing to see so many people working together to help people lead healthy, happy, and engaged lives. When I moved here in 2015, the Move More Strategy was in its early stages, and it has been beautiful to watch it develop over the years. You can read the relaunched strategy for 2021-2026 right here. Additionally, when I first moved here, the People Keeping Well (PKW) project was in its early phases, and I have seen it grow.
A main part of my role is working with these PKW organisations such as ShipShape and Manor and Castle Development Trust to gain insight into the communities they serve, how we can promote what they are already doing (through campaigns such as This Girl Can, health walks and walking football to name a few) and see how we can help them long term. There are so many community organisations working hard in Sheffield to better individuals lives and the communities they serve, and if you think we have missed some please let us know!
One thing I have learnt about the people of Sheffield is while they are a friendly and welcoming bunch, they are not afraid of a competitive challenge. I have been working closely with Tom Hughes, of Yorkshire Sport Foundation, (who in 2019 set the Guinness World Record for leading Sheffield in having the largest number of people playing hopscotch simultaneously!) who has given me insight into community engagement and Sheffield. We challenged Sheffield to help us to reach our target of 42,000 players signed up and we already have 56,288 signed up and 247,123 miles covered in active travel in Sheffield! Can we aim higher? As much as we want to get as many people signed up to play as possible, what we really want is to get people to be active long term, so after the game is over, we will work to keep people involved in activity that works for them.
Hope to see you out there tapping Beat Boxes and exploring parts of Sheffield you have not been before!
If you have not already signed up, you can sign up on our website as an individual or team (of at least 12). Please get in touch if you have any ideas, questions, comments, or suggestions let me know at natalie.grinvalds@intelligenthealth.co.uk (Please note that I am part time).
Twitter: @BTSSheffield
Instagram: @btssheffield
Facebook: @BTSSheffield