On the crisp autumn morning of October 12th, ROW’s Wellbeing Committee hosted Pedal and Paddle: A Tour of the White River and Riverside Park. Indy Parks, Parks Foundation, Nine13sports, Friends of the White River, Indy Shakes, and Jump In for Healthy Kids partnered for this active and unique tour of one of the most beautiful areas of Indianapolis.
Participants started out on bikes provided by Nine13sports. The group toured Riverside Park stopping at the Taggert Memorial, a significant landmark in this 832-acre park since 1931. Historian Dr. James P. Fadely discussed his work chronicling the life of Mr. Taggert as a legendary Indiana political figure. to learn about the major transformations underway to turn this space into an event venue, made possible through a $9 million Lilly Endowment grant. Indy Shakes‘ Ben Tebbe discussed plans in 2020 for the monument to host live Shakespeare performances and Indianapolis Park Foundations‘ Lori Hazlett shared details about the Riverside Park Master Plan.
Megan McKinney Cooper of Jump In for Healthy Kids introduced participants to the 5-2-1-0 concept, a slogan created by Let’s Go! of Maine, which stands for eating 5 fruit and vegetable servings a day, limiting recreational screen time to 2 hours or less, getting 1 hour of physical activity, and consuming 0 sugar-sweetened drinks.
Then participants switched two rafts, floating along the White River by Riverside Park. Kevin Hardie of Friends of the White River, told the story of the devastating toxic chemical discharge into the White River on December 13, 1999 that killed over 4 million fish. The lessons learned from this event still reverberate today as Indy approaches the 20th anniversary of the “fish kill”.
ROW’s Wellbeing Committee looks forward to hosting more active events like the Pedal and Paddle, and helping Indy residents be healthier and happier by connecting to our waterways.