Counties honored for promoting ‘active aging’

By Charles Taylor
SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Two counties are among seven nationwide winners of the EPA’s first Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging Award.

Carver County, Minn. and Queen Anne’s County, Md. were recognized for community planning and strategies that support active aging and smart growth. Both received Commitment Awards — for “communities that have developed and begun to initiate a specific plan to implement smart growth and active aging principles.”

Photo courtesy of EPA Bikers from the Terrapin Grove community In Queen Anne’s County, Md.take advantage of a new connection from their community to an existing trail network.

The recipients were the Queen Anne’s County Housing Authority and the Carver County Public Health Division and Carver County Health Partnership.

In honoring Carver County, EPA highlighted the county’s “Communities for a Lifetime” vision statement, adopted by the Board of Commissioners, which created an Office of Aging within the county’s Public Health Division.

“The development of the ‘Communities for a Lifetime’ approach demonstrates Carver County’s commitment to addressing the needs of its 65-plus population — expected to quadruple to 20,820 by 2030,” EPA noted. “The approach lays the foundation for improving housing, transportation and physical activity options throughout the county.”

EPA recognized the Queen Anne’s Housing Authority for using partnerships and community involvement to create a “model community for active aging.”

Terrapin Grove, in Stevensville, Md., is a low- to moderate-income housing community for older adults, featuring alibrary, salon and country store. The adjacent Kent Island Senior  Center offers an array of physical activities, including low-impact and chair aerobics, exercise classes, Tai Chi and yoga. Allof the center’s activities and classes were developed with community input.

“Strong citizen involvement and agency partnerships helped to create an enriching environment for older residents in Queen Anne’s County,” EPA said in a news release.

In recognizing all seven honorees, the agency said: “By adopting smart growth principles, communities can design places that increase mobility and improve quality of life for older adults.

“By providing a range of housing opportunities, communities can enable residents to move within their neighborhood as their housing needs change. Such life-long residents help to establish a strong sense of place within a community.”

For more information on this year’s winners and the awards program, visit www.epa.gov/aging.

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