Essex National Heritage Area
Tom Leonard, President, ENHC

Tom Leonard,
President Emeritus, ENHC

Tom Leonard writes a monthly column for the community newspapers in the Essex National Heritage Area. This is a reprint of this month's column.
tleonard
at essexheritage.org.

Columns
Wonderful Outdoor Winter Activities Available in the Essex Heritage Region

As we ended 2007 and began the New Year, the staff at Essex Heritage decided to embark on a program designed to help all of us develop a healthier life style, and to also work collectively as a group. We all agreed that working collectively is a wonderful goal. In the many ENHC regional initiatives we manage, we advocate that so much more can be accomplished working together, than working as individuals. There are about a dozen of us here at Essex Heritage, and for the most part we have embraced this new program. We are wearing pedometers each day, and recording the number of steps taken each day. There is a web site www.thewalkingsite.com that focuses on a healthy walking lifestyle that has provided us with some wonderful information and incentives. In the first partial month working and walking together, with a shortened month due to the holidays, we surprised ourselves with our accomplishments. We are quite certain that as the months go by in 2008, we will continue to add to our accomplishments and meet our goals. We have decided to walk as a team, and to recruit others connected with ENHC to join us later in the year at either or both, The North Shore Medical Center Cancer Walk, or the Hospice of the North Shore Walk. We also anticipate making a healthy life style and a walking regimen to be part of the annual ENHC Trails and Sails: A Weekend of Walks and Water event on the last weekend of September 2008. So, put that date into your calendar now.

Winter Activities in this Region

Staying with the walking theme, this is a wonderful region to enjoy a walk even in this season. It is certainly a little bit harder to bundle up and get out to walk in the winter time, but certainly not impossible. We have so many wonderful communities that are thought of, as great walking venues, and many of those walks can be just as enjoyable this time of year. There are walks along the shoreline in many coastal communities where the ocean and all it has to offer can be seen in a different light in the winter. There are down town walks in dozens of Essex County communities that can be wonderful experiences and certainly some of the trails in the open parts of this region, when the snow is gone, can be accessed by walkers. When all else fails, some of the retail malls in this region allow walkers to access their facilities before the normal mall hours, and in those cases, climate and walking conditions are perfect!

Visit the ENHC Web Site for a Listing of Winter Activities

On the Essex National Heritage web site, www.EssexHeritage.org, there is a section called, What to Do. If one clicks on that part of the site, there is a follow up named Winter in the ENHC. That portion of the web site lists a half a dozen spots where one can enjoy winter in this region. There is certainly no need to hibernate in wintertime. There are many spots where outdoor fun can be enjoyed all year long. Some of the wonderful natural resources of this region, like Winnekenni Park in Haverhill, Harold Parker State Park in North Andover, Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield, Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Topsfield, Halibut Point State Park in Rockport and the Olmsted Historic District in Swampscott are great to visit for winter activities. The listings for these sites have a description of the site and some ideas for winter activities and there are maps and directions to get one to the site. Visit the ENHC website and have a look around. I am certain that you will find some wonderful ideas about this region and how it can be enjoyed by young and old alike.

2008 ENHC Partnership Grant Program Guidelines Announced

Late last month an announcement was made concerning the application process for the 2008 ENHC Partnership Grant Program. Information and background on the program can be found on the ENC website, www.EssexHeritage.org. The Partnership Grant Program is one of the most visible and important programs offered by the Commission and to date over $1.5 million in grants have been awarded to over 250 organizations in all thirty-four communities served by ENHC. Applications are due to the offices of the Commission by March 3, 2008.