Last year, Thunder Bay. The year before that, Toronto. This year, the 34 residents of the Cadence Residence retirement home in Cochrane plan to walk around the world.
That’s the challenge for STEPtember. The residents are counting every step they take, hoping to walk the combined equivalent of once around the globe.
Facility manager Tina Turner says every week at a “pit stop”, the walkers will visit several world landmarks – virtually, of course – with a presentation about them. Canadian landmarks are included.
“We will also be walking and visiting landmarks like the Canadian Rockies, the Terry Fox monument, Parliament Hill, Niagara Falls, to name a few,” says Turner.
The walking is intended to encourage physical activity, teamwork, and learning about the world landmarks they’re going to visit virtually.
“Many of our seniors walk to and from the dining room six times a day,” Turner points out. “So even our eldest senior, who is 97 years of age, is counting his steps towards this September challenge, a walk around the world.”
The walking can be in and around Cadence, around Lake Commando, downtown, anywhere.