top of page

Creative Steps Launched

Writer's picture: darrin84darrin84

By: Darrin Wasniewski


Spend just a few minutes with me and you’ll quickly discern my love of walking. I have always enjoyed exploring via my feet, but a couple of recent events have amped up my passion and understanding of what transpires when we move at 1-3 miles per hour. As previously mentioned, Antonia Malchik’s , A Walking Life: Reclaiming our Health and Our Freedom One Step at a Time was an epiphany for me. I can’t say that what I read was brand new, but it was the right time in my life that it all came together for me. I had a chance to apply what I learned from the book during COVID-19 shutdowns. There are 5 of us who live in a 1,000 square foot home in Madison. With all of us being home, I instituted walking breaks throughout the day for the kids and myself, at least 30 minutes twice a day and every time I needed to tap my creating side.


I quickly saw the benefits of this practice as I had to wrestle with a whole new way of approaching life. I moved most of my meetings to walking meetings and even though those on the other end may have been stationary, I took the time to explain what I was doing and why I was doing it.


Fast forward to 2022 and fortune showed her head again. Scrolling through social media, I caught a post about an international organization coordinating a new network. That organization is Pedestrian Space and the network, The Global Walkability Correspondents Network (GWCN). An e-mail soliciting more information yielded a meeting with the organizer, Annika. It didn’t take much for me to enthusiastically join and eventually facilitate two international workgroups- Architecture and Urbanism and Walkable Economy. Participation has connected me to like-minded people across the globe, and funny enough, right in Wisconsin.


And here’s where serendipity entered. A colleague found the @PedestrianDignity on TikTok (and @PedestrianDignity on IG as well). She was struck by the content and felt that it fit in with what we were working on. I also learned that the man behind the account, Jonathon Stalls, is also a member of GWCN. What are the odds? A brief Zoom conversation launched plans for Jonathon to visit Wisconsin, with events in Madison and Milwaukee. To say his time in those two cities was profound would be an understatement. In each he facilitated Walking Movement Leader Trainings and Pedestrian Dignity Experiences. It also provided me the opportunity to receive an education of the power of walking, the power of the natural environment, and an affirmation of my understanding of walking as a social connector.


This was a long-winded, but necessary, explanation of why I am so excited to have launched a new Grow Collaborative initiative this week, Creative Steps. We plan to gather quarterly, on or around the equinox and the solstice, for a walk. Those who participate are encouraged to come with an idea they are working through so that they can engage with others. When we walk, the neurons in our brains are triggered to produce creative energy (I’m not an expert on the physiology behind this, I just know it to be truth), so what’s better than to get the brains of a group fired up for creativity. Aside from the creativity, the walks provide a chance to connect with others whom you may not have met before or deepen your connection with someone you have.


On March 20th we gathered at Capital Springs Recreation Area in Madison for an hour walk along the Capital City Trail. We will gather for our next Creative Steps on Wednesday, June 21st at 4 p.m. at Sidie Hollow County Park in Viroqua. Join us in this Driftless city for movement, connection and idea generation.

30 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


The Grow Co-Lab

©2022 by Grow Co-Lab. Proudly created with Wix.com

bottom of page