activecommunity photos on Flickr

Lock 8 Gateway Park, Mellanby Avenue and Amelia Street, Port Colborne, ON by Snuffy

26 12

Excerpt from ca.apm.activecommunities.com/cityofportcolborne/facility_...:

Lock 8 Gateway Park was established in 1979 to commemorate the visit by then Governor General Ed Schreyer and to mark then 150th anniversary of the opening of the 1st Welland Canal. As a regulating, or guard gate, Lock 8 raises or lowers ships 1 to 4 feet, depending on Lake Erie water levels. At 1,380 feet, it is one of the longest canal locks in the world. The "Jackknife" bridges at either end are raised and lowered as ships pass in, or out of the lock. It is located at Main Street West and the Welland Canal. Overlooking the Welland Canal, and one of the world's longest locks, this beautiful viewing area and park features 1 picnic pavilion, an elevated viewing platform of the canal, flower gardens, fountains, and restrooms. Materials explaining the operation of the Welland Canal, and information on ship schedules and destinations can be obtained at the Visitor Information Centre located across Mellanby Avenue from the park.

Lock 8 Gateway Park, Mellanby Avenue and Amelia Street, Port Colborne, ON by Snuffy

27 12

Excerpt from ca.apm.activecommunities.com/cityofportcolborne/facility_...:

Lock 8 Gateway Park was established in 1979 to commemorate the visit by then Governor General Ed Schreyer and to mark then 150th anniversary of the opening of the 1st Welland Canal. As a regulating, or guard gate, Lock 8 raises or lowers ships 1 to 4 feet, depending on Lake Erie water levels. At 1,380 feet, it is one of the longest canal locks in the world. The "Jackknife" bridges at either end are raised and lowered as ships pass in, or out of the lock. It is located at Main Street West and the Welland Canal. Overlooking the Welland Canal, and one of the world's longest locks, this beautiful viewing area and park features 1 picnic pavilion, an elevated viewing platform of the canal, flower gardens, fountains, and restrooms. Materials explaining the operation of the Welland Canal, and information on ship schedules and destinations can be obtained at the Visitor Information Centre located across Mellanby Avenue from the park.

Ciclovia, Bogota, Colombia by adrimcm

10 4

Feel free to use this image, but please credit me. Thanks!

Taken on la carrera septima in Bogota, near Chapinero (one my favourite streets in the city).

Bogota has done this great thing since the 1970s - on Sunday & holiday mornings, till about 1:30 they block off 1/2 of major roads to vehicular traffic and open them up to residents for biking, jogging, strolling, roller-blading etc. The routes total about 120 kms and also link major city parks. During Ciclovia hours the city runs free exercise classes at the parks along the route, called Recreovia.

Although it is called "ciclovia" it is actually much more than just bikes. Note that Ciclovia, the weekly event, is not to be confused with Ciclo-rutas, which are Bogota's 340 km+ off-road cycle path network (very sustainable - although bike commuter bike culture has been slow to catch on - they sit at about 4% of the mode share - similar to the City of Portland, Vancouver and Greater Victoria, but paltry compared to European cities).

It is a wonderful and inspiring community event where everyone can be seen. Many people regard it as a green transportation event, however in my opinion due to the enormous social factor and diverse range in activities it is by and large a community-building/healthy-activity thing, rather than a commuter-bike thing.

Flickr member Monica has a great and inspiring little video clip shared here:

www.flickr.com/photos/monicaeche/3894107001/in/pool-ciclo...

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Although this is a great idea, officials in many North American cities initially dismissed it purely on the grounds of contextual differences between Colombia and elsewhere. Fortunately, there were a few who saw the potential and tried it out. Among these are New York City, Portland Oregon, and Ottawa, Ontario. With this the concept has finally won acceptance and is slowly being introduced in other cities. IMHO Ciclovia and the events it has inspired across the globe serve to beautifully illustrate that despite our differences, people are people, and a good idea can be adapted to all sorts of places regardless of where it comes from.

The University of the Andes in Bogota has put together a great manual (in English) for cities and groups who are interested in trying out their own version of Ciclovia/Open Streets/Sunday Parkways: cicloviarecreativa.uniandes.edu.co/english/introduction.html

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In this picture you can also see some of the British architecture that is common around the city. The standard explanation is that since Bogota has a temperate overcast climate similar to the UK it was thought the style would do well there.

I think it has - these are very street-oriented buildings. The contrast is made all the more vivid when one considers the almost Le-Corbusian highrise complexes that sprawl west along giant freeway-like arterials from the Bogota's original N-S spine next to the mountains. I didn't realise that the block highrises existed in Canada until driving around parts of Toronto, where the same style of buildings are undergoing significant rehabilitation as part of a municipal program.

Stop Motion Animation Summer Camp by Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation

Sign up for camp! June 18 - 22, 2018 at Bow Creek Recreation Center | 8 am - 12 pm | apm.activecommunities.com/vbparksrec/Activity_Search/stop...

2010: Well Being Sports Day, Lilian Baylis Old School, London by Active Communities Network

Tuesday 3 March 2010, Lambeth, London, UK -

Active Communities Network (then London Active Communities) ran a special 'Well Being Sports Day' in partnership with their large-scale volunteering programme - 'Gamechangers' supported by Nike.

The day took place at the Lilian Baylis old school site in Lambeth and featured a variety of activities for boys and girls including rowing, boxing, basketball and much more.

Parks and Recreation - Every Body Plays by CEO Countywide Communications

Jayden Sanchez, 5, plays soccer with Youth@Work Intern Joshua Morales, 19, at Salazar Park during the Every Body Plays program on April 27, 2021.

The Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation encourages youth to get active and stay healthy in a safe place. Youth can rent sports equipment for FREE when playing at 55 parks throughout LA County. The program is run by LA County Parks staff and WDACS Youth@Work trained interns. Visit your local park for details: parks.lacounty.gov/everybodyplays/

(Photo by Los Angeles County)

Asda Foundation Wembley Community Champions Sports Day by Active Communities Network

London, UK – Wednesday 30 July 2014:

Youth and community development charity Active Communities Network joined forces with retailer, Asda and their charitable arm - the Asda Foundation - to launch a partnership aimed at improving the employability of young people across Brent.

Part of a wider pan-London, three-year programme, the Brent partnership will see Asda ‘Community Life Champions’ and colleagues from Asda Park Royal and Asda Wembley mentor young people, shadow them during intensive sport and youth work programmes and offer them work placement opportunities and training including the bespoke Open College Network (OCN) ‘Skills for Employment and Enterprise’ accreditation.

The partnership targets some of the area’s most ‘at risk’ young people, delivering clear progression pathways into citizenship and volunteering with those involved supported with access to work placements, help with writing CVs and gaining interview practice.

Over 200 young people aged 12-16 years old, alongside 15 local volunteers attended the launch today at The Pavilion, Stonebridge Recreation Ground, Hillside alongside a special visit from The Worshipful the Mayor of Brent, Councillor Kana Naheerathan and former professional boxer and Junior World Welterweight Champion Herol Graham alongside parliamentary candidates for Brent Central, Dawn Butler and Ibrahim Taguri.

The free event started at 12pm and included boxing, football, tag rugby, handball, badminton and a ‘keepy-up’ competition and was delivered by local partners Hornstars SC with support from the Saracens Sport Foundation, The Hyde Group, Rio Ferdinand Foundation, Ruislip Eagles Handball Club, Badminton England and Fight 4 Change.

The event finished with medal presentations at 4:30pm.

For more information about the partnership programme or to get involved, contact Active Communities Network on 020 7407 8177, Tweet @ActiveCN or email info@activecommunities.org.uk

Laureus Urban Stars - BMX & Mountain Biking East Manchester by Active Communities Network

Manchester, UK – Monday 12 May 2014: Last week saw the launch of an east Manchester sports partnership delivering free BMX and Mountain Biking sessions in Newton Heath and Clayton.

The sessions, run every Thursday and Friday, are part of the Laureus Urban Stars programme in Manchester managed by the charity Active Communities Network and funded by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

Working in partnership with the National Cycling Centre BMX and Mountain Biking Team alongside the Greater Manchester Police, the free sessions take place from 5:30pm – 7:30pm on Thursdays at the Scotland Hall Road Park in Newton Heath and Fridays at the former Clayton Youth Centre on Clayton Street. After 10 weeks of BMX within their locality, both areas will move to the mountain bike trail on Clayton Vale for the remaining 10 weeks.

Although slightly hampered by the poor weather when they launched last week, the sessions are set to be at full speed this week aiming to attract young people aged 12-18 years old from both areas over the 20 week period.

Alongside the Mountain Biking and BMX sessions, Laureus Urban Stars in Manchester and Salford also offers free football sessions on Mondays at Eccles College and starting this Wednesday (14th May) at Ordsall Leisure Centre, Salford. Boxing is also offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Bridgewater Boxing Club, Salford.

Anthony Schiavo, Programme Manager – North West & Midlands, Active Communities Network said:

“This is a unique opportunity for young people in Manchester to engage with such a diverse, exciting and exhilarating activity.

“These sessions are an excellent opportunity for young people to experience and have fun in their local environment under the excellent and safe leadership of the Laureus Urban Stars coaches and experienced staff from the National Cycling Centre.

“This also allows us to develop our partnership work and the local Greater Manchester Police teams and partners have worked hard to put these sessions on and publicise them, meeting with young people and informing them of what’s on offer.”

For more information about Laureus Urban Stars email info@activecommunities.org.uk