UC Davis already boasts titles for being one of the greenest universities in the world. Now, a campus initiative hopes to make UC Davis the healthiest university as well.
Here’s your chance to take part in the effort. Healthy UC Davis is having a kickoff celebration from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, on the Quad. The event will include a massive outdoor yoga session, a mindful moment, a health resources fair, walking tours, free food, and, of course, swag.
All University of California campuses will be having similar events on that day. The celebrations are part of the systemwide Healthy Campus Initiative, in which the Office of the President awarded each campus funding for programs, with the goal of making UC the healthiest place to work, learn and live.
Healthy UC Davis focuses on four areas: food and nutrition, mental and emotional wellbeing, physical activity, and being smoke and tobacco free. Over the past year, the initiative developed messaging and free programs aimed at improving all aspects of health for students, staff and faculty.
”It can be hard to work healthy habits into our lives,” said Stacey Brezing, director of the Staff and Faculty Health and Well-Being Program and a Healthy UC Davis leader. “So what we’re doing is weaving health into our working and learning environments to make those changes more manageable.”
Some programs to come out of Healthy UC Davis include Active Aggies Mobile exercise classes, marked walking loops across campus and a food labeling system called Nourish that helps the campus community identify healthy foods at campus stores and eateries.