Alamo celebrated the opening of its new Storybook Trail at Alamo City Park, bringing together Alamo City Schools, Crockett Memorial Library, Crockett County Imagination Library, and other community partners.

Alamo City School third graders took the inaugural walk along the newly installed Storybook Trail, featuring Wonder Walkers by Micha Archer. The trail features the book on child-height panels along the walking route, with the story available in both English and Spanish, creating an opportunity for families to combine literacy, physical activity, and outdoor family engagement.

UT Extension Be More TN worked with Alamo City Schools’ Coordinated School Health program to identify opportunities to build community and organizational support for the trail through staff wellness and family and community engagement efforts. 

The Town of Alamo also adopted a policy supporting ongoing maintenance and funding for new books throughout the year, helping sustain the trail as a community resource.

Learn more here.

Community representatives from Grand Junction participated in an Active Living Workshop led by Tennessee Department of Health Healthy Development Coordinator Chelsea White. Held at Grand Junction City Park, the half-day learning and action-planning workshop connects community design and health through a walk audit, assessment of community assets and barriers, and identification of opportunities for improvement.

As part of Be More TN’s focus on policy, systems, and environmental change, the assessment provides a foundation for community-led strategies, including demonstration projects, policy and systems changes, and future investments in the built environment that can make physical activity more accessible where people live, work, and gather.

Learn more about TN Active Living Workshops here

The Be More TN state team recently visited Grand Junction and Bolivar, Decaturville, Brownsville, and Alamo to meet with local steering committees to review progress, identify next steps, and discuss opportunities for continued community-led nutrition and physical activity initiatives.

Discussions focused on community-led strategies to improve access to healthy food and physical activity, including:

Strengthening Community Coalitions

Sustained community change requires partnerships across sectors. Be More TN communities are identifying organizations that can contribute to local priorities through shared goals, resources, relationships, or connections to key decision-makers .

Identifying partners based on their interests, strengths, and connections can help communities build diverse and sustainable coalitions to support local action. 

Training: Creating Safe and Active Communities: Community Design and Violence Prevention

Join Safe States Alliance on September 29 at 1 p.m. ET for a webinar exploring how the design and care of shared spaces can strengthen social connection, address community conditions associated with violence, and create welcoming places where residents feel a sense of belonging and ownership.

Training: Neighborhood Connect: Leveraging Implementation Science for Community-Driven Built Environment Change to Promote Healthy, Thriving Communities

Join the PAPREN Speaker Series on September 30 from 12–1 p.m. ET to explore how implementation science can support community-driven built environment change. The session will be led by Stephenie Lemon, PhD, MS, from UMass Chan Medical School and the PAPREN Coordinating Center. Advance registration is required.

Complete Streets, Stronger Economies: How safer streets support economic growth: A new report from Smart Growth America shows how making streets safer for everyone can support local economies by growing local businesses and creating jobs. Spotlighting examples from around the country, this report shares real stories on how Complete Streets can revitalize downtowns and grow revenue in communities of all sizes.

Making Strides: 2026 State Report Cards: Safe Routes Partnership developed state report cards that provide a snapshot of how supportive each state is of walking, bicycling, rolling, and active kids and communities. The report cards primarily look at state policy, focusing on four key areas:

1. Complete Streets and Active Transportation Policy and Planning

2. Federal and State Active Transportation Funding

3. Safe Routes to School Funding and Supportive Practices

4. Active Neighborhoods and Schools

🔷 Building Bridges Learning Community
The Building Bridges Learning Community will select eight health department–community organization teams for an 8-month cohort beginning in December 2026. Each selected team will receive $10,000, along with peer, expert, and technical support to strengthen cross-sector partnerships, shared leadership, and community engagement. Eligible teams must include a state, local, tribal, or territorial health department and a registered 501(c)(3) community-based organization working together in a CDC priority area.
Applications are due September 28, 2026. Learn more and apply here.

🔷 GameTime Community Champions Playground Grant
GameTime is offering matching funds for eligible new playground projects, helping communities extend their investment in play and recreation. Funds may be used toward eligible GameTime play systems.
Applications are due October 23, 2026. Learn more and apply here.

The High Obesity Program is made possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the CDC or imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Learn more about the High Obesity Program (HOP) program at https://www.cdc.gov/dnpao-state-local-programs/php/about/.