Summer on Rocky Top
This week our campus community will embark upon another transition as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; employees will return to their office spaces on Rocky Top. Some teams will be reconnecting in-person for the first time in over a year and some employees will be welcomed back to campus by those who have already made the transition back or remained on campus throughout the duration of pandemic. The commonality that lies among us is that even though we all will be experiencing this transition differently, we will be doing it together.
As we transition back to spaces that were once so familiar, potentially bringing new perspectives and preferences about how we approach our work, we have the opportunity to put health and wellbeing at the forefront and foster environments that promote healthy lifestyles.
A few things to consider as you embark upon your return:
- Change can be stressful: Check in on yourself and your colleauges to see how things are going. Acknowledge the highs and the lows.
- Give yourself time and grace: New routines take time to create and there may be bumps along the way -that is OK.
- Embrace brain breaks: Being back in the office can provide new stimuli which may leave you more tired than usual. Planning brain breaks to interact with coworkers, step outside for a minute, or practice a short meditation can be great for your mental health.
- Prioritize movement: Even as little as 5 minutes of walking periodically throughout the work day has been shown to improve mood and decrease levels of fatigue as opposed to sitting all day. Grab a colleauge for an extra boost in social wellbeing too!
- Set aside time for action planning: Take some time to list out the pros and cons of working remotely and working on-campus. From that list, see if there are adjustments you can make to create a new environment for yourself that satisfies your needs.
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Campus Feature: UT Gardens
Whether you are looking for a peaceful place for a walk on your lunch break or are trying to find an outdoor space to host a staff meeting or team-building activity, head on over to UT Gardens!
The garden spaces are open from dawn until dusk and can be used by groups on a first-come-first serve basis. Wifi is available all throughout the gardens, making it the perfect place to get a little bit of work done or connect with colleauges. Smaller groups can call the gardens ahead of time to ensure space is still available and larger groups can reserve pavilion spaces for a small maintenance fee.
UT Gardens also offers programming for departments on campus:
- Garden Tours: One hour tour of the gardens and a one hour reservation for a space to have lunch ($8 per employee)
- Wellness program: One hour tour of the gardens and a one hour interactive activity that includes a pavilion reservation for lunch ($35 per employee)
Departments interested in utilizing the garden for work-related activities can email Holly Jones (hjones3@utk.edu) and Derrick Stowell (dstowell@tennessee.edu) to work through logistics.
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Move MoreTeam UTK Is Growing!
Be Well is offering UTK employees $20 off of race registration for the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon races happening this fall, October 2nd & 3rd! Sign up early to join our team and take advantage of the discount!
As a part of Team UTK, we will be competing against other East Tennessee employers in the Fittest Company Challenge. For each mile an employee completes on race day, Team UTK will receive a point. After race day, our team's total will be tallied and one organization will be deemed the winner! Back this year, immediate household family members of UTK employees will be able to join Team UTK and contribute to our team's total. Unfortunately, the discount can only be used for current UTK employees.
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Nourish MovesNourish Knoxville has launched another incredible program at the New Harvest Farmers' Market that incentivizes individuals to get active in exchange for produce bucks that can be spent at the market.
Participants ages 2+ can pick up pedometers at the Community Booth before walking around the surrounding trails at the Thursday evening market. Participants will also receive a frequent walker card which is redeemable for prizes after 5 visits and entered into a drawing for a local food basket.
How to earn produce bucks:
$1 for 500-1,000 steps walked
$2 for 1,000-2,000 steps walked
$3 for 2,000 + steps walked
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Eat WellThis summer Be Well is participating in the Vol Supported Agriculture CSA program and each week we are giving away a 1/2 bushel of organic produce to a UTK employee. The 22 week season kicked off in mid-May and will end in October. In the spring winners can expect kale, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, radishes, broccoli, turnips, etc., and as the season progresses into summer, many main-season favorites such as summer squash, cucumbers, zucchini, melons, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, fresh herbs, beans, garlic, onions, herbs and flowers.
UTK employees can sign-up to win by joining the Be Well listserv to receive monthly newsletters or by emailing bewell@utk.edu.
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Families Becoming Healthy Together
The Healthy Eating and Activity Laboratory at the University of Tennessee Knoxville has a grant from the National Institutes for Health to provide a medically recommended program for families to help children get to a healthier weight. This program is called Families Becoming Healthy Together. The program is 18 months long and is provided at no cost to families.
Families Becoming Healthy Together was developed to help families, including children and parents, achieve a healthier weight status by learning healthy eating and activity behaviors. This is the only program in the Knoxville area that meets current recommendations for treating childhood overweight and obesity.
This program is especially important for Tennessee. According to The Commonwealth Fund's scorecard on state health system performance evaluation in 2018, 38% percent of children in Tennessee have overweight or obesity compared to the national rate of 31%. Having overweight or obesity can increase the risk of developing weight-related diseases in adulthood, like cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and type-2 diabetes. Chronic illnesses like these can be difficult to deal with, decrease the quality of a person's life, and cost a lot of money.
So parents:
If you are at least 18 years old, are 20-75 pounds away from your ideal weight, and have a child between the ages of 8-12 years, you may be eligible to take part in this research study.
The research study is designed to:
* Help families be healthy.
* Learn about nutrition and physical activity.
* Learn ways to develop a healthy lifestyle.
With the support of Families Becoming Healthy Together, next year's health resolutions could last a lifetime!
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Wellness WarriorThe Wellness Warrior Award is given to individuals across campus who are nominated by their peers for leading by example and inspiring through action as they work to create a healthier lifestyle.
The Wellness Warrior award for the month of June is awarded to Sean Powell. Sean works for the UT Police Department and has been a part of the UT family for 22 years. Some of Sean's favorite hobbies include running marathons, lifting weights, basketball, swimming, and yoga.
We asked Sean what inspires him to make healty choices and live a healthy lifestyle and he shared that his biggest motivation is his love for people, commitment to his family, and desire to be a good role model for his children.
Congratulations Sean, and thank you for being a model of health and wellness on UT's Campus!
Do you know someone who you feel is deserving of the Wellness Warrior award? Please fill out a nomination form to have their story told.
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