During the pandemic, Frances Sreedhar spent time daily walking the Meewasin trail and although she had always enjoyed her walks, she really began to appreciate what Meewasin has to offer and how it helped with her mental health. That’s why she began the Million Steps for Mental Health campaign five years ago. Sreedhar says, “In the pandemic, it was truly illuminated for me that I needed to walk for mental health, and that we had so many trails and I had always appreciated the trails, but now, more than ever.”

Through her step count, she worked it out that for her, 3,500 steps a day with a two week break would take about a year to reach a million steps. She notes that it’s about a 15 to 20 minute walk a day, so it’s not an insurmountable goal and she invites everyone to give it a try. If you would like to help her reach her $10,000 fundraising goal, you can donate to Meewasin or the Saskatoon Branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association mentioning Fran Sreedhar’s name. For her fifth and final year, Sreedhar is also encouraging everyone to do the Million Steps for Mental Health challenge. Click here for more information