A mental health professional who gave herself the goal of walking a million steps along Meewasin’s trails during the pandemic is urging others to do the same, and to donate to the Meewasin Valley Authority. Meewasin CEO, Andrea Lafond, thanks Fran Sreedhar for including Meewasin in her leadership, sharing the benefits of outdoor physical activity for mental and physical health.

Sreedhar’s goal is to raise $10,000 by getting everyone to register on Meewasin’s website to walk a million steps and donate to the MVA. Lafond notes that during the pandemic, more people went outdoors and took to the trails and that didn’t wane after people were allowed to gather indoors. Pre-pandemic, in 2019, Meewasin Trail had 1.65 million visits and in 2023, there were 2.32 million.

Lafond says money raised during the Million Steps for Mental Health campaign will be used to expand and widen the trail to keep up with the growth and advance the trails for all ages and abilities. You can also donate to restoration efforts, which Meewasin has been doing now for over four decades along the riverbank in Saskatoon.

The Meewasin Valley is 75 kilometres along the river and includes 6,700 hectares of land, or the equivalent of 13,400 football fields. Lafond says their goal is to restore no less than 25 per cent of the valley.