Tag Archives: recreation

DHEC in the News: Safe sleep, WIC mobile unit, Great Falls whitewater site

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Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

DHEC provides tips on preventing SIDS and safer infant sleep

COLUMBIA, SC (FOX Carolina) – The SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) is warning parents about sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, and providing tips that can make a difference. In South Carolina, six infants die each month from unsafe sleep, DHEC said in a media release. Babies are at risk of sleep-related deaths until they are a year old.

Here are some tips for safer sleep, per DHEC:

  1. ALONE– Babies should sleep alone in their own safe sleep space such as a crib or bassinet with a firm, flat mattress. For the first year of life, baby should have a separate safe sleep space in the parent’s room.
  2. BACK– Always put your baby to sleep on his or her back, both for naps and at night. Placing babies on their backs to sleep is one of the most important ways to prevent SIDS.
  3. CRIB– Make sure that the crib or bassinet you’re using is safety approved by the Consumer Products Safety Commission and that the crib is bare. Remove all pillows, blankets soft toys, or bumpers.

SC DHEC debuts new mobile unit to help Upstate women & children

ANDERSON (AP/FOX Carolina) – A new mobile unit from SC DHEC is helping women make sure their children are getting the nutrients they need.

The van is for the department’s WIC program. WIC stands for woman, infant and children. It gives moms access to the proper nutrients for their children. Women have to qualify to become part of the program. To find out if you qualify, click here.

Duke Energy designs whitewater recreation site in Great Falls

GREAT FALLS, SC (WBTV) – Duke Energy is in the preliminary design phase of a recreational whitewater project. A spokesperson with Duke Energy says they have never done a project like this before.

According to Duke Energy and the Great Falls Hometown Association, the energy giant will construct two whitewater channels along the Catawba River near Fishing Creek Dam. The project will also include three kayaking and canoeing put-ins along a stretch of the Catawba River between the Fishing Creek Dam and just south of the Great Falls Dam.

Enhanced Water Monitoring on Lower Saluda River Has Begun

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A variety of stakeholders have come together to start an enhanced water quality monitoring program for the Lower Saluda Scenic River during the peak recreational season. DHEC is a key stakeholder in the group, whose goal is to encourage safe recreational use of the river.

Weekly water quality testing has begun and data will be available at LowerSaluda3howsmyscriver.org/saluda in the near future. The enhanced monitoring will provide more timely interventions as well as ultimately better protection of the river.

The Lower Saluda River Coalition is made up of river-related businesses, environmental groups, local and state government, property owners, industry and other users of the river.

One of the main purposes of the coalition is to ensure the safety of individuals recreating on the rivers and to educate the public on issues related to natural waters.

The first objective is to make water quality information more frequently and readily available to river users so they can make informed decisions on when to recreate in the river.  This is the first program of its type for inland waters. DHEC also has a robust beach monitoring program.

The enhanced monitoring program for the Lower Saluda will run from June to September this year and May through September in future years.  It involves eight monitoring locations that will be sampled weekly.  The first sampling event was June 21. Results from the sampling will be on the website soon.

Improved Outdoor Learning Spaces Boost Health

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School is back in session, and DHEC has been helping to support healthy habits and create active learning environments for students.

Misty Pearson with DHEC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity is working with the Natural Learning Initiative (NLI) at N.C. State University on a program called Preventing Obesity by Design, or “POD” for short, that creates outdoor learning environments that conform to nature, inspiring activity and better health.
“The purpose of POD is to address the obesity epidemic in young children attending child care,” explains Pearson. “We want to transform child care outdoor learning environments into engaging, interactive spaces that encourage children to play.”

Research behind the POD concept finds that designing the outdoor learning space a certain way encourages children to move through the space actively without adult intervention.
“After participating in training with NLI, S.C. childcare professionals have a deepened understanding of the benefits of naturalizing and designing these environments to improve physical activity, nutrition, and learning outcomes for young children,” Pearson explained.

A POD pilot project has led to redesigning the McLeod Child Development Center in Florence County, S.C. From the beginning, the center embraced the pilot concepts and implemented many of the outdoor learning components in its design plan.

“The first additions included raised planting beds for the children to plant vegetables and a performance stage,” Pearson said. “The children began using the stage right away.”

Among the notable changes made on the center’s playground was the addition of a concrete primary path and sod. This primary path acts as the plan’s anchor.  Immediately, the children began running, riding tricycles and walking hand-in-hand around the path. They were becoming more active due to the design changes on the grounds.

McLeoplayground

The outdoor learning environment at McLeod Child Development Center in Florence, S.C. was renovated based on the POD concept.

This projectis showing how innovation can promote better health among our state’s children. Pearson says the initial pilot project in Florence County has shown that the redesigned outdoor learning environments can encourage additional activity among the center’s children. Efforts are now expanding into Spartanburg County for another project, which involves Clemson University’s Department of Landscape Architecture.

“With the university’s involvement,” Pearson says, “we can begin to build South Carolina’s in-state capacity to design outdoor learning environments and create our own sustainable process for the future.”