Fitness, community service intersect in local initiative to keep parks clean

New Week, New You

SAN ANTONIO – We are just weeks away from one of the busiest Sundays in the city. Hundreds of families will soon flock to local parks to celebrate Easter Sunday. But what happens once your baskets are full of eggs, bellies full of food and hair full of confetti? That’s where the city steps in - to help clean up cascarones and trash left behind.

It’s part of the reason why the city is teaming up with a group of local volunteers this month to educate the community about the importance of keeping our parks clean.

“Our parks have a tremendous problem right now,” said Henry Arredondo, San Antonio Parks and Recreation volunteer services coordinator. “People not picking up, not only litter, but there’s a problem with dog poop, as well. As we know, that’s an issue. It gets into our aquifer and our waterways."

Every month, San Antonio Parks and Recreation offers more than 700 free fitness classes through its Fitness in the Park program. In April, they’re combining fitness with beautifying McCallister Park.

“The Swedish have really come up with this cool program called ‘plogging,’ where they join jogging or walking with picking up litter. We’ve kind of adapted that, and we’re running our own version here,” Arredondo said.

Initiatives like Plogging in the Park are what turn one-time volunteers into devoted fitness students. Gabrielle Gullette has volunteered for more than five years.

“I love marrying the physical with the helping and beautification of our city,” said Gullette, who has lost more than 30 pounds since she first started her fitness journey with Fitness in the Park. “If we can give a few minutes or hours to the parks that let us play in them and work out in them then it’s a win-win for everybody.”

Sweat N Serve fitness classes are held on the second Saturday of each month. The next event is happening this Saturday, April 13, starting at 9 a.m. There is no sign-up or registration required. All you have to do is show up and be ready to sweat and serve.


About the Authors:

Priscilla Carraman is the producer of the "Know My Neighborhood" series —hyperlocal reporting on different neighborhoods within the KSAT viewing area. Priscilla started at KSAT as a producer trainee in 2017 after graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2015.

Before starting at KSAT in August 2011, Ken was a news photographer at KENS. Before that he was a news photographer at KVDA TV in San Antonio. Ken graduated from San Antonio College with an associate's degree in Radio, TV and Film. Ken has won a Sun Coast Emmy and four Lone Star Emmys. Ken has been in the TV industry since 1994.