An interactive treasure hunt which encouraged families to explore the great outdoors and improve their fitness has helped Telford Town Park to be shortlisted for a national award.
Go Wild Active Adventure, which combined the latest smartphone technology with the sights and sounds of the park, will be showcased at the Fields In Trust awards finals, to be held at Lord’s cricket ground on November 29.
Telford Town Park is one of three finalists in the ‘Getting Active’ category, where it is up against schemes from Richmond-upon-Thames, and Swansea.
The park has made the shortlist in recognition of the active adventure game, run by county sports partnership Energize, as well as the work done by Telford Parkrun, and the Friends of Telford Town Park.
Ben Harper, senior sports manager at county sports partnership Energize, said: “Energize and Telford Town Park share a vision of seeing more families from all backgrounds exploring the park and using the green space to be more active.
“With this in mind, we worked together develop the ‘Go Wild Active Adventure’ which combined technology and the great surroundings of the arena to get families active – and we’re delighted it has played a part in getting the park shortlisted for this award.
“The three-week game provided families with a free, easy and accessible scavenger hunt that got people walking around the arena, as well as exploring the lesser visited parts of the park.
“Users downloaded the game to their phones after scanning a code, then tracked down eight ‘hotspots’, taking them around a 3km loop. Challenges included taking selfies, answering questions and recording videos doing active challenges.
“A total of 40 families completed the hotspots – and what is really satisfying is that nearly two thirds of them described themselves as being previously physically inactive.”
The game allowed families to explore local heritage and wildlife spots, including the Stirchley chimney, Silkin Way, and the war memorial in the park arena.
Ben said: “The Go Wild adventure ran as a pilot project to see if it was possible to engage inactive families in informal activity and help them access the great green spaces around them.
“We had some terrific feedback, and there is a real interest in rolling out a calendar of active adventures across the Town Park, as well as other open spaces, to help people to learn more about their local areas and explore new open spaces with the reassurance of a guided, entertaining mobile game.”
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