Local leaders and residents gathered in January to help shape how children in Kershaw County will experience the outdoors for years to come, as the LiveWell Kershaw Coalition hosted a planning session with the national nonprofit Kids in Parks to identify sites for three new TRACK Trails.
Educators, health care providers, nonprofit representatives and community members met at Lyttleton Street United Methodist Church’s Family Life Center to discuss potential locations and vote on preferred sites. The expansion builds on an existing TRACK Trail at Wateree Veterans Park and is funded through a grant through the BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation aimed at growing the program across South Carolina.
Kids in Parks, a program of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, creates self-guided outdoor adventures designed to encourage children and families to explore nature together. Participants follow activity brochures along a trail, identify plants and animals and log visits online to earn prizes mailed to their homes.
“We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel,” Kids in Parks representative Teddi Garrick told attendees. “You are the experts in your community. We’re here to add a resource to the phenomenal work already happening in Kershaw County.”
Charlotte Rankin, CEO of the Community Medical Clinic of Kershaw County, the backbone organization for the LiveWell Kershaw Coalition, emphasized the initiative is part of a broader population health strategy. Community health assessments have identified youth physical activity as a priority, and coalition partners — including schools, medical providers, mental health programs and social services — see the trails as a practical way to address screen time, inactivity and family stress simultaneously, she said.
Research shared during the meeting showed children average only minutes of free outdoor play daily compared with hours of screen exposure. The TRACK Trail model aims to shift that balance by making outdoor activity structured, rewarding and accessible. Through the program’s Track Rx initiative, clinicians and school nurses can prescribe outdoor activity as part of their recommended wellness plans for both children and adults.
Unlike traditional hiking programs, TRACK Trails are designed to be flexible. Families can repeat the same trail and still earn prizes, materials are available in Spanish and bilingual formats and locations can include parks, downtown areas, school campuses and fishing sites. Activities are designed for all ages, from toddlers to grandparents.
“After a few adventures, it becomes less about the prize and more about family culture,” Garrick said. “It becomes what you do together.”
Meeting participants proposed and discussed numerous potential locations across the county, aiming to reach rural communities, neighborhoods with limited recreation access and areas where families already gather. Sites receiving votes included downtown Camden, Nature as Teacher, North Central, Scott Park Fitness Trail, Goodale State Park, Elgin Community Park fishing area, Mount Pisgah Community Center, West Wateree Complex, Kershaw West, Historic Camden and others such as Kendall Park, Bethune Community Center, Camden Battlefield and Boykin Mill Pond.
Downtown Camden received the most support for a standard TRACK Trail, while North Central received the most support for a TRACK Trail Mini concept. Officials said final selections will depend on site readiness and partnership agreements, and the county is still evaluating which locations best fit community needs.
Once sites are finalized, Kids in Parks will work with local partners to install signage, develop activity materials and host ribbon-cutting events, often within about six months. The Livewell Kershaw Coalition will coordinate outreach through schools, health providers and community organizations to ensure families know the trails are free and open to the public.
Rankin said the project represents a relatively small infrastructure investment with long-term benefits, combining health, education and outdoor recreation in an effort to build lifelong habits for children and possibly their parents as well.
