Gina leading the workshop presentation!
Gina & David biking in San Diego
From February 22-26, 2015, Dr. Kaczynski, Gina Besenyi, and David Gallerani represented the BEACH Lab at the 12th Annual Active Living Research Conference in San Diego, CA. Their trip got off to a fast start with co-leading a workshop on the first day (along with Dr. Sonja Wilhem Stanis from the University of Missouri) about the newly-developed eCPAT app. The workshop included a summary of the project to develop the electronic version of the Community Park Audit Tool (CPAT) and a visit to a local park where participants got to test drive the new app on Android tablets. We received some excellent feedback and are looking forward to sharing eCPAT more widely in the near future.
Later in the week, Dr. Kaczynski participated in an invitation-only workshop hosted by the National Recreation and Park Association to discuss the state of research evidence connecting parks with health benefits such as physical activity and obesity as well as other community concerns such as environmental and economic issues. In between, the three main days of the conference and sunny San Diego provided a wonderful backdrop for learning about new research methods and findings in the ever-changing field of active living research and for connecting with old friends and new colleagues from around the world. Next year, the conference moves away from San Diego for the first time (to Clearwater Beach, FL) and the BEACH Lab is sure to be well-represented once again!
Dr. Kaczynski and Dr. Wilhem Stanis having lunch at the 2015 ALR Conference!