On Tuesday, the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Batesville School District’s (BSD) Story Walk project on the Greenway Trail on the northern side of the Batesville Community Center.
Community supporters celebrated the unveiling of the first permanent “Story Walk” in Independence County.
According to a release from the chamber, the Batesville High School Charter EAST Program and Community Engagement Coordinator Jessica Angel envisioned the collaborative endeavor in partnership with the Batesville Community Center Parks Director Jeff Owens.
The chamber said the Story Walk represents “a pioneering effort to promote literacy and physical activity within our community park trails.”
“This project embodies the power of community, creativity, and literacy, and I am deeply honored to see it come to fruition,” said Angel.
At the ceremony, Angel thanked Owens, the Parks and Recreation Department, BSD Communications Coordinator Megan Renihan, EAST Facilitator Lori Campbell, and the students who created the story, Paving Your Pioneer Path.
“A story walk is a delightful, free activity combining literacy and physical activity. Pages from children’s books are displayed along the walking path, inviting families to read together while enjoying the outdoors,” said Angel. “This interactive experience promotes reading and encourages bonding between caregivers and children, fostering a love for books and learning from an early age. Families that participate in the story walk can create positive educational experiences that will shape children’s future and strengthen our community as a whole.”
As BHSC EAST students began work on the Story Walk, they quickly realized that a book about “Pioneer Joe” was needed. Charley Mulick, Joe Carmona, and Maggie Price decided to write and illustrate the book for the permanent story walk.
“This was much easier said than done,” Carmona said. “In no time, we had the book written. We focused our story on Pioneer Joe and his educational experiences within the Batesville School District. We took photos of Pioneer Joe participating in various school activities and utilized Adobe Illustrator for iPad to create illustrations you will see throughout the story walk.”
The first edition of Paving Your Pioneer Path will be published this fall (available in English and Spanish). Copies of the book will be placed in all library and media centers in the district and the Independence County Library.
Ambassadors in attendance include Amy Finster (FARCO), Andrea Bruner (Network of Community Options), Brenda Rivera (First Community Bank), Ashley Engles (Citizens Bank), Christina Watts (LaCroix Precision Optics), Kristi Morgan (FNBC), Lindy Hopper (First Community Bank), Lori Campbell (Batesville School District), Lori Tacker (Batesville Eye Care Center), Lucy Rodriguez (George’s Inc), Megan Renihan (Batesville School District), Michael Kelley (Peco Foods), Peter Rouiler (First Community Bank), Roxanne Rananudo (United Way of North Central AR), Silje Antonsen (Venture Realty Group), Sydney Wood (Main Street Batesville), Tammy Jeffrey (First Community Bank) and Julie Hinkle (Bank of Cave City).
Image: Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce
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