Congratulations to Placer-Nevada UC Cooperative Extension. The office's Staff Assembly Ambassador, Annette Cosgrove, submitted the winning entry to the Healthy over the Holiday's photo contest.

UCCE Placer-Nevada Healthy Over the Holidays Challenge 2019 by Annette Cosgrove.

Cosgrove led the staff and academics at Placer and Nevada UCCE in taking five group walks, two Zumba sessions, a holiday party using reusable utensils and a hallway chair race on a rainy day. The prize is an assortment of California-grown healthy goodies from Circle K Country Store in Fowler.

First runner-up in the contest was a photo collage of members of the Houston Wilson lab at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Staff research associate Jessia Maccaro (pictured in the lower left corner of the photo collage) leads staff in a daily yoga practice in the winter to get everyone in the right frame of mind for working together inside the lab.

Members of the Houston Wilson lab at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center practice yoga.

"Healthy over the Holidays was designed to remind us that wellness should encompass all pieces of our lives from mindfulness practices to dedicating time for meaningful relationships,” said Kaela Plank, chair of the UC ANR Staff Assembly wellness committee. “The feedback we have received from this year's program has been overwhelmingly positive. Our committee is excited to continue to improve this program in order to meet the needs of the ANR community.”

Individual participants took home prizes, while all 168 UC ANR staff who signed up to be Healthy over the Holidays were winners. They received weekly emails with encouragement to eat healthy, get physical activity and take care of their mental health during a time when many people set their health goals aside until the New Year.

Almost half of the participants submitted the completion survey. Of those, 87% reported making one positive change – such as practicing mindfulness, making time for their hobbies, choosing to eat more fruits and vegetables, and getting more sleep. Seventy-four percent of respondents said they enjoyed the holistic approach and 72% enjoyed the newsletter. One office has committed to continuing their weekly walks in 2020. 

The individual winners of Healthy over the Holidays were picked randomly from the participants who filled out the completion survey. Javier Miramontes and Keilani Cordero won Fitbits and Elizabeth Gong won a bamboo cutting board.