Brimfield resident establishes women’s walking group

Date: 4/4/2022

BRIMFIELD – Women of Brimfield and the surrounding area are coming together after one resident established a women’s walking group.

Jolene Ferreira, creator of the Brimfield Area Women’s Walking Group, said how this group started is “kind of complex.”

She explained that part of this idea stemmed from the coronavirus pandemic. “It took a toll on people mentally and physically,” Ferreira said.

She said that the second part is that the town has few sidewalks and that she feels it’s unsafe for a woman to walk alone.

“I was talking with my husband and thought, ‘there’s nowhere safe to walk in town by myself,’” said Ferreira. “It’s better to walk with a group in a rural part of town.”

After sleeping on the issue, Ferreira said, “I woke up and thought that we don’t have a walking group, club or outreaches.” As a result, Ferreira decided to “put a feeler out to people in the area,” in which she said many seemed interested.

As a member of a non-profit walking group, Ferreira said she already had the experience and knowledge to create a group of her own. After receiving positive feedback, Ferreira started a Facebook group around mid-March.

“So many people have requested to be in the group,” said Ferreira. As of press time, there were 110 members. As this number was reached in only one week, Ferreira quickly learned she would need assistance and asked a friend to help moderate the group.

Ferreira originally posted this group for women in Brimfield and Sturbridge as she knows a lot of people there. “There are a lot of trails in both those towns and I wanted to include everyone,” she said.

Since then, Ferreira has received requests from women all the way to West Springfield.

With the cut off at 110 members, Ferreira said as the weeks go on, she will need to see how many people actually show up to walk. Then, she plans to start “weeding out” those who are not serious about walking, so that individuals who would like to walk, can.

Since the group walks began, Ferreira said it seems like they have a “good group of ladies.”

“We’ve got a good span of older, younger and then people with kids, without kids, dogs,” and so on, said Ferreira. She assured that they keep everyone’s walking abilities in mind.

Each week, Ferreira said they offer morning and early evening walks, along with some afternoons. The majority of the walks take place Monday through Friday, however if there’s enough interest, weekend walks might be offered to those who are available.

Depending on the weather and who’s attending, the walking routes change. Currently, Ferreira said a lot of walking paths are closed, as the grounds are still recuperating from the winter.

As the group is still relatively new, Ferreira said they will see what works, what doesn’t, and get into a routine. “As we get closer to summer, we are hoping to do different types of walks,” she said. This includes longer trails that lead to “nice views.”

Ferreira predicted that the longest walk they will do is about 10 miles, whereas the shortest route is about two or three miles – offering distances that are comfortable for everyone.

Ferreira wants people to realize that they can do more than they think they can. “You can do five miles when you’re talking,” she said. “It goes by fast.”
She continued, “You need to listen to your own body,” and most importantly, “you have to hydrate.”

While it’s a women’s group for the most part, Ferreira said they plan to offer “family Friday’s,” which are open to anyone as well as children.

“It’s good for the community to come together. I’m hopeful that this group will help,” she said. “Nobody walks by themselves and nobody is left alone.”

Ferreira said another main reason for starting this group is for the elderly. “I don’t want elderlies to feel like they can’t get help. I want to help the elderly in any way I can.”

Through these walks, Ferreira hopes to form connections. One of her goals is to “bring the community back together post-pandemic,” as it destroyed a lot of relationships, along with having mental and physical effects. She wants people to be aware of activities coming back now that the pandemic seems to be subsiding, and hopes that they will start by registering for her group.

Information on the Brimfield Area Women’s Walking Group can be found on their Facebook page, Brimfield Area Women’s Walking Group.