Sunday's launch event for the "Punjabi by Nature" health challenge saw participants go for a walk near Guru Nanak Sikh temple on Scott Road in Surrey, including Jasleen Kaur (left, of Progressive Intercultural Community Services, or PICS), Santokh Singh Lalli and Kewal Singh Nahal.
Photograph by: GORD GOBLE , Surrey NOW
David Suzuki promises to learn a bhangra dance move as part of the "Punjabi by Nature" health initiative in Surrey.
The acclaimed environmentalist is helping to inspire the South Asian community to spend 30 minutes outside every day for the next month, as a way to get active.
Those who sign up for "Punjabi by Nature" will get to vote on the dance move Suzuki must learn and demonstrate at the end of the funminded campaign, a joint effort of the David Suzuki Foundation and Surrey-based Progressive Intercultural Community Services (PICS).
A launch event held Sunday at Guru Nanak Sikh temple in Surrey will be followed by organized nature walks there on Sept. 30, Oct. 7 and Oct. 14, starting at 1 p.m., in addition to discussions about health.
The project helps get people outside and also celebrates the Punjabi culture of bhangra, said the foundation's Harpreet Johal.
"Spending time outdoors is good for our health, head and happiness," she said. "We want to raise awareness about the benefits of spending time in nature within cultural communities across Canada."
Participants in the challenge will be entered in a contest to win two tickets to hear Suzuki as keynote speaker at the PICS 25th-anniversary event in Surrey on Nov. 2. For details, call 604-596-7722 or visit www.pics.bc.ca.
