The Blue Zones Project announced back in September 2022 that it was coming to Bakersfield to help improve the overall well being of the community. They began that mission with a lot of education on how to make healthier lifestyle choices and some fun activities.
“Celebrating the kickoff of Blue Zones. This is a community wide initiative with lots of different partners and stakeholders that are working together to create a safer, healthier, more prosperous Bakersfield,” said Vice Mayor of Bakersfield Andrae Gonzales.
But Vice Mayor of Bakersfield Andrae Gonzales says it's going to take community wide participation to make those changes.
“It takes all of us. It takes community partners. It takes the city of Bakersfield. The County of Kern. Many nonprofit organizations and all citizens to really participate in creating a more healthier and vibrant community," said Gonzales.
Vice President of Blue Zones Nick Buettner says they have been planning for some time now to make positive changes for the city of Bakersfield such as lower healthcare costs, improved productivity, and a higher quality of life to help people live longer.
“For the last nine months the Blue Zones team here locally has been working with the steering committee and other leaders in Bakersfield to develop a plan that is going to improve well being of the city, of the residents in the city. From an organization from a city level and an individual level and today we’re announcing it,” said Vice President of Blue Zones Project Nick Buettner.
The Blue Zones Project has done research on regions in the world that have a longer life span, and their goal is to get Bakersfield on track with those other regions.
“We’re hoping to start seeing is those progress indicators. Is more people and organizations get involved. More design of our streets. That process of improving the design of our environment then leads to those outcomes downstream,” said Buettner.
While many that came out had plenty of fun the Blue Zones Project is serious when it comes to making a significant change within the community. From helping people make healthier lifestyle choices to making improvements to the city, the Blue Zones Project is underway.
“We want to really encourage lots of people. Every viewer at home to participate in the Blue Zones Project. The city of Bakersfield actually made a commitment to be a partner on this initiative, and we actually invested over a million dollars in this initiative, but it’s important for every single Bakersfield resident to participate and to see ways in which they can create a healthier, safer, more prosperous community," said Gonzales.
