CSUB celebrates approval as official Blue Zones Project worksite

University unveils digital map of new `Runner Walk routes on campus

By California State University, Bakersfield

April 29^th, 2024

California State University, Bakersfield is being recognized for its commitment to improving the health and mental well-being of its employees.

CSUB has received approval as a Blue Zones Project worksite and is the first campus in the CSU system to receive the designation. The Blue Zones Project is a community well-being initiative that educates people about how to make choices that will lead to longer, healthier lives.

The university celebrated the new designation during a ceremony last Thursday.

“We’ve gathered together to celebrate a proud moment at CSUB,” said Interim President Vernon B. Harper Jr. “This campus has been a blue and gold zone since the very beginning of our history, but today we enter a different blue zone — one that has the power to lead healthier, longer and more peaceful lives.”

As part of the celebration, CSUB has created a digital map of walking routes around campus — called `Runner Walks — with signage explaining the estimated number of steps for each route. The map currently features five routes, all of which take 20 minutes or less to complete and range from 1,400 to 2,000 steps.

Kiyoshi Tomono, executive director of Blue Zones Project Bakersfield, congratulated the university for becoming an approved worksite.

“We’re super excited to be here with you today to celebrate this community,” he said. “It’s important to connect with one another, and that connection to other people is what’s so special about Blue Zones and what I see is so special about all the folks who have come out here today.”

CSUB has created a Worksite Wellness Committee that has already hosted several Blue Zones Project activities on campus, including workshops, cooking demonstrations and pop-up booths. The university has several walking groups, called Walking Moai, that meet regularly for walks around campus.

Lori Blodorn, chief human resources officer for CSUB, said the university is grateful for this partnership with the Blue Zones Project.

“I’m so excited we were able to make this happen for our employees and our community,” she said. “We are truly leading the way in our wellness and well-being efforts across the CSU and for our community here at CSUB.”