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Recreation and Wellness
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Healthy Osprey

The Healthy Osprey mission is to promote the health and well-being of the UNF community. Through our diverse programs and services we will foster physical, emotional, and intellectual development which will lead to achieving and maintaining holistic health.

healthy osprey mind body spirit

Programs and Services

Healthy Osprey Wellness Advocate

Our mission is to provide awareness to participants of their own aspirations and strengths that empower them to attain a healthy lifestyle. Wellness advocacy explores the 7 dimensions of wellness through one-on-one individualized sessions. Advocates develop a wellness plan and refer individuals to on and off campus resources. We are committed to helping students, staff and faculty attain their personal goals. 

Healthy Osprey Wellness Advocacy is a free service provided by the Department of Recreation and Wellness. To schedule an appointment call us at (904) 620-4769.

Wellness Guides

The Healthy Ospreys provide a variety of local and online resources for health topics such as physical health, mental health and sexual health. For more information, visit the Wellness Guides page.

Okanagan Charter

The University of North Florida has formally adopted the “Okanagan Charter: An International Charter for Health Promoting Universities and Colleges” that places health and well-being of students, faculty and staff at the forefront. UNF is part of a cohort of seven universities in the United States that adopted the charter on Sept.1, collectively joining the United States Health Promoting Campuses Network (USHPCN).

Created in June 2015, the Okanagan Charter provides institutions with a common language, principles and framework to effectively promote health and well-being on their campuses. Health promoting Universities aspire to transform the health and sustainability of current and future societies, strengthen communities and contribute to the well-being of people, places and the planet.
 

UNF Goals

The goal is for UNF students to flourish inside and outside of the classroom by using strategies such as:
  • Cultivating character, enhancing resilience and developing habits of mind and spirit
  • Adopting a holistic and comprehensive approach to mental health
  • Collaborating with UNF Academic Affairs to embed well-being programming into the process of recruitment, registration and retention
  • Fostering conditions that enable students to thrive and addressing behaviors that lead to languish

Campus Commitment

Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is a nationwide partnership chaired by First Lady Michelle Obama. From this partnership, the Healthier Campus Initiative was born. This initiative was developed to help make campuses healthier by committing to guidelines developed by national panel of experts. The guidelines focus on evidence-based standards of nutrition, physical activity and health education programming. The improved nutrition standards address the top two health concerns identified by students in the most recent Healthy Osprey Survey: Nutrition and Obesity. In addition to improving nutrition, UNF will also make it easier for those on campus to incorporate physical activity into their lives. For more information visit a Healthier America online.

On September 21, 2015, the University of North Florida joined 37 other college or university campuses across the nation to team up with PHA for the Healthier Campus Initiative. This initiative was developed in an effort to help make campuses healthier by adopting guidelines around nutrition, physical activity and programming. With more than 16,000 students and over 1,500 members of the faculty and staff, these changes will help encourage healthier options among the more than 17,500 individuals on campus each year.  

In the Fall of 2018, the University of North Florida made several changes to make healthier choices easier for students, faculty and staff across its campus:

Food & Nutrition

  • Provide healthier food and beverage service in campus-operated dining venues every operational day.
  • Offer at least one wellness meal during breakfast, lunch and dinner.
  • Offer at least five types of fruits, five types of vegetables and two 100% whole grain products at lunch and dinner.
  • Offer only a total number of fried foods that does not exceed the total number of platforms available at both lunch and dinner across all platforms.
  • List calories of food & beverage items or use a “healthy icon” to designate healthier food and beverage options at the point of presentation.
  • Offer a plant-based food option at all food stations serving meat.
  • Implement a local food or sustainability program in campus food service.
  • Offer tray-less dining as the default system in at least 75% of dining venues.
  • Provide healthier catering services on campus by offering a minimum of three types of fruits, three types of beverages, two, 100% whole grain products and no more than two fried items on catering menus or by offering a catering menu that only includes foods and beverages that meet healthier food and nutrition guidelines.
  • Promote water consumption on campus by offering free water in all dining venues and all educational/physical activity facilities.
  • Provide trained food and nutrition professionals on campus and offer personal nutrition assessments and counseling to all students.

Physical Activity & Movement

  • Create a built environment that encourages healthier choices on campus:
  • Post signage requiring cars to stop for pedestrians at all designated or marked crosswalks on campus.
  • Encourage student physical activity/movement through facilities and programs on campus during the academic year.
  • Provide students with free access to at least one fitness/recreation center at least 16 hours/day.
  • Offer at least 20 diverse recreation, physical activity or competitive sports opportunities during each academic year.
  • Each month, offer at least one “how to” physical activity/movement class that introduces students to new activities free of charge.
  • Offer fitness center orientation during the first semester for all incoming students and one fitness assessment per year for all students free of cost.
  • Encourage outdoor physical activity/movement on campus by providing access to at least one track that is open and available for use to the campus community for at least three hours per day; providing an outdoor fitness system; offering at least one free, organized and facilitated, outdoor physical activity opportunity each week; and offering a rental outdoor recreation equipment program for students.
  • Provide trained physical activity/movement professionals on campus.

Programming

  • Implement an integrated, comprehensive wellness program for individuals on campus that is provided annually.
  • Implement a policy that identifies students who may be food insecure and provides options on campus.
  • Offer non-academic cooking skills classes that are available to all students.