A Healthy Living Master Plan has been developed for Lincoln County, with a goal of creating walking trails, making accessibility improvements, developing and improving parks and installing splash pads.

Schwab Eaton, an engineering firm in Beloit, was hired to research ideas and develop schematic designs, cost estimates and the master plan document, which was presented at a public meeting. The goal is to have all phases of the plan implemented within the next five years.

The cost of developing the master plan, which was proposed by a Strategic Doing group, was funded by grants from the Dane G. Hansen Foundation and the Post Rock Community Foundation.

Community representatives from Sylvan Grove, Lincoln and Barnard participated in the Strategic Doing process, which led to development of a countywide approach to address similar goals in each community. The plan includes projects that have been discussed for years by various organizations and volunteer groups that previously did not have the necessary information about what would be required to turn the ideas into reality.