'Super Movers’ Have Better Brain Health. Are You One?

0:00Hey there, welcome, I'm Kristi Bell Palanco and this is CNN 5 Good Things. A surprise wildlife sighting in the big city is a promising sign that decades of work to restore a river or paying off. Plus, it's not a sport normally, but dissipate it in by older people. But maybe the story coming out now after I'm setting up a new example. A 91-year-old is blazing new trails, literally. This record-breaking track comes as researchers uncover an encouraging link between mobility and brain health. It's a call to action for everyone to take a look at habits that could improve their overall cognitive health and their physical health. In Tennessee, there's back to school traditions been going on for over three decades, helping kids start the year looking sharp. After the break. I feel like those are things where those are like the core memories and they have that to be able to lean back on when times are tough. A couple with kids who have disabilities wanting to help families like theirs experience real vacations.

1:02Class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast. So why wait to find your new faith footwear? Step into a local Crocs store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up. It shows off. Your state fits. Handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest Crocs store today. Hopefully you were able to take some kind of vacation before summer's over. Parents know that planning one with the whole family can be a lot of work. But for some families with children with disabilities, the added costs and logistics of traveling can make vacations hard to make a reality. It's just a lot of unknowns to when traveling. Because it feels like it's too many things to figure out that you're just like, I don't want to do it at all. Kristen Tomperso know that firsthand as the parents of four children to a whom they adopted. One was born in Uganda and the other was born in China.

2:05They both have special needs. Our oldest son is on autism spectrum and has club feet. And then our youngest son, Aiden, has a disability called arthrochryposis, which is a joint orthopedic disability. And so he's a power wheelchair user. He's really dependent on us for all of his day-to-day needs. They love to travel, but finding a place that works for both of their sons isn't easy. So then we're looking for wheelchair accessible vacation homes, which are very hard to find and very expensive. And traveling with a family of six is a lot to begin with. And just adding on the different layers of like, can we get Aiden into the house to start with? Experiences inspired them to start cherry blossom vacations, a nonprofit that gives free vacation stays to families with children with disabilities, as well as foster and adoptive families. The Perseus accept applications the first two weeks of February each year on their website. Since launching their Getaways program in 2023, they've partnered with the owners of 11 vacation homes across the country.

3:06They've been able to match 36 families with pre-stays so far, including Jackie Alexander's family from Southern California. This one. We pulled up and the kids just ran in and it was the first time that we stayed anywhere where the house was huge. It was one level and had a playroom with the foosball. They were just so excited. That was like everything to me. Jackie and her husband Michael have five kids. Their oldest daughter is 18 years old and was born with microcephaly. It's a condition where the baby's head is much smaller than expected and the brain doesn't develop properly, which can result in learning or developmental disabilities. This July they were gifted a stay in a spacious one-level home in Leverk in Utah, close to Zion National Park. It was beautiful. It was just such a good time together like bonding and I think that the kids will never forget that. Jackie says the accessible home meant fewer things to worry about and more time to just enjoy

4:09being together. They gave us some memories and some peace and they brought something that we didn't see as attainable and that's exactly what Kristen and Tom hope families take home with them. I feel like those are things where those are like the core memories that they can look back and be like we did have a good time, we connected and they have that to be able to lean back on when times are tough. They're fundraising to buy a cherry blossom vacation home in the Annapolis, Maryland area so they can offer even more families free stays. If you'd like to support their work head to their website cherry blossom vacations.org. The link is also in our show notes. Labor Day Weekend also means the school years in full swing or just beginning. And in Murphy's Barrow Tennessee, one barber is making sure kids head back to the classroom looking and feeling their best. How much? About half over maybe? Okay. For over three decades Sean Moss has offered free back to school haircuts to students in

5:09kindergarten through 12th grade at his a cut above the rest neighborhood barber shops. A pastor as well as a barber Sean also offers free cuts during the holidays. It's just about giving to them, I expect nothing in return. And with the cost of just about everything going up, a free haircut can make a real difference. Seven is to have three or four children. That helps out a great deal when it comes to getting them ready to get back to school. But Sean says this tradition is about more than saving families a few bucks. Over the years, former customers have come back to tell him what a little confidence and encouragement from the barber's chair meant to them. They come back and tell me, Sean, pastor, they, my child, it's great when up and they say because of pastor Sean, because one of the barbers gave me a good word and gave me a good haircut, a bottom shoe for me. More than 30 years in, Sean says he's still doing it for the same simple reason. I know being generous and giving, it does something for people when you give to them. We're just a few days away from a revolutionary war anniversary you may not know about.

6:14On September 8th, 1781, American and British soldiers clashed at the Battle of Utah Springs. The last major battle of the war fought in South Carolina. More than 1400 soldiers were killed, wounded, missing or captured. Believe it or not, there's at least one witness to the battle still around today. A rare centuries old witness tree. A witness tree is a living tree that was actually on a site when a major historical event took place. Something you just don't find every day, particularly from the American Revolutionary War time. Rikwais is a military historian and the executive director of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust. Arborists estimate the massive oak trees at least 300 years old. It stands about 45 feet tall with a canopy stretching roughly 40 meters and scars around its trunk. It witnessed the army that camped right there where the tree was. It was the British army because it provided shade. It could talk the stories it could tell.

7:16While there isn't an exact number of witness trees still standing, civil war witness trees have been used to map historic areas and study past climates through their growth rings. Riksezi isn't aware of any other confirmed living witness trees from the Revolutionary War, though there are a few potential ones, including a stump at a site visited by President George Washington. Today, he and other preservationists are raising money to keep this one alive. They've removed old chains and cable supports that were restricting its growth, installed lighting protection, and planned to build a fence around it. Riksezi is protecting the tree means preserving a living piece of the country's history. This battle was one of those things that contributed to the birth of this nation and that tree was a part of it. It witnessed it and we want to hold on it and preserve it as long as we possibly can. Before we dig a break, a quick update on the story we covered a few weeks ago. The last weekend, pop star Olivia Rodriguez inaugural Daisy Chainfield's music festival

8:17raised $10 million for nonprofits supporting women and girls. Inspired by Lilith Fair from the 90s, the festival featured female musicians like Chapel Rhone and Dogey. Just before starting her set in Irvine, California, Rodrigo announced that the total would double, thanks to philanthropist Melinda French Gates, who committed to match the funds raised, bringing the total to $20 million. Coming up, a man with the nickname Greybeard proves you're never too old to blaze a new trail. And new research may give the rest of us some motivation to get moving. People don't have to accept a decline in physical and cognitive function as they age. We'll be right back. Class it up with Crocs. You know back to school is coming in fast, so why wait to find your new faith footwear? Step into a local Croc store and step into your new look. Try it. Style it. Make it yours. Because the right pair doesn't just show up. It shows off.

9:18First day fits, handled. Walk out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest Croc store today. An unexpected visitor in the Bronx River in New York City is making quite the splash. So in June of this year, I spotted a North American river otter, which was very exciting. This is the first documentation of an North American river otter in the Bronx in approximately 100 years. RJ Hawkins is an independent researcher who's been monitoring wildlife along the river since 2024.

10:20And what makes this visit such a big deal is why otters disappeared in the first place. Not only is it exciting because it's been so long, but also because North American river otters are an indicator of freshwater ecosystem health. So to have one back in the river shows just how much the river has been restored over the years. We wind 50 years and the Bronx River was not in good shape. There was a lot of pollution in the river, a lot of dumping of trash and tires, and there was a lot of industry along the river that they would just dump their waste into the river as well. Over the years, community members, nonprofits, and local leaders worked to clean it up and restore the habitat. And the wildlife has followed from beavers to dolphins spotted near the mouth of the river. So this otter is another encouraging sign that the work is paying off. It just goes to show that these areas that are highly urbanized, we can, you know, transform and bring them back to a state that they were originally and bring back species that

11:24were here that have not been here for over a century. According to a recent report by the Outdoor Industry Association, hiking is the most popular outdoor activity in the US. But would you hike nearly 2,200 miles? That's the challenge. Thousands of people take on each year across the Appalachian Trail, a mountainous winding path that stretches from Georgia to Maine. It's the longest hiking only footpath in the US. Earlier this week, one hiking sensation became the oldest person to ever complete the full trail. I am 91, so I'm blazing new grounds hiking long distance like this. That's Dale Sanders. He goes by gray beard when he's on the trails, and he's the first person in their 90s to through hike the Appalachian Trail. And this isn't his first rodeo. He first set the Appalachian Trail record in 2017 when he was 82. A few years later, at 87, he became the oldest person to paddle the entire length of the Mississippi River. It's not a sport normally,

12:25but dissipated by older people. But maybe the store coming out now after I'm setting a example. Dale's latest accomplishment is a reminder that staying active doesn't have an age limit. In fact, a new study suggests fast walking could be good for both your brain and your body as you get older. Researcher studied thousands of people in their 80s and identified a group called supermovers. CNN Wellness expert Dr. Lena Wen is here to break it down. This is a pretty new term. This idea of supermovers, people in their 80s, who walk a lot faster than their peers. This particular study published in journal neurology found that people who walk to substantially faster than their age group peers were much less likely to develop cognitive impairment, such as dimension. Dr. Wen says it's important to note that the findings don't mean that fast walking prevents cognitive decline. Instead, they suggest there could be an association between faster walking and better cognitive health. But she says the findings are still encouraging,

13:25no matter how active you are. People don't have to accept a decline in physical and cognitive function as they age. It's a call to action for everyone to take a look at habits that could improve their overall cognitive health and their physical health. That would include controlling blood pressure, getting regular checkups, stopping smoking, eating a healthy diet. That's full of whole vegetables and fruits and minimally processed food and staying socially engaged. You can read more about supermovers and what we can learn from them at CNN.com. The link is in our show notes. All right, that's all for now. Thank you for listening and thank you for calling in with your songs of the summer. We'll be airing a special episode this Monday on Labor Day to close out the summer with a soundtrack chosen by you. Hello, my name is Kevin. I'm from Baltimore. My song is a summer is... Hi, I'm Karen Adams and my song of the summer is... Hey, this is Pamela Herndon in

14:27Albuquerque in New Mexico. I spoke to CNN's Aurecia Piro, co-host of the Engagement Party podcast, to talk about how the song of the summer became a cultural phenomenon, why it's harder to crown just one these days, and why that actually might be a good thing. And join us tomorrow for the next edition of One Thing. Florida is now banning flock camera license plate readers in the state after previously approving them. Host David Reindt talks to a town police chief to explain me about boots. Take care until next time. With summer coming to an end, you're going to be spending more time indoors. Get your home ready,

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