We have four nice parks in our town and since I am home with the kids this week I wanted to take them to play. Problem is that all 4 are in the sun all day long. There wasn't a single sole at any of the parks. What are your local parks like? Where they smart enough to plant trees for shade when they put the parks in?
How do I address this to get trees planted so the parks will be used more?
I think they could get by with maybe 3 trees. In a few years that would shade about 75% of the equipment.
The only park I know of around here without trees is Watson Trails and that is because the tornado creamed them all. :(
Have you considered finding out if you can plant a tree there?
As another poster mentioned... it's not as simple as adding "trees". There is a lot of cost involved and time. You wouldn't believe the volume of paperwork involved in getting something like this through.
Having said that, call the parks department and schedule an appointment with the director. It is entirely possible that they are willing to look into it if you volunteer your time to help!
We have three parks within 10 minutes of our house... two are well shaded with trees and covered play equipment. One (the best one) is in the middle of a field... but they do have a shaded "water mat" which is pretty cute.
Check out Parents magazine this month, there was an article on who to contact about this very issue.
attend your city council meetings. Talk to your mayor. Contact the local Conservation Dept & ask what can be done. Lots of options!
We live in AZ and its 100-120 here in the summers and our parks dont have trees that shade the play area. There is just too much maintenance and work to keep it clean in the area that the kids play. There are trees by the picnic tables in some areas. Some of the nicer communities have big sun screens over the playground but they are very costly. you can always address the city or the Homeowner Association (if there is one) since they are the ones in charge of the parks in the area. Good luck.
Well, I like resources like http://kaboom.org/ on ideas on improvement. I also direct the local city parks and rec. board to look at the reviews.
Our parks are the same way :( I have had to go to a neighboring town to find a park with shade, but it's worth the drive if we spend the day, pack a picnic lunch, etc. Good luck! I don't understand it either!
contact your city and county or whoever is in charge of the parks.
More trees = more money = more maintenance = more water usage = do they have the budget for that?
We have trees at our parks.
Not a forest. But a few trees.
