PLAYING PARK IN THE
Celebrate National Recreation Month by visiting parks throughout the region
July is National Park and Recreation Month. The National Recreation and Park Association is encouraging both adults and children to “get their play on” this month by visiting local natural spaces.
From local town parks to national parks, Pennsylvania residents have plenty of opportunities to enjoy outdoor amenities.
LOCAL PARKS
The region has myriad municipality parks throughout the area that residents can enjoy daily. To encourage people to go out and visit their local parks, for example, the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation is organizing their 4th annual “On Your Park, Get Set, Go!” contest this month. There are Berks, Chester and Montgomery County parks competing in the regional contest.
“Our real goal has been about creating awareness for all of these local parks,” said Ashley Johnston, program officer of capacity building, collaborations and new projects at the health foundation.
The contest officially began July 1 and lasts all-month long. Residents that visit the parks entered in the contest can help their town park win up to $10,000 for recreational improvements. Residents can also win prizes themselves for voting. There will be weekly drawing for items such as game sets, fitbits, gift cards and more.
There are two ways people can vote for their favorite park. Residents that visit their town park can take a selfie photo then vote by posting the photo on the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Facebook page or emailing it to OnYourPark@gmail.com. The submitted photo should include the name of the park that was visited.
The other way residents can vote is through tickets. Last month, residents were asked to pre-register for tickets that can be used at all the regional parks in the contest to help their home park win the activity challenge. Each park has a white drop-off box where the tickets can be placed to vote. Along with the tickets, people who registered received a map of all the parks in the contest with descriptions of each. People that didn’t pre-register in June can still pick up ticket packets and maps at their municipal building.
There are several ways parks entered in the contest can win grant money. The park that receives the most votes throughout the month of July will win the Healthiest Park Prize challenge which comes with a $5,000 grant from the foundation. The runnerup will receive a $2,500 grant. People can also help their town park win by visiting other parks outside the municipality they reside in. The municipality park that has the most residents visiting their local park as well as the other 11 participating parks will win the Activity Challenge Prize. The winner of this challenge gets a $5,000 grant from the foundation and the runner-up gets a $2,500 grant.
The 12 participating parks can also win bonus prizes. Ten $1,000 recreation grants are up for grabs. Communities can help their favorite park earn bonus prizes by doing activities such as honoring their favorite park in some way, promoting diversity at the park, and more.
To learn more about the regional parks contest and a list of the 12 municipalities participating this year, visit pottstownareahealthwellnessfoundation.formstack.com/forms/oyp2017registration.
STATE PARKS
Pennsylvania is also full of many state parks such as French Creek State Park in Elverson. The more than 7,000-acre park is the “largest block of contiguous forest between Washington D.C. and New York City,” according to the website www.dcnr.state.pa.us/ stateparks/findapark/frenchcreek. The park also has fields available for fishing, hiking, camping and biking.
Another regional state park is Ridley Creek State Park which includes more than 2,600 acres of Delaware County woodlands and meadows. There are trails for hiking, biking, running and horseback riding at the park. Every month, there is a Friends Trail Day at the park. A group of people do trail maintenance excursions by removing invasive plants and doing fun outdoor activities. The friends trail crew meets on the first Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to noon. The group is open to all those interested. For more information or to find a state park near you, check www.dcnr.state. pa.us or www.dcnr.pa.gov/stateparks/index.aspx
NATIONAL PARKS
In 2015, the White House started the “Every Kid in a Park” Program. The program allows fourth grade students across the U.S. to obtain a free one-year pass to the nation’s parks. The program starts anew every year in September and the pass is good until Aug. 31 of the following year. Fourth-grade educators and students can print the free national park pass at the website everykidinapark.gov. The pass can also be used for public lands and waters across the U.S.
There are several national parks families can explore in the region. Valley Forge National Historical Park has 20 miles of hiking trails with historic sites. There are also biking trails, part of which include the Schuylkill River Trail. There are even trails for horseback riding and ranger-led walking tours. Hopewell Furnace in Elverson is another of the region’s national parks. People can take a self-guided walking tour through the park to learn more about the historic community.
When people take the time to enjoy the parks in their area then they help to improve not only their own health but also the health of the surrounding environment.
PARKS PROMOTE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
A RAND (Research and Development) Corporation study published in a 2013 edition of the Preventive Medicine Journal found that people who live closer to parks tend to be more active. Parks accounted for 50 percent of vigorous physical activity of people who lived within ½ mile of their park while they only accounted for 16 percent of vigorous physical activity of people who lived within 1 mile of their park. The study concluded that parks play a key role in promoting physical activity which is critical for child development as well as adult fitness. The study can be found at www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pubmed/23827723.
NATURE HAS MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS
There is also evidence that being outside in nature leads to mental health benefits. A study published in a 2014 edition of the online journal Frontiers in Psychology explored the mental health benefits of natural environments. The article explained that green spaces are associated with less stress as well as reduced anxiety and depression. The article went on to state that because of these benefits, natural environments have “restorative” properties. The article can be found at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4204431.
PARKS PROMOTE BIODIVERSITY
“Biological Diversity includes all the living organisms on earth, and in our parks we are finding plants and animals that have disappeared in other parts of the world due to development, habitat fragmentation, climate change, invasive species, and other threats,” stated the National Park Service website www.nature.nps.gov/biology/biodiversity.
The website also stated that national parks and protected green spaces are filled with a variety of organisms which are important for the future well-being of environments. The species of natural systems help regulate things that are fundamental for life on Earth including climate and air quality.
“Preserving biodiversity – from the dung beetle to the grizzly bear – allows us to ensure genetic diversity, understand how the pieces of an intact ecosystem fit together, and detect long-term changes in our environment,” stated the website.