PLAYING PARK IN THE
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 dropoff 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 runner-up 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 runnerup 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