The City of Avondale has something big coming to town! A National Demonstration Site playground is in the works, especially designed for their community, to help them reach their goals! The city received some extra funding from GameTime, through a program developed in partnership with Arizona Parks and Recreation Association, that allowed them to build the playground of their dreams that screams adventure.
This achievement deserves so much attention and praise because this really highlights the park and recreation professionals’ dedication and love for the community they serve. Not only did they obtain funding assistance, they also attended in-person evidence-based best practice training sessions related to their job sector – providing them with valuable information to walk away with. They were equipped with information on how they could improve their communities and get help achieving their goals. These workshops were hosted by Playcore’s center for outreach, research, and education (CORE)– a purpose-driven company committed to building healthy communities around the world by advancing play and recreation.
Having all the tools for success, including being an APRA member, the recreation officials at The City of Avondale saw the need for and importance of physical activity opportunities. So they put their knowledge into action and applied for some extra funds to put research into practice. Working with Altitude Recreation, they put together an impressive structure that brings the wow factor! It includes multiple ways to side and climb, panels to interact with, a net structure, and tower!
With all these features, this playground will help the town with their goal to promote physical activity in a special unique way. But how will they know the playground is doing those things? This Playground is designed to be a National Demonstration Site! Demonstration sites collect anonymous data from users via a QR code, the visitors simply answer questions and answers are compiled, translated, and then presented to the community stake holders - offering valuable information about activity levels, the duration of stay, if they will be returning and so on. With this data the designated officials will be able to measure the park’s long-term impact on the local community. Overall, these data reports will help demonstrate how investing in parks and recreation results in positive outcomes, grows social capital, and builds a strong community through the power of play and recreation.
