Landscapes for Playing
The collective spirit of a community can be found in the fun and activities offered by a public park. Parks are where culture meets nature and each combination creates a unique statement about the community it serves. Parks promote recreation, rest, outings with friends and family, and special community events. A balance between recreational programming, nature, and people places creates an inviting environment for people of all ages and abilities to come together.
SPROUT encourages the allocation of large natural settings that match the location of our community parks, using them to define settings for social activities, offer areas to explore and areas to renew our natural resources while providing habitat for wildlife.
The preservation of native vegetation retains a grounded sense of place as well as saves money in park development. If there isn’t any native vegetation or as a supplement to native vegetation, SPROUT encourages the use of natural elements for play: large boulders, plant tunnels, groves and meadows. The elements chosen should match the character, uses and setting of the park to make it specific to the community.
Parks provide settings to plant trees that create comfortable outdoor spaces, provide shade and passive energy conservation, reduce urban heat islands and clean air as well as provide play elements. Parks offer the opportunity to collect and cleanse storm water, conserve water and explore and enjoy water.
Creative park development and programming fosters a connection with nature found to have many benefits in recent studies at the University of Illinois including a stronger sense of community and better grades in school.
