Parks & Recreation 2016 Playground Guide

P L AYG R O U N D G U I D E 2016 W W W. N R PA . O R G

Super Skateparks | The Value of CPSI Certification | Creative Recreation

Your inspiration.

When it comes to playgrounds, we encourage you to make your mark. Wherever your ideas come from, whatever your vision, we can bring it to life with our unparalleled custom design capabilities. From tiny tweaks to epic wonderlands, we’re here to help you create the playground your dreams are made of. Learn more at playlsi.com. Š2016 Landscape Structures Inc.

Your playground.

Harrison Recreation Center Washington, D.C.

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Greenfields Outdoor Fitness

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n a long, linear exercise apparatus at a Miami park, a father challenges himself on a pull-up bar while his two young children count his reps. Nearby, under the sprawling shade of an ancient-looking tree, two young women stretch together on another unit, while an older man tries out a ski machine. A veteran in a wheelchair enjoys a chest press, designed for him to use without having to transfer.

People of all ages coming together and getting fit in parks — the sight is increasingly familiar across the United States, and Tropical Park in Miami is one of the latest to benefit.

A joint venture of four entities — TD Bank, the Trust for Public Land, Greenfields Outdoor Fitness and Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces — the Tropical Park gym includes a four-person leg press, two-person vertical press, accessible butterfly combo, and much more. Greenfields’ new seven-person linear combo, a unique static unit including many challenging exercises as well as an accessible hand cycle, rounds out the selection of 15 units that accommodate an astounding 39 people. Strikingly designed, the new gym’s exercise units are arranged on a concrete pad encircling an aged tree, which provided a ready-made shade source.

Adrian Benepe, senior vice president and director of city park development for the Trust for Public Land, attests to the value of Fitness Zones for addressing a critical need in the United States. “Fitness zones are part of the antidote to the public health crisis. A study has been done by the Rand Corporation that shows that the cost per energy unit burned in a Fitness Zone is by far the cheapest of any intervention

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you can do for fitness and health in a park. We think they are a tremendous investment.”

A thoughtfully selected group of exercise units, including machines from Greenfields’ Core, Signature Accessible, and Boot Camp Combo lines, combine to create an outdoor gym in which almost every park user has something suited to his or her needs. Whatever the activity — be it cardio, muscle building, stretching, flexibility or range-of-motion — the Tropical Park Fitness Zone has it all. What’s more, the relaxed outdoor environment draws those who might be intimidated by the indoor gym setting. For these reasons, the Fitness Zones are popular with a wide range of ages and often enjoy use by multiple generations of family members simultaneously.

Jack Kardys, director of Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department, has seen more than two dozen Fitness Zones installed in the county’s parks. “These fitness zones are spectacular. It’s just like a gym,” he says. “All you need to do is do enough repetitions and you will get as good a workout as you get in any gymnasium.”

Multigenerational, accessible and, best of all, FREE to all comers, Tropical Park’s new Fitness Zone will help those of nearly all ages pursue healthier lifestyles for years to come.

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888.315.9037 greenfieldsfitness.com

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hIT OUTDOOR GYM THE

® ™

888.315.9037 greeneldstness.com

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Friendship Park — A Community Meeting Place

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magine a beautiful park with basketball and tennis courts, soccer and baseball fields, a dog park and three playgrounds located less than 20 miles from Phoenix.

Imagine that this was a destination for families from miles around. No need to imagine this incredible space — this is Friendship Park in Avondale, Arizona.

It is Avondale’s mission to provide open spaces and recreational opportunities for the community and Friendship Park is a representation of that mission. When one of the playgrounds needed to be replaced, the city of Avondale partnered with Play It Safe Playground and Park Equipment in Mesa, Arizona, and BCI Burke playgrounds to help create a playspace worthy of this amazing park.

Public input is of highest priority in a community-focused city like Avondale and Play it Safe ideated multiple ways to gain that input and get everyone excited about the new play environment! They began by attending Avondale’s Winterfest and spent hours talking with attendees at their booth. All data was studied and put into categories that helped shape the design of the playground and guided them to include particular play events. After developing four design options, Play it Safe created a webpage where the designs were displayed and could be voted on. The city

of Avondale helped to encourage everyone to vote for their favorite design and the most popular design — a beautiful, colorful inclusive play environment — won the vote!

The inclusive playground is divided into multiple areas that encompass everything the community felt was important. There is a ramped play structure for ease of access for all children that includes the exciting Cruiser™ Wheelchair Accessible Rocker and an area of musical exploration and swinging in both individual and multiuser formats. There is an area of fitness play, designed to allow children to get the maximum amount of physical activity while playing. Finally, there is an area specifically for 2-5 year olds that helps them develop balance and coordination and offers an environment for them to take age-appropriate risks. The Freestanding REV 8 spinner can hold up to 25 children and gives them the opportunity to spin, climb and push all on the same play event.

There are endless possibilities within this play environment!

The voting process was complete but keeping the community involved was an ongoing priority. Signs were posted throughout the park to get everyone excited about the new playground coming soon!

As the date grew closer, a grand opening event was scheduled for April 9, 2016, to coincide with KidFest. The entire community was invited to partake in the opening of this new space and enjoy activities that celebrate family and community. Play It Safe and Burke attended to show support, capture photographs and enjoy a day with the community.

Now the playground at Friendship Park is a main attraction and helps keep kids and families moving and active! Kids love the exciting variety of sliding, spinning, rocking, musical exploration and swinging! With play environments designed for both ages 2-5 and 5-12, children can come to play, meet friends and get the needed exercise and time outdoors!

1-800-266-1250 bciburke.com 4

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contents features

8 There Is Value in Professional Certification

for Playground Inspectors Examining the doctoral research of a driven CPSI candidate shows mounting evidence of the value of professional certification Kenneth S. Kutska, CPSI

12 Skateparks: An Adaptive Reuse Solution As skateboarding enjoys increased popularity, park and recreation agencies should seize the opportunity to include this valuable amenity Mike McIntyre and Kanten Russell

18 Increasing Playability and Encouraging Movement The Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department is exploring new ways to get kids up and active Lief Fitzpatrick

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company profiles 2 Greenfields Outdoor Fitness 4 Burke Playgrounds 7 Landscape Structures 11 Cre8Play 14 Cemer Playground & Fitness 17 Cemrock 21 Playworld C3 GameTime

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Make Your Mark with Playground Design

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hether realized or not, design affects our perceptions and experiences. Our environment influences how we engage, learn and develop. A playground is a social space. And every child is different. It’s important to design playgrounds with these differences in mind, in ways that respect and honor each pathway, while offering fun and exciting new challenges. Landscape Structures Inc., a Delano, Minnesota-based commercial playground equipment manufacturer, will collaborate with you to create playground designs to do just that.

It’s possible to create unique playground designs at an affordable price tag. One option is to look for preconfigured playground equipment like Smart Play®: Venti™. Its modern design aesthetic can be complemented with a vibrant color palette to make it a truly unique destination playground. Another option in the more traditional landscape of playground equipment is freestanding play components — Rhapsody™ Outdoor Musical Instruments, spinners, climbers and swings.

These can be added to existing playgrounds or placed together in a new space to create unique play experiences for kids.

Playgrounds come in all shapes, sizes and styles. You can bring a fantasy world to life by incorporating customized playground components into your design. Watkins Regional Park in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, based its design on the story of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Kids of all ages can explore Auntie Em and Uncle Henry’s Kansas farm, the poppy field, Emerald City and even Dorothy’s ruby slippers, which were adapted to be playground slides. Additionally, custom playground design allows you to celebrate the heritage of a community by incorporating logos, native flora and fauna, and personalizing various playground components.

Bring children and families of all abilities together for play

with an inclusive playground design. Keeping the needs of all users in mind during the design process helps create a play environment that increases access, safety, comfort and social participation. The Jonesboro Miracle League Park in Jonesboro, Arkansas, is home to an inclusive playground with an extensive ramping system to bring children using mobility devices to the center of the action. Additionally, a variety of inclusive playground components were included to engage kids’ senses while encouraging interactive play.

The great outdoors is the number one spot where kids can play naturally — making up their own games while freely exploring the world around them. Encourage kids to connect with the natural surroundings as they navigate through nature-inspired play equipment like the playground on Tom Sawyer Island at Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah, Florida.

This playground helps promote outdoor adventure with its recycled wood-grain panels, woodsy color scheme and nature-inspired climbers that mimic rocks, mushrooms and logs.

Landscape Structures and its local playground consultants will help guide you through the playground design process and select a solution that will help your project stand out from the rest. Learn how you can make your mark with your playground design at www.playlsi.com.

888-438-6574 playlsi.com

Watkins Regional Park

Amelia Earhart Park

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There Is Value in Professional Certification for Playground Inspectors

By Kenneth S. Kutska, CPSI [Ed. Note: This is part one of four installments wherein author Kenneth Kutska explores the merits of CPSI certification through the lens of research conducted by former University of Utah master’s student, Dwight Curtis. It has been edited for length and content.]

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n the late 1990s I met a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) candidate by the name of Dwight Curtis.

This young man was very interested in conducting his Ph.D. research on the “parks” side of our profession and expressed a particular desire to focus on the area of playground safety. We chatted about many things related to playground management. My suggestions focused on the new emerging playground safety standards and whether or not these standards and our CPSI training were having any measurable impact on public playground safety and injury reduction. I believed in my gut the CPSI program and its national certification designation, while still very new at that time, was having a significant positive impact resulting in a measurable reduction in playground injuries and long-term, significant cost savings from less litigation.

These theories were nothing more than my opinions based on personal observations during the previous 10 years. I attributed these perceived improvements to the industry-wide need for CPSI training, demonstrated by the rapidly increasing number of courses and participants. I also observed a steady increase in awareness among playground managers of the most common playground hazards. This, coupled with major efforts to address common playground hazards by the playground equipment designers and manufacturers, were all positive steps in improving the basic safety of the playground environment. Unfortunately, there was no research data to prove my observations right or wrong.

I suggested Curtis consider a research project that would prove, one way or the other, that there was true, measureable value in being a CPSI. I believed all agencies that hired a trained and experienced CPSI would also benefit in other measureable ways. I was of the opinion that when research could demonstrate the positive impact of a CPSI, that NRPA

would be able to convince all policy makers and agency managers of the need for, and value of, having a CPSI on staff in every park and recreation agency, school district and childcare facility in America. I also believed the benefits of having CPSIs on staff should be able to be measured within every playground equipment and surface system designer/ manufacturer, distributor, installer or private contractor involved in creating public playgrounds.

It took approximately 15 years to compile some research to support the value of a CPSI. The following information comes from Curtis’s Ph.D. dissertation and outlines just a portion of the data supporting the utility of having a trained, skilled CPSI on staff.

Abstract Despite the implementation of CPSI programs to reduce injuries, the United States still faces high injury rates on public playgrounds. The objective of Curtis’ study was to examine playground certification effectiveness on reducing reported injuries on public playgrounds in California.

A correlational framework was utilized to examine relationships among playground injuries in three different-size municipalities and CPSI certification in the state of California during a 10-year period.

Additionally, the influence of playground safety inspectors’ and their supervisors’ beliefs and attitudes about certification status, experience level and available resources on injury outcomes was also investigated.

Survey data was collected primarily online from 247 inspectors, their supervisors and organizational risk-management specialists, with a response rate of 60.3 percent.

The number of playground safety inspectors increased 48.7 percent during the past decade. Statistical analysis of injury rates for three assessment years (2000, 2005 and 2010) in three different city sizes and for two types of certification status, resulted in significant differences in injuries over time, certification status by time, city size by time, and certification status by city size by time. These analyses found greater

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declining injury rates for cities with certified inspectors than those without, but only the data for 2010 was significant.

While national playground injury rates have been increasing during the past decade, California’s have decreased. Thus, California’s playground safety regulation provided a good platform to examine certification effectiveness. Overall, results clearly support positive relationships between certification, inspector and supervisor perceptions and the working model and injury reductions on California playgrounds.

Studies Showed Value in Professional Certification Curtis found studies that suggested an increasing number of employers were turning to certifications as a means of ensuring potential employees actually do have the requisite skills for an occupational specialty. Just as a degree from an accredited university provides solid evidence of advanced learning, professional certification was viewed by an employer as credible evidence of skill and knowledge within a particular profession.

The state of California took this to the extreme by requiring that all public playgrounds be initially inspected and certified by a CPSI credentialed by NRPA’s CPSI Course and Exam. This was to occur before the playground was opened to the public, per California law. Interestingly, California is still the only state with this requirement.

Curtis’s research also sought to determine if certification or non-certification impacted quality-cost improvements and waste-cost reductions. The statistical results found no significant differences between those entities with certified employees and those without. If this finding was universal, then the conclusions could be significant for all professions.

In explaining the study results, it was concluded that success for the companies would require more than just people with certifications.

Interestingly, Curtis found that certification was not always valued. He found many older established employers in the project management profession had little knowledge of professional project management certification. While employers might notice the certification on a résumé, they weren’t necessarily interested in applicants with professional certifications. This finding was worth mentioning because this bias could just as easily pertain to those hiring people to maintain and manage playground safety.

Another bias against professional certification is certification fraud or cheating to provide or obtain a professional credential. Employers can no longer assume that potential employee certifications are genuine, casting further doubt on the value of certification. When employers no longer value certification as a hiring, promotion or compensation criteri10

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on, professionals in any field also start to question its value.

Curtis’ study gave some credence to there being no empirical, statistically significant distinction between the capabilities of certified and noncertified professionals. This conclusion was counter to the hypotheses of the study, which predicted statistically significant differences between the capabilities of certified and noncertified playground safety inspectors.

By far, the highest concentration of research found on the effects of certification was in the field of education and teacher certification. Common sense suggests that the quality of teachers would impact student achievement and that a certified teacher would promote greater impact than a noncertified one. However, review of the literature suggested accurately measuring teacher quality was challenging and not as clear cut as might be assumed. A study examining the underlying assumption that teachers were important predictors of student achievement concluded that teacher experience, education and certification were not strongly correlated with student achievement. This study did find some evidence that supported teacher experience as positively associated with students’ mathematics and reading outcomes. The author of the study also cautioned that the lack of significant effects should not be interpreted as evidence that teachers produced no impact on student achievement.

Curtis observed a comment in the report that policies rewarding teachers based on credentials may be less effective than policies rewarding teachers based on performance. His observation could be related to employers possibly rewarding playground safety inspectors (e.g., pay raises, promotions or special recognition) because they achieved certification rather than actually being able to show a reduction in children’s playground injuries as a result of their certification.

In a 2007 study, researchers compared the effectiveness of certified and noncertified teachers (i.e., National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification) based on the following questions that may be relevant to playground safety inspector certification: • Is certification a good indicator of teacher quality in the teacher labor market as a whole?

• Did certification provide any information about teacher effectiveness that goes beyond what was already provided by licensure exams (i.e., Are licensure tests just as good as certification at identifying effective teachers)?

• Did these certification standards identify the most effective teacher candidates?

• Is the certification process itself a facilitator for building human capital?

These researchers found that the NBPTS assessment pro-

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cess did distinguish between more- and less-effective teachers. Teachers who were certified tended to be more effective than were unsuccessful applicants to the program. While consistently finding that certified teachers were more effective, there were mixed findings about their effectiveness post-certification. The study found no evidence that certification acted as a catalyst for effective teaching, but their results did support the notion of building human capital. National board certified teachers (NBCTs) appear to be no more effective, and in some cases, less effective after certification than they were before certification. The main conclusion from this research was that the National Board successfully identifies effective teachers, findings that were similarly supported by additional research in 2009.

Credentials and Continuing Education Are Key These findings support the notion that credentialing CPSIs on their knowledge of public playground safety standards and guidelines through initial testing, coupled with the requirement to re-test every three years to the current body of knowledge or standard of care, has merit. There is a need to stay up-to-date with current safety standards and guidelines in order to remain relevant and meet the need for continuing education. This has been the National Playground Safety Institute’s primary objective from the very beginning of the NRPA CPSI certification program. The body of knowledge on public playground management is not static; therefore, re-testing every three years has been a prerequisite for holding the credential as a CPSI in good standing.

Kenneth S. Kutska, CPSI, is the Executive Director of the International Playground Safety Institute, LLC (kskutska@aol.com).

Cre8play

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t Cre8Play, we design and build play products and environments that immerse kids of all ages into an alternate reality. Our mission is to create the most innovative play products and environments in the universe.

Our passion is turning our customers’ dreams into realities. A Cre8Play design is freakishly unique, ridiculously fun and awakens the senses. Kids notice.

Adults Notice and Communities Notice To truly capture an idea, our artisans use hand sketching, digital rendering, 3D modeling and artistic prototypes. From initial concept drawings to the fabrication of life-like play structures, everything we do shows through in the intense

detail of our final product. Whether it’s the pyramids of Egypt or an intergalactic space station, we’ll take you along for a ridiculously fun ride. Our team has a long history of childlike behavior. We caution our partners, working with us may be the most fun you’ll ever have.

612-670-8195 cre8play.com

Designers of Awesome Custom Play | Benches | 3D Sculptures | Sun Shelters | Signage | Cre8Spray | Rock Climbers | Railings

612 670 8195 | cre8play.com email us at info@cre8play and type “upd8” in the subject to receive our e-newsletter

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Skateparks: An Adaptive Reuse Solution

By Mike McIntyre and Kanten Russell

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s many in the park and recreation business already know, skateboarding is gaining steam across the country as a growing alternative for kids who aren’t necessarily interested in organized sports. But, thanks to its many decades of operating on the fringes of traditional recreational activities, skateboarding is often overlooked in community budgets in favor of more conventional facilities.

Skateparks, however, can be a valuable investment — and not just for the recreational opportunities they provide. They can thrive in locations you’d never consider for a traditional park or athletic field. Brownfields (or other underused properties), for example, are often a perfect location for a skatepark. Not only does this solution provide the recreational opportunity sought after by an interested segment of the community, but it also revitalizes an abandoned or polluted site, creating a valued recreational resource.

A Healthy Alternative In today’s sustainable climate, communities are increasingly looking for ways to revitalize and repurpose underused or abandoned sites. But, not just any use is a good fit for a formerly polluted, usually urban site. Is there contaminated

soil that needs to be removed or capped? What is the surrounding context?

Skateparks, in many cases, provide a perfect solution for just these kinds of challenges. The history and evolution of the sport itself evokes a sort of gritty character, rooted in decades of skating city streets in lieu of dedicated facilities. So, the typical urban, industrial feel of brownfields is familiar — and even desired — territory for many skaters. Case in point, when skateboarders in the city of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, asked for a skatepark, they requested an urban environment that featured curbs, ledges, rails, ramps and other city features. The city took that preference to heart and settled on a city-owned lot that had been vacant for decades.

To help with project funding, the city applied for a grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health’s Healthy and Active Communities initiative citing the goal of improving the community’s health. The initiative was a perfect fit and the city received a $250,000 grant — helping to make the $450,000 project possible. Ultimately, the design team created a skatepark that not only provides active recreation, but also blends in with and enhances the downtown scene.

“Where previously there wasn’t something here, it’s an ac-

Lynch Family Skatepark, Boston, Massachusettes.

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Skatepark at Encinitas Community Park, Encinitas, California.

tive space now,” says Clark Allen, city of Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation director.

A Concrete Solution One of the challenges of the Poplar Bluff site was remediating an old underground fuel storage tank — a common obstacle in urban land reuse. Skateparks are a great solution for reuse as their base is typically concrete, which can double as a cap for contaminated soils. That’s exactly what they did at the Poplar Bluff site and at another skatepark in Boston.

Boston’s skateboarding community had long been without a real skatepark. In the late 1990s, famed sculptor Nancy Schön began advocating for a public skatepark after confronting the skateboarders that routinely skated over her “Tortoise and Hare” sculpture in Copley Square. The Charles River Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that enhances urban parklands along the Charles River, took up the cause and spent a decade raising money and public support for a skatepark.

The site selected was an empty, contaminated lot beneath the highway access ramps of the iconic Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. With a new pedestrian park on one side and a commuter rail yard and gravel plant on the other, the location was the perfect middle ground between the contrasts of recreation and creativity, and the industrial-tinged edge of the skateboarding culture. The environmental clean-up of the site included site excavation, installing a liner to restrict any contamination, and capping the site with concrete (dually functioning as the base of the skatepark). It was a win-win.

More than 2,000 skateboarders, BMX riders and spectators attended the November 2015 opening for the long-awaited skatepark, which has since become a destination for skaters across the Northeast. At the park’s opening, Massachusetts native and professional skateboarder Andy MacDonald commented, “I know people who have been skating in Boston since the mid-1970s, waiting 30-plus years for a place that kids can come skate in a safe, fun, positive environment, and that’s what the Lynch Family Skatepark is all about.”

Is a Skatepark the Solution?

Following are some tips to consider if your community is contemplating adding a public skatepark to its portfolio: Involve the community, particularly the skateboarding community, through public meetings, design charettes, etc. A skatepark won’t be accepted by skaters if it doesn’t match their needs. Partner with local skate shops and use social media to help spread the word. If they are included, they’ll take pride in ownership and help maintain the park.

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Get creative with funding. Because skateparks are still a relatively specialized type of project, few grant programs exist for them, meaning higher competition for funds. Poplar Bluff is the first-ever skatepark funded by the Missouri Foundation for Health, based on its use in fostering community health. And, because skateparks are such a good fit for brownfield redevelopment, also consider programs that fund environmental restoration and adaptive reuse.

Stay local. Avoid going with a cookie-cutter design that could be inserted in any community in the country. What makes skateparks a natural addition to the landscape is their authentic, context-appropriate design. Provide skate features that mimic local skaters’ favorite spots, and use contextually appropriate colors and treatments.

Hire wisely. Particularly for brownfield projects, consider hiring a design team with ample experience on these kinds of sites. Brownfield remediation typically involves permitting with multiple agencies, so having experience with that process — coupled with specific expertise in skatepark design — will help things run smoothly.

With the number of young people involved in skateboarding continuing to grow, skateparks are often a useful investment for a community. But, when they double as an adaptive reuse solution, they become a problem-solving asset the entire community can enjoy.

[Ed. Note: Together, Mike McIntyre and Kanten Russell have designed more than 200 action sport projects across the country.]

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Mike McIntyre is the principal of the Action Sports Group at Stantec (mike.mcintyre@stantec.com). Kanten Russell, a former professional skateboarder, is the designer for the Action Sports Group at Stantec (kanten.russell@stantec.com).

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Dreams Come True

Colorful playground equipment — Deltoik Climbing Unit

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echnologies have a vital impact on today’s environment.

Children spend significant hours in front of computers on virtual games designed to mimic real ones. On the other hand, just 30 years ago, you’d be more likely to find children building castles from sand on a beach. That generation made toys out of things they found in nature and spent more time outdoors.

Today’s children and generations have more opportunities when compared with previous ones.

Cemer aims to create a world for children, providing innovative playground areas for their dreams and presenting unlimited play and imagination workshops that give them real freedom.

Cemer enlists more than 250 employees in order to provide constant work, significant development and, most importantly, create a real value for today’s children.

Cemer has a large research and development department, where more than 17 people try to analyze today’s trends and expectations by using the latest surveys and questionnaires. Cemer tries to move all children from an asocial environment, such as spending long hours in front of computers, to a more social one of being outdoors and interacting with other children. Playing outside is also important in order to improve children’s muscle coordination, self-reliance and their 3D imagination skills.

Due to this fact, we developed Deltoik Climbing Unit that directly impacts children’s mental and physical behaviors while simultaneously amusing them. Deltoik Climbing Unit is one of the most innovative products in today’s playing en-

vironment. The aim of this playground system is to amuse kids as well as improve their physical development.

The Deltoik Climbing Unit’s complex structure forces children to think about their next steps during the game. It is an interactive and new-generation playground that has received lots of interest and is becoming very popular, especially in Europe, the United States, as well as in emerging countries.

Cemer would like to add its innovations to the playground industry and try to expand its international activities outside of the country as well as domestic leadership. Cemer also would like to create a broad vision by following professional work principles. The important goal is to offer children new-generation playgrounds following the “Dreams Come True” motto and enable them to have access to fantastic games.

We always try to analyze this sector via children’s perspective and to design our products according to their needs. We believe that colorful playgrounds will improve children’s imaginations.

A vital and productive society with a prosperous and sustainable future is built on a foundation of healthy child development.

We all want our children to grow up in a healthy environment.

export@cemer.com.tr cemer.com.tr

Deltoik Climbing Unit Nominated for German Design Award 2017 Cemer‘s Red Dot 2014 winner, Deltoik Climbing Unit, has been invited to apply for the German Design Award, which is one of the sector’s most prestigious design ceremonies in the world. Cemer has been producing playgrounds since 1994 by using the highest technology and standards. The German Design Council has officially listed and invited Ce mer to enter for the 2017 in Frankfurt Ambiente.

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German Design Award only accepts internationally awarded and unique products. Ap plications are being considered and carefully evaluated from more than 1,200 products in 27 categories. Cemer was awarded as “Best Product Design” in 2014 by Red Dot because of its effect on today’s children, its design and also its quality standards. Deltoik Climbing Unit consists of separate modules that can be combined into boundless and

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unlimited structures, allowing endless options. It can also be attached to any slide or or tunnel slide in order to create different concepts. Deltoik Climbing Unit is being manufactured by a rotational molding system where plenty of color options are available.

Protect Your Playgrounds. protect your agency.

Get Certified.

Certified Playground Safety Inspectors (CPSIs) help ensure children have safe places to play. Not only that, becoming a CPSI opens the door for career advancement and increased job mobility.

Reach your career goals. Take the course online or in a classroom near you.

www.nrpa.org/CPSI

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Cemrock

St. Louis Zoo- Sea Lion Sound

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ore than 38 years ago Cemrock began creating artificial rockwork, trees and naturalistic environments for museums, zoos and aquariums. We then entered the commercial marketplace venturing into golf courses, theme parks, resorts and roadside and coastal stabilization projects. Whimsical and durable interactive play sculptures of life sized or larger animals, insects and trees, along with boats, planes, buildings and fantasy creations make Cemrock playgrounds one of a kind.

Cemrock has successfully partnered with a wide range of clientele, the finest institutions and the most prestigious commercial and entertainment venues, including the Smithsonian, Sea World and Pebble Beach Golf Course. We provide high-quality naturalistic elements, with stringent aesthetic requirements, on schedule, while maintaining strict budget control. Our careful estimating and conscientious bidding allows Cemrock to remain competitive while providing the highest quality of craftsmanship.

If you will be attending the 2016 NRPA Annual Conference in St. Louis, you can see some of Cemrock’s exhibit work at the St. Louis Zoo. Please be sure to visit Sea Lion Sound, Polar Bear Point and the upcoming Grizzly Ridge Exhibit.

520-571-1999 cemrock.com

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Parks & Recreation

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Increasing Playability and Encouraging Movement

By Lief Fitzpatrick

I

nactivity and childhood obesity are two major challenges facing society. To understand the issue, the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department in North Carolina examined the role of traditional approaches to play and found additional ways to challenge the mind and body.

Following are some of the new and innovative approaches the department has sought out to encourage movement and engage children and adults of all ages.

NFL Play 60 NFL Play 60 is a great example of a public/private partnership to increase playability in Mecklenburg County. The first NFL Play 60 was built at Freedom Park in association with the National Football League (NFL) and the Carolina Panthers. The layout was a collaboration with the Carolina Panthers, GameTime and Mecklenburg County, based on the NFL’s Play 60 program. The Carolina Panthers provided

funding to build the playground and set up an endowment fund to maintain the playground throughout its useable life.

This amenity has given children and adults a place for a different style of play that allows them to train like a football player. NFL Play 60 provides children from underserved and vulnerable populations with opportunities to engage and interact with caring adults, helping relieve the toxic stresses of poverty and building strong bonds with adult mentors. The Play 60 layout includes a timed 40-yard dash, tackling dummies and other fun obstacles on a synthetic turf surface. This layout challenges children through active and balanced play, helping them engage physically and mentally by challenging them to think critically about the obstacles and course that lie ahead.

From the inspiration and the feedback that we received from parents and kids, Mecklenburg County expanded the program, building a second Play 60 at Hornet’s Nest Park. These chal-

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lenge courses are engaging older youth and young adults who have outgrown traditional playgrounds that target a much younger audience. Challenge courses encourage longer play times, support healthy competition and camaraderie, and encourage movement and exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle into young adulthood. The county hopes to expand this program further and build similar facilities throughout the county.

Outdoor Fitness Centers In another approach to encourage healthy lifestyle choices, Mecklenburg County developed a program to install outdoor fitness centers at selected parks in the county. These fitness centers provide an opportunity for citizens — from young adults to seniors — to have free access to balanced and active exercise, while enjoying the outdoors and engaging their minds and bodies. Sites have been identified, through an analysis performed by the Trust for Public Land, in underserved neighborhoods with parks where fitness can be incorporated and the overall playability increased. By identifying underserved and vulnerable populations, the county hopes to alleviate the damage from chronic illnesses and provide areas for engaged and caring adults to challenge children in age-appropriate activities, fostering personal bonds and the basic building blocks of health and happiness.

While some fitness centers have been installed independently, the county has also installed several fitness centers adjacent to traditional playgrounds, allowing parents 20

Parks & Recreation

and grandparents to work out beside their family members, which promotes the importance of activity through visual cues and a child’s natural tendency to mimic and be like their role models. One of our successes was a Parks Build Community fitness center and playground area located at Lincoln Heights Park, built in coordination with NRPA and unveiled during its Annual Conference in 2014. Another dozen fitness centers are included in the county’s plans for the near future.

Natural Play Areas Natural play areas, another example of a different form of playability incorporated by Mecklenburg County, are designed to encourage longer and richer play in a natural setting. These playgrounds provide children with a much-needed space for active, natural play. Through natural play, children develop skills to formulate creative solutions to complex challenges, which help them engage in critical thinking. Mecklenburg County opened its first nature play area, called the Nature Explorer Zone, in 2010 at Reedy Creek Nature Center. Another play area developed through a partnership with Landscape Structures, Inc., opened last year at Clarks Creek Nature Preserve, and plans are underway to install more in the future as new nature preserves are developed and existing preserves are updated.

Lief Fitzpatrick is the Asset Manager for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation (lief.fitzpatrick@mecklenburgcountync.gov).

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Playworld

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or more than 40 years and three generations, Playworld® has been a family-owned and operated manufacturer of high quality, commercial playground and fitness equipment in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, dedicated to providing the world’s best play experience. Our product lines span all ages and abilities, from age and developmentally appropriate early-childhood and school-age equipment, through our outdoor fitness solutions geared for teens, adults and active seniors.

Our Unity™ Collection is the culmination of everything great from the playgrounds of yesteryear, reimagined and repurposed for today’s youth. Designed to allow more kids to play together, connect with one another and use their imaginations in how they interact with the equipment, our collection of play pieces take the classic geodesic dome, teeter totter, monkey bars and slide and give them depth — they have multiple uses and functions that kids are drawn to and react to. Each piece works separately or combines together to create a totally unique play experience. New materials like

our flex treads allow children to encounter different types of play experiences than they are accustomed to.

Playworld believes The World Needs Play®. Playworld’s equipment is designed to unleash the transformative power of play so bodies grow stronger, children play safely and imagination can take flight.

For more information about Playworld, our products and our sustainability and inclusive initiatives, visit us at www. playworld.com where you can find your local representative and request a catalog.

800-233-8404 Playworld.com

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R

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De

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esigned by Richard Dattner, Architect

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We are delighted to partner with Richard to re-introduce PlayCubes to today’s children, and allow them to discover play on their own terms and in their own way.

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SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Accept the Challenge!

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ameTime is committed to creating opportunities for multigenerational play — to bring together people of all ages to enjoy outdoor recreation. Communities are looking for the same thing. They want new ways to help people improve health and wellness, outdoor activities that appeal to older children and young adults, and recreation spaces that attract entire families.

Challenge Course from GameTime® combines exciting obstacle course activities with precision timing systems and a mobile app to create a unique recreation destination. It’s a dynamic way to reverse the growing obesity epidemic and to help children, adults and families of every fitness level make fitness fun.

It’s a place where everyone can meet, compete and repeat.

Meet — Challenge Course is a social fitness experience for every generation. It’s an innovative option for fitness enthusiasts, as well as families who want to be more active together.

Compete — Not everyone is an elite athlete, but everyone should have an opportunity to become the best version of themselves. Challenge your friends and family in a timed obstacle

course or 40-yard dash, or challenge yourself to achieve your personal fitness goals. With our exclusive, easy-to-use app, you can compete and compare your time to users worldwide!

Repeat — Studies show that people who exercise outdoors are more likely to stick with their fitness program and tend to exercise more frequently. Challenge Course leverages the benefits of outdoor exercise in a fun, exciting way that encourages people to come back time and time again.

If your city wants to create a signature play and fitness destination that attracts families, provides a unique and social recreation experience, and is designed to improve the health and wellness of your community, accept the challenge with Challenge Course.

800-235-2440 gametime.com/challenge

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Parks & Recreation

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PLAY HAS NO LIMIT.TM Challenge Course by GameTime® combines obstacle course activities with precision timing systems and a mobile app to help your community achieve its health and wellness goals. It’s a fun, exciting and social fitness experience for all generations. Accept the Challenge® at gametime.com/challenge.

Enriching Childhood Through Play®