Playground Guide - 2016 - 22
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).
| 2 0 1 6 P L AYG R O U N D G U I D E | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G
Playground Guide - 2016
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Playground Guide - 2016
Playground Guide - 2016 - 1
Playground Guide - 2016 - 2
Playground Guide - 2016 - 3
Playground Guide - 2016 - 4
Playground Guide - 2016 - 5
Playground Guide - 2016 - 6
Playground Guide - 2016 - 7
Playground Guide - 2016 - 8
Playground Guide - 2016 - 9
Playground Guide - 2016 - 10
Playground Guide - 2016 - 11
Playground Guide - 2016 - 12
Playground Guide - 2016 - 13
Playground Guide - 2016 - 14
Playground Guide - 2016 - 15
Playground Guide - 2016 - 16
Playground Guide - 2016 - 17
Playground Guide - 2016 - 18
Playground Guide - 2016 - 19
Playground Guide - 2016 - 20
Playground Guide - 2016 - 21
Playground Guide - 2016 - 22
Playground Guide - 2016 - 23
Playground Guide - 2016 - 24
Playground Guide - 2016 - 25
Playground Guide - 2016 - 26
Playground Guide - 2016 - 27
Playground Guide - 2016 - 28
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParkRecreationMagazineSupplements/playground-guide-2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParkRecreationMagazineSupplements/PlaygroundGuide2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParkRecreationMagazineSupplements/PlaygroundGuide2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParkRecreationMagazineSupplements/PlaygroundGuide2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParkRecreationMagazineSupplements/PlaygroundGuide2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParkRecreationMagazineSupplements/PlaygroundGuide2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParkRecreationMagazineSupplements/PlaygroundGuide2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParkRecreationMagazineSupplements/PlaygroundGuide2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParkRecreationMagazineSupplements/PlaygroundGuide2016
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com