January 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 13

Share The Air
Youth advocates in Virginia encourage park and recreation departments to
create 100 percent tobacco-free and e-cigarette-free parklands
By Danny Saggese
K
eeping the lands they manage beautiful and creating a welcoming
environment for visitors are top goals for park and recreation
departments. One activity that continuously is an issue for both
visitors and department staff is tobacco and e-cigarette use on
parklands. Tobacco products are the most littered item in the nation, accounting
for approximately 40 percent of all littered items (tinyurl.com/kk5m9wfp).
Clean-up of these products is expensive and time-consuming, costing the nation
an estimated $11 billion annually (tinyurl.com/msh87dyy). Additionally,
the nicotine in these products is toxic if consumed by wildlife and visitors,
like children or pets. Discarded products pose a significant fire hazard as well.
Lithium-ion batteries in e-cigarettes and other heated tobacco products are
known to spontaneously ignite and cause fires (tinyurl.com/k2yn5xuf).
To help park and recreation departments
in Virginia address this issue,
Y Street, the Virginia Foundation for
Healthy Youth's award-winning volunteer
initiative for high school students,
collaborates with departments
to aid them in adopting policies that
limit tobacco and e-cigarette use in
parklands as part of its Share The Air
campaign. Share The Air aims to create
100 percent tobacco- and vaporfree
outdoor public spaces across the
commonwealth as an effective solution
to ensure a clean and healthy
outdoor experience for Virginians.
To achieve this, Y Street members
spread awareness at local events and
on social media, surveying community
members' perceptions of tobacco
and e-cigarette use in outdoor
spaces and collecting messages of
support for tobacco- and e-cigarettefree
parklands. " I love participating
in these events to help parks be
100 percent tobacco and e-cigarette
free, " says Y Street Leadership team
member and Charlottesville High
School senior Max Tyree. " It is so
important because the outdoors is
a place where you can destress and
enjoy nature, and making them tobacco
free will provide people with
peace
of mind. " Members also
meet with their local departments to
share how they can respond to their
communities' interests by adopting
a tobacco- and e-cigarette-free outdoor
policy, and how the campaign
can support them in their efforts.
Support includes offering a free
toolkit, tobacco-free signage and
publicity to promote the new policy.
Share The Air has made a
strong impression on departments
throughout Virginia. The campaign
currently has seven local
partners that have adopted new
tobacco- and e-cigarette-free policies,
with more departments joining
the movement. When asked about
the locality's decision to adopt a
policy, Ashland Parks and Recreation
Coordinator Emmy Houck
replies, " We want to create an inclusive
environment that promotes
the well-being of our community
and improves quality of life. Ensuring
our spaces are tobacco free
encourages a welcoming, clean and
safe environment for park-goers. "
Winchester Parks and Recreation
Director Chris Konyar notes that
they made their decision for similar
reasons
related
to
equitable
park
access. " The mission of Share
The Air matches the City of Winchester's
overall mission, especially
the goal of strengthening Winchester
by fostering a safe, healthy
and diverse community for all with
ample opportunities for recreation,
wellness and cultural activities. "
Share The Air and Y Street are
proud to assist Virginia-based park
and recreation departments in ensuring
equitable access to recreational
areas. If your department
is interested in learning more, visit
sharetheairva.com.
Thank you to Y Street and Virginia
Foundation for Healthy Youth for their
contributions to this article.
Danny Saggese is Director of Marketing
at Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth.
PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G | J ANUAR Y 2 0 2 3
| Parks & Recreation
13
http://www.tinyurl.com/kk5m9wfp http://www.tinyurl.com/msh87dyy http://www.tinyurl.com/k2yn5xuf http://www.sharetheairva.com
January 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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