Become a Public Park Advocate With These Simple Steps

Public parks bring so many benefits to communities around the country, yet many cities don’t have the resources to maintain them. If you and your family enjoy spending time at your local recreational spots, consider becoming a public park advocate by working with your town’s city leaders to find funding opportunities, start innovative cleanup initiatives, and make those areas safer for the entire community.

Community Investors outlines a few ways you can help out your community by becoming a public park advocate.

Embrace digital campaigning

Digitally campaigning for public parks has become increasingly effective in this digital age, especially when leveraging tools like PDFs to spread your message. PDF tools are invaluable for creating professional and accessible documents that can be easily shared online or via email. These tools allow campaigners to design informative brochures, flyers, and reports with compelling visuals and detailed information about the parks.

The versatility of PDFs ensures that the content remains consistent across different platforms and devices. For instance, campaigners can use word processors or design software to create their initial documents and then, in order to convert to a PDF file, utilize a PDF tool. This ensures that the final document is polished, easy to distribute, and more likely to engage and inform the public effectively about the importance and needs of their local parks.

Make sure the parks have adequate lighting

In order to ensure the safety of every visitor at your local parks, it’s crucial to advocate for lighting solutions that will both add to the beauty of the outdoor area and provide adequate illumination for anyone who is using the sporting areas or walking paths after dark. The best lighting choices are those that can withstand strong winds and other types of weather, so strong aluminum or steel decorative posts are great options for safety, security, and efficiency. If your local parks budget is too tight to allow for a lighting upgrade, work with city leaders to find funding packages or launch a fundraising effort within the community.

Landscaping should be safe and functional as well as beautiful

Because many people head to their local park for a bit of serenity, having access to beautiful gardens and lush greenery is a major perk. However, as the American Society of Landscape Architects notes, the landscaping within a public park should also be safe and functional for all ages and abilities. Sidewalks should be clear of debris or overgrowth and well-lighted, while adventureTURF points out that playgrounds should contain soft, heat-resistant materials. Hedges and trees should be well-groomed and spaced out to eliminate hiding spots. If part of your advocacy will involve planting a public garden, it’s essential to ensure that there are no invasive species included that could harm local flora or fauna.

Always be aware of your surroundings

While many public parks are perfectly safe places to visit, it’s still important to always be aware of your surroundings and to help others do the same, which is why keeping the landscaping well-groomed is crucial. When spending time at your local parks, it’s a good idea to be on the lookout for suspicious activity–both in the park itself and in areas such as the parking lot–and report anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. As an advocate, you can also consider talking to local leaders about installing public call boxes or emergency buttons that will summon police or security officers in the event of a safety issue.

Promote natural pest control

Advocating for natural pest solutions in parks, instead of chemical pesticides, is a crucial step towards maintaining ecological balance and safeguarding environmental health. Natural methods, such as utilizing fungi and nematodes, offer a sustainable and eco-friendly approach to controlling pests like Japanese beetles, which are known for damaging plants and grass.

These biological controls work effectively by targeting the pests without harming the surrounding flora and fauna. For example, certain fungi can infect and naturally diminish beetle populations, while nematodes, microscopic worms, can attack the larvae in the soil. By promoting these natural alternatives, we not only protect our parks from harmful chemicals but also support biodiversity, ensuring a healthier and more resilient ecosystem.

Bring the community together by leading a nonprofit

Making public parks safer places to visit is a great benefit to the general public, but you can also look for ways to bring the community together as a nonprofit, such as starting a volunteer cleanup initiative, putting together public events and festivals, or organizing free outdoor classes or day camps. By creating opportunities for your neighbors, you can truly bring people together and boost awareness of the need for public park advocates at the same time.

Starting a nonprofit to improve your local park makes it easier to apply for grants and public funding if you’re set up as a nonprofit corporation. When you form a nonprofit corporation, you’ll need to create bylaws, which details how you’ll operate. This includes how the corporation is governed, how often it holds board meetings, how voting works, and rules on conflicts of interest.

Public parks offer a lot to their communities, but it takes a lot of hard work and cooperation to make them run smoothly. By looking for ways to fund different initiatives, bringing in safe lighting and landscaping solutions, and starting a nonprofit to boost awareness of these great natural resources, you can become a public park advocate and do something that benefits your community for years to come.

Community Investors supports the physical, social and emotional wellness of our next generation through fun, inclusive, community-based active play. Visit us online to learn more!