North Carolina Park Opens New Inclusive Playground
As part of our ongoing GameTime Cares™ initiative, we're sharing a series of posts called Caring Communities. We work with many great people to build parks and playgrounds. These are the stories of communities who care.
Communities throughout North Carolina are making inclusive play a priority. With their most recent playground renovation, the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department is a shining example of inclusive play commitment.
Greensboro’s Keeley Park just completed the Up in the AIR (Adaptive & Inclusive Recreation) playground. It is the city’s first fully accessible playground and the largest inclusive playground west of Raleigh.
(Video courtesy of Spectrum News, Greensboro, NC - all rights reserved)
Research-Based Inclusive Playground
When setting out to renovate this park, the city prioritized creating an inclusive and fun space. This led them to install many of GameTime’s inclusive play elements, such as the merry-go-all, a tower accessible to those in mobility devices, and sensory panels like the hypnetic spinner.
By using the research and best practices found in Me2®: 7 Principles of Inclusive Playground Design, Keeley Park is a National Demonstration Site for Inclusion.
This spectacular playground features many play elements to address the needs of every child in the community::
- Six slides
- Five spinning elements
- Three zip lines, including accessible seats
- Cargo nets and hillside climbers
- Swings for children of all abilities, including GameTime's ExpressionSwing
- Multiple climbing areas, including climbers with interactive sensory play elements
Multigenerational Recreation
GameTime added other amenities to Keeley Park to ensure the park is a favorite destination for everyone in the city. The park now features a THRIVE 450 outdoor fitness area, where up to 10 users can work out—no gym membership necessary.
GameTime designed the fitness area using best-practice practice research from PlayCore. This gave Keeley Park a second National Demonstration Site designation for adult outdoor fitness.
The entire park was designed and installed by Cunningham Recreation, GameTime's exclusive representative in North Carolina.
Funded by Grants from GameTime and NCRPA
GameTime’s partnership with the North Carolina Recreation and Parks Association, Playcore, and Cunningham Recreation made this park possible. PlayCore provided educational workshops for park departments to turn research into practice. The statewide education initiative reached hundreds of parks professionals.
GameTime awarded up to $2 MILLION in matching funds through the NCRPA initiative. With these funds parks departments create National Demonstration Sites in their communities.
Upgrade Your Park
Transforming a park into an inclusive and multigenerational destination is on the minds of many community leaders. When playgrounds and parks are truly inclusive, it’s easier to meet every person’s needs in the community. You remove physical and social barriers and build a stronger community.
If you want to follow in the footsteps of Greensboro, NC, transform your local park or playground into a must-visit destination. Contact the GameTime representative in your neighborhood to get started.