Background photo (Polka Dots & Pixie Dust., Alum Creek Park Beach)
Waste management is expensive. Land maintenance is expensive. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has limited funds. So how can we keep the parks clean and inexpensive to manage?
While on a site visit to Alum Creek Park, one thing caught my attention: lack of shade. Across the beach and park area, the singular source of shade was four tiny, sun-faded pieces of fabric stretched across the shelter pavilion. I imagined that on a hot day this lack of shade would feel miserable for park visitors.
Photo is my own.
I propose that ODNR embrace this lack of shade and turn it into an incentivizing tool to get visitors to use trash cans. During their long treks across the beach, to the parking lot, to the bathroom, etc., shaded areas over key trash cans could attract visitors as they look for somewhere to rest. Perhaps getting visitors to spend more time in close proximity will make it more likely that they actually use the trash cans, and may reduce the need for trash sweeping across the park.
While drawing the conjecture, I realized that it may be difficult to orient the shade structures so that visitors are covered while using the waste bins. Since the parks are open dawn until dusk, year-round, the sun will come from millions of angles throughout the year. How could any shade structure aim to provide shade for all those times? Realistically, it can’t. Perhaps looking into visitation records to find out the busiest times of year and times of day could steer this conjecture in a more effective direction.
Bonus: The American Academy of Dermatology highly encourages parks build shade structures and they provide grants of up to $8000 for nonprofit organizations trying to build shade structures (see here: https://www.aad.org/public/public-health/shade-structure-grants).
References
- [Playable vinyl made of single use plastic]. (n.d.). GQ.
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/music/article/
environmentally-friendly-vinyl-records - Polka Dots & Pixie Dust. (n.d.). [Alum Creek Park beach]. OnlyInYourState.
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nature/ohio/largest-inland-beach-oh
