Reinvention: Tigard’s Recreation Program During COVID-19
Tigard Parks & Rec gives children and families a creative outlet to socialize and engage
It has been a challenging year for many families as students transitioned into online learning, leaving a gap of social interaction and a pause on physical activity. For the small but mighty team at Tigard’s Park and Rec the challenge of COVID-19 and creating engaging programs was not an easy task.
Kaitlyn Leaf, Recreation Program Specialist, is one of two full time employees in the Recreation Division. “Her creativity is what makes this program special,” remarked Public Works Director Brian Rager.
“The pandemic has had an enormous impact on 2020 recreation programming – canceling several large in person events such as the Annual Egg Hunt, Mini Duathlon, Movies in the Park, Pop Ups in the Park and concerts. Kaitlyn’s dedication means that we are always ready for the road up ahead,” added Rager.
According to Leaf, the success of the socially distanced events such as ‘Day Camps’, ‘Kids’ Night Out’ and ‘P.E. in the Park’ is largely due to kids wanting a creative outlet to engage and socialize with other children. Over the summer the Recreation Department offered fun, affordable and safe camp opportunities that filled up very quickly. “Many times, Summer Camp is a child’s favorite memory growing up and I would love for us to help create those lifelong memories for children. I had the opportunity to work several of the camp days and so many of the children were constant smiles and laughs the whole seven hours of camp. Especially this year, it was so meaningful to create an opportunity for children to interact with other children in a safe and healthy environment,” says Leaf.
In September, the 5K Fun Run shifted from an in-person event to a month-long Virtual Fun Run that made it safer and easier for more people to participate. In October, the Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt was developed in Cook Park in an effort to encourage families to get outdoors and engage in physical activity while following health and safety guidelines. Posters of pumpkins were spread out throughout the park to ensure social distancing. The event drew in over 500 participants throughout the month – breaking last year’s record of 50 people!
As Oregon enters a statewide freeze, the program is working again to reinvent meaningful programming. All in-person events are cancelled, and Leaf is working to transition what she can to virtual engagement. The Snowman Scavenger Hunt, which will follow the same health and safety guidelines of the Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt, kicks off in December giving families and kids the opportunity to be active but in a safe manner.
Kaitlyn is also using her time to look towards the future. The city is currently working on a Parks & Recreation Master Plan that will set direction for the program over the next 10 years. Some of the trends expected to influence the plans for recreation include a demand for trail-based activities, the desire for public gathering places, and changing demographics.
“What is especially difficult is that we are having to slow down at a time when Recreation is just picking up,” shared Kaitlyn. “The recent master plan survey shows that community events are the most desired type of Recreation programming. When we can do it safely, you bet we’ll be back out there!”
Over the next few months, the Master Plan project will pose a series of questions to our community about where we should go in the future. The next is:
What services would you like to see Tigard Parks and Recreation offer to our community?
You can participate online: www.engage.tigard-or.gov/parksplan or by phone: Leave a message at: 503-718-2428.