Month: December 2020

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Community & Park Spaces

Park Plan Considerations from Concept to Design

Girls sitting on a park bench

Whether a brand new park plan or are making additions to an existing one, BYO Recreation is here to help you from start to finish! The first step is planning. When you begin thinking about your park plan, what’s the first thing you think of? Is it sprawling nature trails and peaceful, scenic water views? Do you picture a lively picnic area with fire rings and grills?

Park Plan Components

All your park plan ideas and visions can become a reality! After thinking about what you want your park to be, think about how you can complement the natural landscape with your design. Will the design you choose fit in with the ambiance your park naturally creates? Do the additions provide a sense of continuity throughout the entire park? Answering these questions will help you create a timeless design for your park.

Balance

Your aim is to create a balance between facility resources and seasonal use. The design of the facility should allow for and promote year-round use. Nature trails can be used year-round and can offer guests a different experience every time they use it. Picnic areas also have the ability to cater to a wide range of groups, depending on how they are set up. Do your picnic tables provide a variety of scenery?

Site Amenities

Picnic tables need to have an ordered, arranged layout. When you are deciding where your picnic area should be, look for natural patterns in the landscape. For example, if your park has a lake, you can follow the natural curve of the lake. Placing the tables far enough from the water to allow walking people access to the lakeside, while still providing scenery for people at the tables.

Location, Location

You should also think about the vicinity of the area. Your picnic area should be located near parking, bathrooms and trash receptacles. When visitors come to your park for a picnic, they will likely have coolers of food and other supplies for the day. Making sure the picnic area is near the parking lot assures that park guests have easy access to their vehicles for convenience and security.

Park Plan Assistance

Now that we’ve gone over a few things to consider when thinking about your park and its picnic area, share your ideas with us! We’d love to help you with your park design and find you the best picnic tables and equipment for your park! Call us at 1-800-853-5316 for a complete park plan today!

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Community & Park Spaces

Best Dog Park Equipment to Make the Most Puppy Play Time

A dog park is perfect for keeping your dog in shape and giving it an opportunity to play with other friendly doggy friends. Taking your canine to a dog park is just as important as taking your kids to the playground to play with friends and get proper exercise. Dog parks not only get your furry friends outside and burn some energy on the park equipment before dinnertime; it also lets them interact with other pets. This is a great way to help your pet learn proper behavior around dogs and visitors at your home.

Just like humans, dogs get depressed when they have a lack of activity and interaction in their lives. This can lead to obesity, tumors as well as many other health related issues. When a dog goes to play, run or train, the brain releases dopamine, a chemical the brain releases that allows for positive and excited attitudes. Therefore, keeping your furry friend active will result in a happy pet.

Types of Dog Park Equipment

Different structures help build different muscles in your pet. For example, a dog walk structure helps build leg muscle and teach dogs how to walk up and down ramps. A crawl tube helps build chest muscles and keep hip joints flexible and strong. Lastly, a doggy teeter-totter helps dogs gain a sense of balance when stationary on a moving object. All of these structure will help keep you dog happy and in shape. They also help to train your dog for competitions and everyday travels.

Of course, it’s always good to keep you and your pet hydrated throughout your time at the park, so be sure to bring water or use the local drinking fountains provided around your park. BYO Recreation offers a dual water fountain that is designed for humans and dogs to be able to drink at the same time.

Learn more about the importance of dog parks by visiting BYO Recreation or giving us a call at 1-800-853-5316. One of our consultants will be happy to provide you with all the information you desire and assist you in choosing the best dog park equipment and water fountains for your parks.

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Community & Park Spaces

Best Park Grills for Your Community or Campsite

Visiting local parks is a great summer activity for family and friends. There are so many things to do; many parks offer commercial grills so their guests can cook-out. These commercial park grills are a great addition to any park because of the value they bring. People will visit parks with friends and family for reunions, parties or a get-together because they have the option to grill food and enjoy the other attractions of the park.

When choosing a park grill, you want to look at everything from its cooking space and grates to the mounting option to ensure that you are providing the perfect grill for your guests. Cooking spaces can vary but you can choose different sized grills for different areas so that smaller or larger groups can use the appropriate sized grills. You can also choose a standard size grill for your park for simple planning.

The mounting option is also important. The most common options are in-ground and surface mount. Both provide safe and stable mounting; the only difference is that in-ground is permanent whereas surface mount gives you the option of relocating the grill if necessary.

Remember, park grills aren’t just for parks. Pedestal grills are great for multifamily complexes and HOAs as well. Additionally, no campsite is complete without a fire ring!

Along with park grills, parks should provide its guests with picnic tables to eat and lounge at, trash and smoking receptacles so the park does not become littered, and drinking fountains to keep your guests hydrated.

Learn More About Park Grills

Finally, learn more about park grills and park amenities by visiting BYO Recreation or giving us a call at 1-800-853-5316. One of our consultants will be happy to provide you with all the information your desire. We’ll also assist you in choosing the park grills & site amenities for your park.

Categories
Community & Park Spaces Playground Planning

Best Commercial Trash Cans to Minimize Littering in Your Community

Commercial trash can at a public playground

Commercial trash cans are essential for keeping our Earth clean. However, as an individual, you may not feel like you can do any damage or help in any significant way, but you can! Let’s take a look at some statistics.

According to once study, 36 percent of the commercial workforce in America goes to work in an office each day. Of that 36 percent, each employee will produce 1.5 pounds of paper waste each day. On top of that, each employee uses about 10,000 sheets of paper a year! Wow! That’s just paper; what about the energy it takes to print that paper? Well, 21 percent of all energy used in the USA is consumed by offices, big and small.

Crazy right? As an individual you can take steps towards saving the amount of paper waste and energy your office uses. Try some of these methods:

  • Encourage your employees to recycle
  • Provide commercial trash cans around the office building
  • Send emails instead of mailing hard copies
  • Review rough drafts before printing
  • Encourage walking by personally talking to an employee about an assignment or project.

All of these simple tasks will save your company money by reducing the amount of paper used and will help reduce air and water pollution. BYO Recreation practices these simple Earth saving tips and together we are able to make the Earth a little bit cleaner.

How Small Things Add Up

Tossing trash on the ground doesn’t seem like a very harmful thing to do, just a dirty thing to do. However, in reality, tossing a piece of metal, a water bottle, a broken toy, or even your coffee cup on the ground causes serious damage to the Earth’s foundation.

Metals will rust from the water and dirt, causing harmful chemicals to sink into the ground, killing the grass and other life around the area. Broken toys water bottles and coffee cups do not decompose and release harmful chemicals into the ground over time.

Trash can also travel around the world in a matter of weeks by being blown into a stream and carried out to the ocean then being trapped in the ocean currents. This causes chemicals to release into the water harming ocean life. Ocean life can also be entangled in the trash hindering its ability to survive.

How Commercial Trash Cans Can Help

Example of a commercial trash can at a public playground
Include commercial trash cans at your public space!

If a simple piece of trash can do all of this, imagine if everybody in a small town threw trash on the ground. There would be a catastrophe! A simple solution to saving the world is to throw your trash in commercial trash cans. This way your trash will be properly disposed of and you’ll have saved the Earth once again!

One more way you can save the world as an individual is to help reduce the amount of smoke that is released into the air. Along with second hand smoke for people is second hand smoke for the Earth. Think it’s ludicrous? Think again; When unnatural smoke is inhaled by people or absorbed by Earth, damage occurs. For people, second hand smoke damages lungs, hearts, brains and even kidneys. For the Earth, second hand smoke damages plants, animals, the o-zone and even the soil.

So how do you help? Quit smoking? You can, but if you don’t want to you can help save the Earth and the people around you by putting your smokes in a smoke receptacle. These help put the cigarette out and contain the smoke, so people don’t inhale the harsh chemicals and the Earth doesn’t have to absorb them.

Learn More About Commercial Trash Cans & Receptacles

Although it’s just you, you can save the world we live in and encourage others to help keep Earth clean too! If you’d like more information on how you can keep earth clean, or would like to purchase trash receptacles, recycling containers or smoking receptacles, please visit BYO Recreation. You can also give us a call at 1-800-853-5316 and one of our consultants will answer all of your questions on commercial trash cans and receptacles.

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Community & Park Spaces

Site Amenities You Forgot to Include at Your City Park

Bike racks at the playground

When it comes to site amenities, you’ve probably thought of the basics: picnic tables, benches, water fountains. However, here are a couple site amenities that aren’t quite as obvious to include, but just as important.

Bollards

Park bollards for directing traffic.

Bollards are a great way to restrict car access on park grounds. Adequate spacing ensures that cars cannot pass through, while allowing bikers and people walking to pass easily. Most bollards are commonly used in parking areas and some include lights that are used along pathways and trails.

When shopping for bollards it is important to know how you are going to utilize them. Are you looking to mark off a section for parking, making sure that cars cannot park on the grounds, such as a recreation field? Do you want to add lighted bollards to pathways? Knowing the use of the bollards you are looking to purchase will help you to know which type will be best for your park and match your other site amenities.

Like most site amenities, there are many different styles of bollards to choose from. The location of the bollard and its use, along with the atmosphere of your park and your budget will help you determine which style to choose. Concrete bollards that range in shape, size and can include lights, are functional and offer durability. Other materials offered at BYO are recycled plastic and steel.  Whichever style and material you choose, including bollards in your park’s design promotes safety and instruction to your park guests.

Bikes Racks

Park bike racks.

Another thing to consider adding to your current site amenities is bicycle parking. Bike Racks come in handy for park guests when they want to walk around or enjoy other aspects of the park. Including a safe, convenient place for guests to park their bikes is essential and will encourage bike riders to visit your park more often.

When choosing a bike rack, it is important to think about the capacity it offers in relation to how many guests visit your park. This will help you to choose the size, amount throughout the park and the design. Like bollards, bike rack styles vary giving you multiple options to choose from. Traditional single and double bike racks are convenient and designed to fit well in any park. BYO also offers contemporary bike racks that add a little something extra to the style and atmosphere of a park’s site amenities.

Learn More About Site Amenities

Learn more about bollards and bike racks by visiting our Park Equipment or giving us a call at 1-800-853-5316. One of our BYO consultants will be happy to assist you with planning your park or any additional information about bollards, bike racks, and other site amenities.

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Community & Park Spaces

Picking the Right Picnic Tables & Park Benches for Your Space

Learn just how important picnic tables, bleachers and benches are to your park, school, daycare, or other public space. These essential site amenities aren’t only vital to the comfort of your visitors, but they provide an opportunity for visitors to sit, relax and enjoy making memories with friends and family.

Picnic Tables Essentials

Two women sitting at a round thermoplastic picnic table
Picnic tables come in many shapes, sizes, and colors!

When choosing picnic tables, you want to look at everything from its maximum capacity to its color. This helps ensure that you are providing the perfect table for your guests and your space. Let’s start with capacity.

Capacity

First, if you would like to provide picnic tables for smaller groups, you want to purchase a table that seats four to eight people. Small picnic tables are usually round or square. This offers more personal conversation space for your guests.

On the other hand, if you want to offer tables for large groups you’ll want picnic tables that can seat eight to ten people. These will typically be rectangular. This allows for more friends and family to gather around and enjoy lunch, friendly conversation or a board game.

Colors & Materials

Material and color are also very important factors when choosing a picnic table to add to the aesthetic appeal of your space. The majority of picnic tables are made from metal, concrete, wood, recycled materials, and aluminum. These materials can withstand everyday wear and tear and the harsh weather.

Additionally, most outdoor seating is coated in oven fused functionalized polyethylene copolymer-based thermoplastic. In other words, a coating that protects the tables from erosion and keeps surfaces cool to the touch on hot days.

Outdoor Bench Essentials

Two children sitting on an child sized outdoor bench
Install outdoor benches for both children and adults.

Much like picnic tables, benches are made from the same materials, thermoplastic coating, and provide a comfortable area where visitors can sit and enjoy the great outdoors. There are two main types of benches; ones with backs and ones without backs. So how do you know which is best for your visitors?

For starters, if you want to put a bench on an exercise trail, in a dug-out, or on a sideline you should buy backless benches. The benefits of backless benches include:

  • Allows for more freedom to move about
  • Helps players stay alert and prepared during games
  • Provides easy access to sports bags
  • Supplies they may be stored  under or behind the bench

Finally, if you want to provide benches for visitors to relax on and enjoy a view of a lake, pond or the rest of your park, a bench with a back is perfect. The back allows guests to relax their muscles, ease their minds and simply soak up the beauty of your park.

Public Bleachers Essentials

Last, but not least are bleachers. The most important aspect to keep in mind when buying a bleacher is capacity. You want to be able to accommodate all the friends and family who come to cheer on their favorite sports player or team.  If you have a large group of fans, you should get a 10 or 15-row bleacher. This will accommodate everyone and provide enough space to remain comfortable throughout the game.

For medium or small groups of fans, it’s best to buy bleachers with 3-5 rows. Of course, if you want to provide bleachers for an indoor game such as basketball or volleyball you’ll want to have portable bleachers, so you can use the gym for other events.

Learn More About Picnic Tables & Other Essential Site Amenities

It’s important to know who you’re providing seating for and for how many, so don’t buy blind. Take this information with you as you purchase seating for your park, playground, fitness trail, sports field or other place of business. If you would like more information or assistance purchasing seating please call BYO Recreation at 1-800-853-5316. One of our professionals will be happy to help you choose picnic benches and other amenities for you space.

Categories
Playground Equipment Playground Planning

What is Kids Exercise Week & How to Celebrate It

Kids fitness playground equipment

National Kids Exercise Week was founded in 2010 to promote family physical fitness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children should do at least one hour of physical activity per day. Thankfully, children may already meet this guideline by playing during recess at school or at sports practice. However, National Kids Exercise Week, Aug. 4-10, encourages parents to get involved with their children and be physically active together.

There are many ways that families can keep kids fitness and a healthy lifestyle a priority. Participating in outdoor activities together, such as playing informal soccer games in the backyard, are easy ways to get active with the kids. You can also take advantage of family-oriented activities and classes at the local YMCA. Another awesome activity is getting involved in a local fundraising race, like a 5K. It usually takes some time to prepare for this type of race, giving your family another reason to get active.

For preschool aged children, the CDC recommends everyday activity throughout the day. “During Exercise With Your Children Week, parents should get down on the floor – or on the grass out in the yard – and play whatever active game they can get their kids to play. Stay engaged as long as possible, and take plenty of breaks for water and snacks. “

Other Fun Kids Fitness Ideas

The American Society of Positive Care of Children recommends the following physical activities:

1. Aerobic Activity

Aerobic activity should make up most of your child’s 60 or more minutes of physical activity each day. This can include either moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, or vigorous-intensity activity, such as running. Be sure to include vigorous-intensity aerobic activity on at least 3 days per week.

2. Muscle Strengthening

Include muscle strengthening activities, such as gymnastics or push-ups, at least 3 days per week as part of your child’s 60 or more minutes.

3. Bone Strengthening

Include bone strengthening activities, such as jumping rope or running, at least 3 days per week as part of your child’s 60 or more minutes.

Learn More About Kids Fitness

At BYO, we are committed to creating play for children, in turn helping to create an active, fun lifestyle from an early age. We take pride in our playgrounds and the benefits they provide children nationwide. Parents, we encourage you to take your child to a local playground for some family fun, go for a walk in the park and explore other ways to stay active as a family!

Be sure to check out our BYO Facebook and Twitter pages for more family-friendly activities that promote movement and fun !

Categories
Playground Equipment Playground Planning

Sensory Play Benefits for Little Ones

According to Good Start Early Learning, “sensory play includes any activity that stimulates a young child’s senses of touch, smell, taste, sight and hearing, as well as anything which engages movement and balance.”

Hands-on play encourages children to explore, learn, and engage. The only limit to this type of play is imagination and the materials provided. Teachers should include this type of play in their daily curriculum to establish this form of learning early on. This helps children learn to naturally question things and come to conclusions on their own while they play.

Sensory play is vital to early learning because children learn best through hands-on experiences. With the right materials, teachers can encourage little ones to use their senses to explore and investigate through play their most familiar way to process and understand new information.

When sensory tables are included in the classroom and on the playground, children have multiple opportunities throughout their day to engage in activities that promote developmental growth. These tables can have one or more bins that house sand, water or other materials, like colorful rice or spaghetti.

Children playing with a sensory table
Sensory tables are great for daycares and early learning centers.

Within this sensory material can be just about anything: toys, shovels, cotton balls, pinecones, etc. The contents of the bins can be themed or seasonal. A Pinterest search of sensory play tables will prove that the possibilities are endless! Teachers can have fun with their sensory play activities and easily keep the curriculum exciting and new.

Learn More Sensory Play

BYO Recreation & Teachers’ School Supply has a variety of Sensory and Sand & Water products. Whether you are looking for indoor or outdoor, permanent or portable, we have the perfect item for you! Call us at 1-800-853-5316 to speak to an Early Childhood Specialist today! here are many options for sensory play indoors and out.

Categories
Playground Planning

8 Tips for Creating an Ideal Outdoor Learning Environment at your Child Care Facility!

Outdoor learning certainly became a new norm in 2020 – and for good reason. “The whole motivation for us choosing to go down this road is the massive inequities that have surfaced with distance learning: access to devices, reliable broadband, children in situations not conducive to learning, if it’s hard for parents to be there, or if they even have parents there,” explains Ten Strands CEO Karen Cowe. “That was the driver for all of us.”

As your new students adapt to their new classmates, teacher and classroom (whether virtual or otherwise), keep in mind your classroom environment and the significant role it plays in the success of your class. Although each classroom setup will be unique due to classroom size, the layout of your space and the individual needs of each class and teacher, the principles of organization and staying clutter free remain the same. The way your classroom is set up should create the perfect teaching environment for the teacher and the ideal learning environment for the students.

Outdoor Learning Tips & Tricks

An example of an outdoor learning environment.
An outdoor learning environment with benches, shade, and music play equipment.

Part of that ideal outdoor learning environment is your available space. Your outdoor classroom is an extension of the indoor classroom. Taking the time to think about the playground area and how it’s set up is equally important.

Below we’ve included a list of some things to keep in mind when you’re planning your indoor and outdoor learning environment.Think about the route your students will move through from one learning center to another. What will they see along the way? Are there distractions on their path making easy transitions more difficult? Make sure the layout of your classroom and your outdoor play area makes sense to you and your students.

Minimize Distractions

Think about day-to-day activities and minimize clutter and distractions. For instance, windows are wonderful but sometimes what’s going on outside can distract your students. Do you expect this to be a problem in your classroom? Reduce the distraction with a fun preschool craft: Tissue paper stained glass.

Do you have a classroom carpet that will facilitate learning and help with classroom management? Consider a carpet with clear symbols, like letters or shapes, and assign each child a symbol that makes settling down for circle time easy and fun.

Get Organized

Make sure you know where you can find materials you use daily. As your class gets going, extra time wasted looking for supplies will be a thorn in your side. Check out this Over-the-Door Shoe Holder idea for organizing your supplies on a budget!

Similarly, all toys and materials should have a place and a label with a picture marking where it belongs so students can easily identify and access materials. For an enhanced literacy-rich environment, you can also label general items throughout the class, like the clock, sink, plants, etc.

Plan Your Lessons

When you begin your lesson planning, think of both indoor and outdoor activities that complement each other and the curriculum. Create organized lessons by subject, such as sensory play, dramatic play, etc., and keep them organized and easily identifiable with labeled tabs in a binder or containers.

Know the Lay of the Land

Outdoor play doesn’t need to be limited to gross-motor play.  When thinking about your outdoor classroom, consider the layout and available learning activities. Is there a place to park tricycles, making it clear where they belong? Have you included equipment conducive to sensory learning, such as a water center, sand box or nature bowl? Do you have proper surfacing?

More About Outdoor Learning

Remember that the outdoor environment is simply an extension of your classroom. Consider playground equipment that promotes socialization as well as learning standards such as sensory experiences, fine and gross motor development, creative expression, and music and movement. Make outdoor learning the new norm!

This list includes just a few key things to think about when you are planning your indoor and outdoor classrooms. To read more about organization and planning visit our BYO Blog and TSS Blog, or call us at 1-800-853-5316 to learn more about outdoor learning solutions!

Categories
Playground Planning

Great Ways to Participate in National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month!

Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the United States, with more than 23 million children ages two to 19 being obese or overweight. According to the CDC, obesity in children has more than doubled in children and tripled in the past 30 years. Also, nearly one third of American children are at early risk for Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and stroke.

Every September marks National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month (COAM). The mission of COAM is to motivate families and communities to become healthier. This goes hand-in-hand with BYO’s mission: to create play for children nationwide, regardless of budget. Every child should have access to playgrounds and play spaces that give them the opportunity to learn, grow, exercise, and be healthy.

The CDC states that overweight and obesity are the result of caloric imbalance. This means too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed. As a result, children are affected by various genetic, behavioral and environmental factors. Additionally, “obesity prevalence was 13.9% among 2- to 5-year-olds and 18.4% among 6- to 11-year-olds.”

Childhood Obesity Resources

Kids running to the school playground to fight childhood obesity
Promote more play during childhood obesity awareness month.

Lifestyle changes can prevent and help reverse childhood obesity. Eating healthy meals and being physically active and fit as individuals, families and communities can have a big impact. Also, children need positive role models who can teach them about being healthy, not only through words but also actions. Moreover, Schools can make changes to support and encourage a healthy lifestyle. Start with physical education and recess and move towards a more nutritional lunch program.

Also, be sure to avoid these common mistakes:

  • Rewarding children with sweets
  • Implementing a clean-plate policy at meals
  • Taking the opposite extreme and banning all sweets
  • Labeling sweets as “bad food”

From KidsHealth.org,

The key to keeping kids of all ages at a healthy weight is taking a whole-family approach. Make healthy eating and exercise a family affair. Get your kids involved by letting them help you plan and prepare healthy meals. Take them along when you go grocery shopping. Teach them how to make good food choices.

Let’s Move Initiative

A great resource is Let’s Move, an initiative dedicated to solving the problem of obesity. It provides information about the issue, nutrition, physical activity and ways that everyone can take action and fight against childhood obesity.

At the 2010 launch of Let’s Move!, President Obama established a Task Force on Childhood Obesity, stating, ” we must accelerate implementation of successful strategies that will prevent and combat obesity…and [empower] parents and caregivers with the information and tools they need to make good choices for themselves and their families. They will help our children develop lifelong healthy habits, ensuring they reach their greatest potential toward building a healthier and more prosperous America.”  

Finally, throughout the month of September, we will be focusing on the childhood obesity issue and how to help reverse this epidemic! Visit our blog weekly and our Facebook page to learn more about the issue and what you can do to help!