Parks and Play Initiative
Santa Clara County Public Health Department
About the Project
The Open Space Authority contributed funds towards the Santa Clara County Public Health Department's "Park and Play Initiative," which aims to address health equity related to park utilization by underserved communities. The goal of this initiative is for families to visit Santa Clara County Parks, participate in park programming and become comfortable visiting parks on an ongoing basis to increase their physical activity and overall understanding of environmental stewardship. Park utilization has many known benefits including diabetes management and prevention, depression and anxiety reduction and increasing community cohesion. Many of the families in the geographic focus area for this initiative (Milpitas and East San José) had limited opportunities to visit parks and limited exposure to environmental education.
"The Park and Play initiative was a huge success and has received national and Bay Area attention. We have many stories of families who had never hiked in a park and never thought they could walk 2 to 3 miles outdoors. Many of the parents who participated shared in our program evaluation how important their participation has been for their families' overall well-being."