ROANOKE, Va. – A new project is giving families the option to play outside and stay safe at the same time.
Roanoke Parks and Recreation, also known as Play Roanoke, is working to equip all city playgrounds with hand sanitizing stations.
As 10 has reported, the city kept all of its playgrounds open during the pandemic.
Right now, 12 of the city's 35 playgrounds have hand sanitizing stations.
While Play Roanoke doesn't have research showing how often children are getting outside, they do know parents certainly are.
“Adults are flocking to the outdoors in numbers we’ve never seen before,” said Stephanie Long, marketing coordinator for Play Roanoke.
There’s no word yet on when each playground will be outfitted with a station.
Long said they are looking for ways to pay for the setup.
While it seems just about everything is going virtual these days, the outdoor agency is adjusting to meet people online.
Play Roanoke’s goal is to get people outdoors, but they’re putting together virtual courses to do that.
One of those includes the junior ranger program. It’s free for all kids wanting to participate.
The idea is to entertain and teach children while also sparking a love for the outdoors.
“Hopefully if we get kids outdoors really early and show them how to enjoy them responsibly and show them the benefits of having these outdoors public spaces, then they will protect them when they get older,” Long said.
Long said they’ve even started putting together online programming for adults, like a virtual pub quiz.