Kokomo Kindness Project: Caring For Public Spaces
By ALLI LEE
The Kokomo Post Contributor
At The Kokomo Post, it’s our goal to “Make Positivity Louder.” We want people who visit Kokomo to say “People in Kokomo are so kind!” This article is part of a year-long initiative called The Kokomo Kindness Project. We want to encourage Kokomo and the surrounding community to share stories of kindness and practice kindness daily. Each month, we’ll share an article in our “How To Kindness” series and highlight acts of kindness happening in our community.
Ahh, May. The temperature is rising and the sun is shining, spring is officially here! This month, we want all our Kokomo friends to “spring into action” and help take care of our community’s public spaces! By public spaces, we mean spaces anyone can visit or access. (Think: local parks, trails, buildings etc.) It’s easy to say this is someone else’s job because most of these spaces are maintained by city or county employees, but there are many simple ways you can help preserve and improve our public spaces for our citizens and visitors. Our team had the chance to ride along with the Kokomo Parks & Recreation Department superintendent Torrey Roe and discuss how small acts of kindness can keep Kokomo beautiful all the time.
Photo Provided | Torrey Roe
Planted flower pots will be displayed throughout downtown Kokomo and were put together by volunteers during the Keep Kokomo Beautiful April workday May 13.
Roe said the KPRD staff works hard to maintain our public spaces all year long. “There’s not one day that is a typical day [at KPRD],” said Roe. “We do community events and our own programs that we prepare for, but you could be in a different location day-to-day as well. Depending on what time of year it is, we could be mowing, planting trees, throwing mulch, or weed eating.”
We asked Roe what the biggest challenge our parks and public spaces are facing.
“Vandalism,” he said. “We spend a lot of time, effort and energy just trying to make things whole again. Vandalism is one of the largest obstacles we face on a day to day basis.”
He explained that one of the best ways to combat vandalism is simply attendance.
“The more people that are in the parks, the less likely that vandalism is to occur,” he said.
When asked what his favorite public space was in Kokomo, Roe said, “Championship Park (2600 Veterans Memorial Dr, Kokomo, IN 46901)…I’m a sports guy!” The ride-along was great driving around Kokomo and chatting all of the great features of our public spaces. I mentioned how, as a mom, my family enjoys the Splash Pad at Al Berryman Memorial Park (105 W. Elm St., Kokomo, IN 46901) and concerts down along the river walk. Torrey mentioned again that visiting our public spaces is the best way to keep the well-maintained and visitors can message the KPRD Facebook page or call the office with questions or concerns at any time.
So the answer is YES, take advantage of all that Kokomo’s public spaces have to offer, just remember to…
Clean up after your use of public spaces
Follow guidelines for park use and equipment
Don’t litter on or vandalize public spaces
AND
Enjoy our parks and public spaces as often as possible!
Two things inspired this month’s kindness idea: The idea of spring cleaning and Earth Day (Saturday, April 22nd). This time of year just makes you want to get outside! So why not get outside and share some kindness? If you visit one of Kokomo’s beautiful parks bring a pair of gloves and clean up litter if you come across any. The best way you can “spring into action” this month would be to volunteer with the City of Kokomo during their designated keep Kokomo beautiful events.
The next event will be held on Saturday, May 13 and you can register as a volunteer HERE. The Kokomo Parks and Recreation Department needs your help in another way too. You can share your thoughts and opinions by completing this survey in regards to the five-year master plan. There is also a separate survey HERE for teens to share their thoughts on the plan. Your thoughts and opinions make a difference!