Prince George’s County. (Courtesy of KABOOM! staff)
Palmer Park Community Center’s playground is one of more than 245 playgrounds in Prince George’s County benefitting from a re-design with the help of kid and community input.
The playspace in Landover, Maryland, celebrated a new-and-improved look earlier this year after children from the center shared drawings of their dream playspaces to incorporate into community-led design and installation.
KABOOM!, a national nonprofit with a mission of ensuring all children have a safe, high-quality place to play in their communities, partnered with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC), Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County, to make it happen.
Prince George’s County is among 25 communities chosen for a five-year initiative to address the playgrounds that were most underserved. More than a third of the county’s playgrounds are past their useful life and in need of immediate repair, according to a news release.
Oakcrest Community Center in Capitol Heights was the first to get a facelift and KABOOM! has assisted in other local playground projects, including the first and only playground open to the public in Washington D.C.’s St. Elizabeth neighborhood cluster.
These updates will help ensure kids receive “the rich developmental benefits needed to grow into their greatest potential,” says KABOOM! CEO Lysa Ratliff, in a news release.
