Stark Parks Hit The Ground Running
Stark Parks adapted quickly and efficiently to the coronavirus crisis with wildly popular programs
A girl hikes in the forest. Courtesy of Renee Lyn
A boy bikes in the forest. Courtesy of Laura Perry
Under one name or another, Stark Parks has served the people of Stark County, Ohio for more than half a century. Despite those decades, COVID-19 has forced the organization to adapt more in the past few months than it has since it was founded in early 1967.
A man stands on the shore at sunset. Courtesy of Sandy Kuceyeski
“We’ve had to change our entire way of thinking about how we serve our community,” says Caitlin McCully, a member of the Stark Parks marketing team. “Maintaining that connection with the people we serve has been the biggest challenge so far.”
Typically, Stark Parks hosts up to 20 in-person programs per week across their system of 15 parks within the county. While the use of their parks more than doubled in the first few weeks of quarantine, the could not continue their programs and the team had to adapt.
The pivot happened as Stark Parks prepared for an important election on March 17 that would secure vital levy funding. The "coronavirus" had just begun making waves in the United States, but the election was still on, even as McCully and her team adjusted their messaging.
“That evening was absolute chaos because we had been telling people that the election was still on, to go out and vote. When they postponed it last minute, we had a lot of conflicting messaging out there,” McCully says.
Stark Parks visits one of the numerous senior care facilities in the county. Courtesy of Stark Parks
McCully and her team didn’t skip a beat.
The very next day, while dealing with the aftermath of a postponed election, McCully and her team had already created a COVID-19 webpage. Over the next few months, they would spearhead an effort of responsible recreation within the county, replacing their typical programming with Zoom broadcasts from their wildlife sanctuary, Trail Tales that guide young hikers through a fun narrative, and socially distant visits to senior centers with delightful animals that provide emotional support during isolation.
"We still get calls about that, even though I think we've visited every senior facility in the county," McCully says with a laugh. “I feel like we’ve adapted pretty well. But I’m looking forward to getting back to a team setting. We like that in-person collaboration and I think that’s where a lot of our creativity comes from.”
Photos courtesy of Stark Parks