Plymouth Park Unveils New StoryWalk Experience
Rolling Hills Park in Plymouth just received a creative addition for adults and kids alike.
The neighborhood park has a playground, plenty of green spaces and trails to walk. Beginning July, it also has a story to read alongside the trails.
“We had a lot of questions on what we were exactly doing when we finally got the book up and out and advertised,” said Paul Pearson, recreation supervisor for the city of Plymouth.
The project is a StoryWalk. There are 19 posts along the Rolling Hills Park route, each containing a page or two from a children’s story book. Every 50 steps or so, walkers can read a new part of the story. By the end of the walk, they’ve made it through.
“(StoryWalk) has become kind of a nationwide project to promote literacy and family engagement,” Pearson explained.
Walkers can read each page of the story along the route.
Rolling Hills’ debut book is “Hand and Paw” by Derrick Downey, Jr. It’s a story about compassion and empathy, featuring a kid and his squirrel friend. Pearson said the books will change every month or so.
“We just kind of based it on the seasons and what’s popular right now with that K-5 age group,” Pearson said.
This isn’t the first StoryWalk in Plymouth. The city’s Recreation and Parks Department installed one at Swan Lake Park last year. Pearson said it was so popular, people in the Rolling Hills area asked for their own.
“I think it just adds another way for the community to get out and be active on our trail system. Plymouth is known for its parks and trails, and I think it’s just an added benefit to what our parks already offer the community,” Pearson said.
If you’d like to follow the StoryWalk, it’s accessible off 48th Avenue in Plymouth. Just start following the trail to the left, then head toward the playground to find page one.
Each post is between 30-60 steps apart.
