Photo Credit: Courtesy of Pennsylvania Department of Health
Editor’s Note: This column, “LBWA” (Leadership By Wandering Around), is based on the premise that, in order to find out what’s going on in the field, a parks-and-rec leader has to leave his or her desk and “wander around” the area of operations, talk to people, ask questions, and kick around ideas with the individuals in the thick of delivering services to the public. So the author will bring up issues and ask the leaders among the readership to share their knowledge and experiences.
No-smoking policies at parks have been the subject of this column a couple of times recently. Essentially, two distinct platforms representing two extreme views have been discussed: from the county government in an eastern U.S. city that decided it did not want to impose total smoking restrictions in outdoor venues, to a Canadian city in Ontario that imposed strict laws to limit distances people could smoke from any venue.
This topic received a great deal of reader response, so it’s apparently a topic of interest. I received an e-mail from another parks-and-recreation professional who offered what seems an encouraging compromise. That solution plays on people’s consciences rather than on obedience to the law.
Ronald J. Woodhead, director of the Centre Region Parks and Recreation Department in Pennsylvania, explained a new program, begun earlier this year and called “Young Lungs At Play.” Offered through the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Penn State Cooperative Extension, the program promotes tobacco-free parks and recreation areas.
