Community Planning Workshop (CPW) is currently helping the City of Turner, Oregon to update its Parks Master Plan. Parks offer a space for the community to come together, to play, to connect with nature, or to find a quiet space to be. Parks are meant to serve everyone in the community, so we worked to give everyone an opportunity to share their views on what the parks system should be.  One of the opportunities that we offered was a community workshop, held at the City of Turner’s Fire Hall. We offered a four hour block of time for residents to come in as they were able on a Saturday.

At the workshop, community members were able to engage in a few different ways. We had a questionnaire, two stations for people to talk and leave their comments, and a station where they could express what they wanted in parks through art. This enabled our younger participants in particular a chance to voice their opinion.

Meet Conner. Of all of our young visitors, Connor spent the most time exploring what he believes are ‘must-haves’ in his city parks. And he wants his parks to have A LOT! On his wish list are separate trails for walking and biking, areas with swing sets and playground equipment, places to camp, watch birds, swim, fish, and have picnics. But if you look at his drawings, you will see that that’s not all. He also wants a sports area for basketball and baseball, and an arts and crafts area (preferably next to a pond). My personal favorite of Connor’s requests was a giant tree house. One of the greatest opportunities at this station was to show not only what he wanted, but where he wanted things in relation to each other.

Because not everyone was able to attend the workshop, we also incorporate input from a survey that the City of Turner sent out about their parks system, and work with an advisory committee of stakeholders to develop the plan. By taking overyone’s hopes and desires into account, we can better provide the kind of parks that they will actually use and love, benefiting the entire community.