Thursday, February 21, 2019
On the Future of Growing and Sustaining Outdoor Experiences in Northeast Ohio
by Ebony Hood, SYATT/GBO-Cleveland
Ahh, Commissioner Silver offered many words of inspiration and transformative pics that will have you placing a colossal planter and portable lawn chair on your next stroll along our city’s streetscape. So, how can Cleveland take copious amounts of underutilize concrete spaces and masses of underwhelming, yet maintained municipal parks and convert them into fun experiences?
The good news is that we can grow our parks to rival the assortment of cuisines offered in this foodie town of #CLE. Cleveland has some of the best “shelfy” content to rival any celebrity in a pantry-porn challenge. Just google it and you’ll understand. We have prime cuts of meats for our carnivores better known as the heavy financial backers. There’s plenty of produce for the vegans and vegetarians. I like to think of them as the innovative bunch that’s full of fresh ideas and ingenuity. Ha, and there’s the spice rack loaded with the finest seasonings and herbs, variety is the spice of life! So, what are we waiting for?
Unfortunately, when it comes to parks & recreation, we have the same cooks in the kitchen serving not only the same dish but an unappetizing one as well. It may be enough to sustain but no one is running to the table for supper. The good news is that we have that sexy pantry full of untapped & fresh ingredients. We don’t have to change much to let a few, ahem, in my French accent, chef de parties in the kitchen to pilot a couple of new dishes. Some of the best recipes call for simple ingredients blended splendidly to perfection. Hence, it doesn’t take a ton of money to set a tone of collaboration amongst our park systems in Northeast Ohio to deliver robust experiences that reflect the demographic of this community. We give must new ideas and diverse partnerships a space at the table to shine. The future of growing and sustaining outdoor experiences will perish if we continue to exclude, minimize, reject, and build virtual walls around our green spaces because of the lack of political will to do what is right. If you’re satisfied with the current offerings in your green space, ask yourself, who’s at the table with you? ALL Clevelanders are hungry! Maybe it’s time for us to turn up the heat.
