At the Laurens County Park, children and families can walk, read, and play on a fully inclusive playground right in the middle of the fields, the dog park, and the picnic shelters of a place away from the hustle and bustle of cities — but right next door to the airport.
The April 24 unveiling of Laurens County’s 3rd StoryWalk brought this opportunity to life through the partnership of Laurens County First Steps, Pathwise (formerly the Laurens County Disabilities & Special Needs board), and the McCormack Family Charitable Fund.
This StoryWalk’s tale is “Bangalee” by author Stephen Gosgrove, part of the Serendipity Series. Toni Able, executive director of Laurens County First Steps, personally picked this story, and received permission from the author himself to tell the tale through story-boards along the path around the handicapped accessible and fully inclusive playground which serves as a centerpiece of this Laurens County park.
Talking to Gosgrove, Able said, “was like having my own personal Dr. Seuss.” Her parents and grandparents bought her Serendipity books growing up, and she read this morality-themed books “cover to cover to cover, over and over again.”
There are 12-15 books in a series, and Able said First Steps would be rolling them out to young readers over the next few years.
This StoryWalk is dedicated in memory of Abby Katherine Davis and Thomas Chandler Davis, whom Able said were students of hers before she came to First Steps.
“This is a great way to introduce literacy not only to children but to families,” she said. “When families go walking through our park, they can enjoy a storybook along with the outdoors and play along the park.”
Tara Glenn, assistant director of Pathwise, which works with differently-abled individuals, said her people had come out to the park several times, and have worked on projects with Laurens County Parks & Recreation. “This is an amazing opportunity. Our folks do a lot in the community, and Laurens County Parks & Rec has done a lot of work with us. That is important to our mission.
“We saw this beautiful park, what they created and put this trail around, and I immediately said, ‘We need some kind of interactive trail.’ Toni and I connected so we could talk about the StoryWalk as part of this inclusive playground.”
A gift was received from the McCormack Family Charitable Fund, and this new StoryWalk came to fruition.
It was “a Godsend,” Glenn said. “We hope that you come back to play and to read, and there is more to come from this park.”
StoryWalk® was created in 2007 by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, VT, in collaboration with former KHL staff member Rachel Senechal, and is a registered service mark of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. StoryWalk® now exists across the U.S. and worldwide in 13 countries including Germany, Canada, England, Bermuda, Russia, Malaysia, Pakistan and South Korea! If you are in Vermont, you can borrow a StoryWalk® from our collection. If you are outside Vermont, get in touch to learn how to get started building your own! All it takes is laminating pages from a children’s book, attaching to wooden stakes, then installing along an outdoor path. For all questions about StoryWalk® , please email storywalk@kellogghubbard.org.
