How a Group of Teens Is Bringing a Skatepark To Their Community — Episode 082

It is our first Open Space Radio episode of 2021, and we’re so
excited for another year of great conversations on the podcast.
To start the year, we’re thrilled to be talking with a group of
inspiring teenagers from Lunenburg, Massachusetts, who decided to
take a middle school project and turn it into something way
bigger that would provide them, and others, a safe space to
participate in their favorite activity — skateboarding. They
realized that access to public recreational spaces was critical,
and decided to take matters into their own hands to create a
safe, legal place to skateboard through the Lunenburg Skatepark
Project.


Our guests today, Mason Whitcomb, Aidan Moore and Griffin
Caiozzo, along with their other teammates Aidan Swift and Chris
Roy, noticed there weren’t any safe, legal places to skateboard
in their community, and started a grassroots movement to build a
permanent, concrete, public skate/BMX/scooter activity park on
land donated by their town.  Through a common interest in
skateboarding and their school’s sponsored Genius Hour program —
a movement that allows students to explore their own passions and
encourages creativity in the classroom — they were able to come
up with the plan for Lunenburg Skatepark, which is soon becoming
a reality due to their persistence, creative problem solving,
community engagement and innovative fundraising efforts.


Tune in to the full episode below to learn why physical activity
through skateboarding is so important to Aidan, Griffin and
Mason, and what life lessons they’ve learned throughout this
process, as well as:


How they came up with the idea for Lunenburg Skatepark.

What their initial planning process looked like.

What kinds of fundraising activities were the most
successful.

How they have engaged the community with the project.

What advice they would give park and recreation professionals
who are thinking about a project like this for a community space.

What’s next for Lunenburg Skatepark, and more!



To learn more about Lunenburg Skatepark, stay updated on
progress, spread the word or make a donation, visit:


Lunenburg Skatepark Official Website

Lunenburg Skatepark on Facebook

Lunenburg Skatepark on Instagram