Educational 8 March 2024
Playgrounds are a cornerstone of any engaged local community. They encourage a more active lifestyle for children and their families while teaching children invaluable social skills when they are out of school. However, many children can’t take advantage of playgrounds in winter months because by the time they are out of school and their guardians are out of work, it’s too dark to enjoy safely. Despite the playgrounds still being open, the dark sky creates an unsafe environment for children at play and are not utilized to their fullest. With full access to parks and playgrounds in the evening, children can enjoy their favorite activities safely.
Winter months and their limited daylight severely restrict the time that children can appreciate the outdoors. With most parents and guardians working from 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. daily and sunset coming earlier from September to March, many children lose half of the year of valuable outdoor time. Especially during the darker times of year, the sunset can come as early as 5 P.M, despite many playgrounds and parks still being open.
In this scenario, no party benefits. The city’s time and money spent building the playground is underutilized, a child’s outdoor time is halved, and parents and guardians are unable to enjoy safe outdoor activities with their children. Although colder weather also contributes to this problem, the safety concerns can be solved with Sol.
With effective, consistent, and cost-effective lighting installed around the playground, parents and guardians can indulge their children with more frequent outdoor activities. The benefits include:
Outdoor activities after dark can be an intimidating idea for guardians with young children, as their safety should always take precedence over anything else. Sol understands this and wants to provide an actionable solution to every community’s concern.
Providing effective lighting to areas like playgrounds can deter unwelcome activities like crime and accidents while creating a safer environment for families to identify their children, regardless of the time of day. In fact, studies have shown that well-lit public spaces can create an impactful deterrent to crime, reduce avoidable accidents caused by lack of vision, and ensure parents and guardians can see their children at all times.
However, some municipalities may not have the budget for a large-scale lighting installation that is effective and sustainable. Sol has the solution that keeps a municipality’s budget intact and provides the increase in safety they desire.
Solar lighting is the most sustainable, effective, and budget-friendly lighting solution on the market today. LED and solar-powered lighting outperform traditional incandescent lights in more categories than just sustainability.
Solar-powered lights are especially beneficial, as they require no connection to a city’s grid through complex wiring and generate their own energy. Thus, solar lights can decrease complex installation and energy costs for municipalities, require little maintenance following installation, and lower taxes for local citizens as the city’s energy requirements plummet. Additionally, solar lights also cut down on light pollution and glare, ensuring that once they are installed, local residents will not be disturbed by light spilling past their focused areas and playground users have a well-lit, pleasant environment.
Solar lights meet the requirements that playgrounds demand, and every community has the power to advocate for them to increase the safety and health of their children. Learn how you can champion safer, well-lit spaces in your community.
Other passionate communities are already seeing the benefits of advocating for solar lights. One passionate woman, Ruth J. Fleming, observed the blazing Tampa, FL temperatures that made using Woodland Terrace Park during the day a dangerous endeavor. However, she also noticed the park was also poorly lit at night, making it unsafe for casual use. Along with her husband, Ruth successfully reached Tampa city officials, who solved her problem with Sol’s solar lighting products. Now, all members of the community have a way to avoid the heat and enjoy the park safely thanks to citizens like Ruth and solar experts like Sol.
