Get outside and read at The Place's first 'Storybook Path'
The Storybook Path at Weiler Park features "Corduroy" by Don Freeman, a story of a department store bear who's missing a button on his overalls. The path was made possible by a micro grant from the Community Foundation for South Central New York, and a collaboration between The Place, the City of Norwich Youth Bureau, and the Guernsey Memorial Library. (Submitted photo)
NORWICH — The Place has collaborated with the City of Norwich Youth Bureau and Guernsey Memorial Library to bring their first "Storybook Path" to Weiler Park, located at 33 Borden Avenue in Norwich.
"The Storybook Path is just an outdoor opportunity to share books with youth and families and get them outdoors and active," explained The Place Executive Director Sharon Vesely. "So they can be put up in really any type of environment; it could be downtown in the city as long as you can get the pages of the book upright and vertical. But we have such a beautiful area that we live in, there’s plenty of opportunities to get use of the green spaces that we have and get families and youth outside and doing a little bit of reading, and physically active."
The book selected for the first Storybook Path is "Corduroy" by Don Freeman, the story of a department store teddy bear who's missing a button on his overalls. Corduroy is passed over by shopping children due to the missing button, until a little girl named Lisa sees him in the store and loves him the way he is.
"It’s a good heartwarming story about somebody who finally finds a place to be home," said Vesely. "Even having a little bit of a difference, you’re always able to find your own space, which is the story of ‘Corduroy.’"
Parents and kids can walk the path around Weiler Park and read the pages of "Corduroy" along the way. Vesely said having the Storybook Path at Weiler Park also gives families the opportunity to get active.
"The beauty of using the space down at Weiler Park is that the playground is there, so kids have the opportunity to do some climbing and things like that. And then the Chobani fitness path is right there as well. So it’s a good opportunity for really the whole family to get out and move and to do some reading," she said.
The Storybook Path initiative was made possible by a micro grant from the Community Foundation for South Central New York. Vesely said after being awarded the grant she reached out to the City of Norwich Youth Bureau Director Anthony Testani and Guernsey Memorial Library Children's Librarian Kim Hazen to develop the initiative.
She said the path at Weiler Park will be on display for a few more weeks, and they're looking at expanding the program across the county.
"We are in the process of getting the green light for permission to use the next book. And then after that, after we obtain that permission, then we’ll move forward with the next book," said Vesely. "I’m in the process of firming [a location] up as well, but it’ll be definitely in an outdoor green space within the county."
"We work hard at expanding our services and resources throughout the entire county, not only the City of Norwich. So we try to spread out the things that we’re able to, programs and resources, to make things better for all of the residents of Chenango County," she added.
She encourages local families to visit Weiler Park and enjoy the Storybook Path together. Additionally, she asks those who use the path to consider scanning the QR code at the end to complete a brief survey to help them improve the program. She said feedback is also useful to show potential future funders of the program.
Visiting families can also assist The Place by standing up any pages that may have been knocked over, or alerting The Place if they notice any damaged pages.
"Every once in a while my staff and I go down and just take a look to make sure the pages are still up and don’t need any repairs because of the weather, or make sure they’re still in order. So definitely if people could give us a hand on that," said Vesely.
"We've only had positive feedback," she added. "Positive feedback on use of the book, that particular book, of the opportunity in itself, and then to have it used in that space down at Weiler Park, because so many of our parks are underused."
For more information on The Place, visit ThePlaceNorwich.com or The Place Facebook page.
More information on Guernsey Memorial Library can be found at GuernseyMemorialLibrary.org or the Guernsey Memorial Library Facebook page.
For more information on the City of Norwich Youth Bureau, visit NorwichNewYork.net/government/youth.php or the City of Norwich Youth Bureau Facebook page.
"The Storybook Path is just an outdoor opportunity to share books with youth and families and get them outdoors and active," explained The Place Executive Director Sharon Vesely. "So they can be put up in really any type of environment; it could be downtown in the city as long as you can get the pages of the book upright and vertical. But we have such a beautiful area that we live in, there’s plenty of opportunities to get use of the green spaces that we have and get families and youth outside and doing a little bit of reading, and physically active."
The book selected for the first Storybook Path is "Corduroy" by Don Freeman, the story of a department store teddy bear who's missing a button on his overalls. Corduroy is passed over by shopping children due to the missing button, until a little girl named Lisa sees him in the store and loves him the way he is.
"It’s a good heartwarming story about somebody who finally finds a place to be home," said Vesely. "Even having a little bit of a difference, you’re always able to find your own space, which is the story of ‘Corduroy.’"
Parents and kids can walk the path around Weiler Park and read the pages of "Corduroy" along the way. Vesely said having the Storybook Path at Weiler Park also gives families the opportunity to get active.
"The beauty of using the space down at Weiler Park is that the playground is there, so kids have the opportunity to do some climbing and things like that. And then the Chobani fitness path is right there as well. So it’s a good opportunity for really the whole family to get out and move and to do some reading," she said.
The Storybook Path initiative was made possible by a micro grant from the Community Foundation for South Central New York. Vesely said after being awarded the grant she reached out to the City of Norwich Youth Bureau Director Anthony Testani and Guernsey Memorial Library Children's Librarian Kim Hazen to develop the initiative.
She said the path at Weiler Park will be on display for a few more weeks, and they're looking at expanding the program across the county.
"We are in the process of getting the green light for permission to use the next book. And then after that, after we obtain that permission, then we’ll move forward with the next book," said Vesely. "I’m in the process of firming [a location] up as well, but it’ll be definitely in an outdoor green space within the county."
"We work hard at expanding our services and resources throughout the entire county, not only the City of Norwich. So we try to spread out the things that we’re able to, programs and resources, to make things better for all of the residents of Chenango County," she added.
She encourages local families to visit Weiler Park and enjoy the Storybook Path together. Additionally, she asks those who use the path to consider scanning the QR code at the end to complete a brief survey to help them improve the program. She said feedback is also useful to show potential future funders of the program.
Visiting families can also assist The Place by standing up any pages that may have been knocked over, or alerting The Place if they notice any damaged pages.
"Every once in a while my staff and I go down and just take a look to make sure the pages are still up and don’t need any repairs because of the weather, or make sure they’re still in order. So definitely if people could give us a hand on that," said Vesely.
"We've only had positive feedback," she added. "Positive feedback on use of the book, that particular book, of the opportunity in itself, and then to have it used in that space down at Weiler Park, because so many of our parks are underused."
For more information on The Place, visit ThePlaceNorwich.com or The Place Facebook page.
More information on Guernsey Memorial Library can be found at GuernseyMemorialLibrary.org or the Guernsey Memorial Library Facebook page.
For more information on the City of Norwich Youth Bureau, visit NorwichNewYork.net/government/youth.php or the City of Norwich Youth Bureau Facebook page.
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